UNIC spider crane crawls over filter bed at wastewater works
When some lifting power was required on a sewage filtration bed at Eccles Wastewater Treatment Works in Manchester, UK, a UNIC mini crane provided the perfect solution for this tricky job.
Hired by United Utilities, the UNIC URW-295 mini crane was operated by two of their engineers to lift a heavy beam which had come off its rails in the middle of the filter bed back into position. The beam is used to spray the bed’s surface with wastewater. The bacteria which grows on the filter bed biodegrades the wastewater when it trickles down through the bed’s rocks and mesh cover.
At just 1850kg in weight, the 2.9 tonne capacity UNIC spider crane was ideal for working on top of the uneven surface of the sewage filtration bed thanks to its lightweight chassis. Once it had been lifted up onto the filter bed by another UNIC crane, the UNIC URW-295 travelled over to where the beam had fallen to lift it back onto its tracks from each end.
Due to restricted access on site, the only other way of lifting the beam which was stuck halfway along the filter bed would have been to use a large city crane working from quite a distance away, but the UNIC crane provided a much more practical alternative by working on top of the filter bed itself. The mini crane was able to complete the job quickly so the plant could get back to normal operations.
UNIC mini spider cranes are often used for lifting operations at wastewater treatment facilities. Read more about how these mini machines were used for handling carbon filter systems, steam pipework and filter screens in a Victorian sewage works.
