Just read that a tower crane's counterweight can be over 20 tons

Found it in an old equipment manual from a job in Seattle. Anyone know the heaviest one you've worked with?

3 comments

3 Comments

That manual might be talking about a mobile crane counterweight. Tower crane counterjibs are heavy, but the actual counterweight blocks are usually concrete and not that dense. I saw a 750 ton crawler setup in Texas where each counterweight block was 12 tons. They stack a bunch to get the total weight needed. A single 20 ton block would be almost impossible to lift into place on a tower crane. The big numbers come from adding multiple blocks together.

xena_brown503d ago

You're totally right about the stacking. I watched them set up a tower crane downtown last year, and they used a mobile crane to lift maybe eight or nine concrete blocks onto the counterjib. Each one looked manageable on its own, but together they add up to a crazy amount of weight. Trying to lift a single 20-ton piece up there just wouldn't work with the crane's own hoist.

jamie10114d ago

Imagine trying to lift a single 20-ton block up a tower crane. The logistics alone sound like a bad joke. You'd need a bigger crane just to lift the counterweight for your first crane.