Greetings.?ÿ
I am trying to think of a safe way to lift storm and sewer manholes to obtain inverts.?ÿ For decades I'd use a pick, with great success.?ÿ Unfortunately, at my "stage" in life, I cannot safely pull them without incurring severe sciatica.?ÿ ?ÿ(hiring a youngster is not an option)?ÿ ?ÿ I was hoping someone may have ideas about using a jack, to jack up one side then slide it part way off, to get the inverts ??ÿ
Any ideas would be very helpful.?ÿ ?ÿ(I'll also take volunteers)?ÿ ha ha?ÿ
Thank you very much?ÿ
"Good"?ÿ
?ÿ
I've not used one, but remember seeing them on a website years ago -
Lifting is lifting every way you cut it and it sucks when yer back goes out.
A 4ft chunk of 5/8ths rebar can be inserted in most manhole lid holes and a good push down and to the side with the hole on the side you are standing will lift and rock a loose manhole lid out of position enough to kick it. A stiff pair of boots can kick it back into place.
@jon-payne from what he is saying, he has lumbar spine (lower back) issues like I do. This tool looks pretty good but will still require lifting from a bending position.
Some of us older folks and end up in a world of pain if our lower spines have issues.
The safe way is to have the sewer department come out and open it for you.
I'm 58 and my lower back is shot from my "invincible" younger years. The best way to go about it is to make it your client's responsibility to handle pulling and replacing MH covers and storm grates.
I'm in same boat at the same age as Chris Bouffard. Fortunately haven't has to lift manhole lids in twenty years and I'm good with that.
Just a thought. If you had a rigid pole, say 8' in length, by placing a hook to insert into or under the lid to be lifted, that was attached to the pole, say 2.5' up from the base of the pole, with the base of the pole resting across the lid, by lifting from the end of the pole, you would have substantial mechanical advantage to lift the lid and rotate it out of the way. Just a simple lever with a hook, similar to a log roller.
There are more expensive ones on the market too. Never used one, but the physics looks right for your situation.
I've not used one, but remember seeing them on a website years ago -
Haha I wanna see that dude try that thing on a real world manhole.
This here is how the pros do it:
https://gfycat.com/realknobbyduckbillcat
My back is starting to hurt already from thinking about removing a manhole lid. Nope. Not gonna happen.
Once got told to go survey NZ SH6A between Frankton and Queenstown.
Including Invert levels...
No freaking way that was gonna happen working with the "half a dozen cones and a couple of signs" engineers I was with at the time (forgive me Father, for I have truly sinned)
If they really want them - its going to be traffic lights, cones and half road closure...
I quite liked working Chch at night post earthquake - it was quiet and I could get on with what I'm measuring...
And then we get to deal with what's underneath that lid
R.I.P. at least one good cellphone from bending over and looking 🙂
Loved that backhoe tearing off the whole lid structure. When I worked in Cleveland Ohio many decades ago, there was an old manhole lid rusted hard in place. We sort of needed to get in there for an upcoming project and we would give it a try if we had a few minutes on the way back to the office periodically. They used salt excessively in the winters for the roads and it was really really stuck. A couple good whacks with a sledgehammer would often break loose the corrosion but not in this case. We would pound that steel lid with everything we had and I had just come out of college where I made a substantial portion of my living selling firewood and I could swing a sledgehammer. After a few weeks, we finally got into that manhole much to the chagrin of the local utility folks. That big steel lid finally split into two pieces.
I've used one of these type of things before. They're actually pretty decent, especially if you have a large project with a lot of MH's and CB's to open.
I don't mind opening them the conventional way, pick and shovel, and I'm in my 50's. But this device makes a lot of sense.
Some of the more expensive model manufacturers have quick videos, marketing their particular model. They do make a young man's task achievable for those of us in our old age.
I've not used one, but remember seeing them on a website years ago -
Haha I wanna see that dude try that thing on a real world manhole.
This here is how the pros do it:
https://gfycat.com/realknobbyduckbillcat
I've got two of those, crews couldn't get them up, the city came and tried and couldn't. The engineer for the project finally said he'd show everyone how to do it.
NOPE!!
