Old-timer told me my boom angle was all wrong and it saved me a ton on fuel

I had a guy who's been running cranes since the 80s watch me set up a job last month in St. Louis. He said I was keeping my boom too steep for the load radius I was working. I figured steeper meant safer, but he showed me how it made my engine work harder for no reason. Dropped the angle about 10 degrees and my fuel gauge barely moved all day. Anyone else get a tip like that that just clicked?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorhunt2mo agoMost Upvoted

10 degrees made that much difference in fuel draw? I wouldn't have believed it either until I messed with my own angle on a lift last spring and saw the guage drop. Crazy how tiny adjustments kill your efficiency without you even noticing.

amybarnes2mo ago

For real though. I still don't trust my own fuel gauge after seeing how much it can jump around. Takes a while to believe your own eyeballs.

uma_nguyen245d ago

Funny you mention that, I actually read something from a diesel mechanic's blog about this exact thing. He tested a 15 degree change on the same lift and said it wasted almost 8% more fuel per hour under load. Makes me wonder how many guys are burning money without even knowing it (myself included probably). The gauge thing is real too, like amybarnes said, mine jumps around so much I half expect it to tell me I'm running on fumes when I'm still half full. It's one of those things where you just have to set the angle once and trust your setup instead of the numbers bouncing around.