Cherry picker
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A cherry picker (also known as a boom lift, man lift, basket crane or hydraladder), is a type of aerial work platform that consists of a platform or bucket at the end of a hydraulic lifting system.
It is often mounted on the back of a large vehicle such as a truck (in which case it may also be called a bucket truck[1]), or sometimes on a stand-alone trailer or self-moving platform. The bucket is designed for a person to stand in and work from. Often a duplicate set of controls that are used to manipulate the position of the bucket will be available to the person in the bucket, allowing the operator to position himself. The lifting arms of some cherry pickers are capable of telescoping to adjust the reach of the device, usually with automatic safety controls to prevent tipping over. [2] Articulated boom lifts are more appropriate than stick booms when operating in tight spaces or when clearing nearby obstacles is necessary.[3]
Cherry pickers were originally designed for use in orchards (though not just cherry orchards) where they are still heavily used.[4] It lets the picker pick fruit high in a tree with relative ease. Similar devices, also known as 'cherry pickers', are used to service telephone, cable television and electrical equipment on utility poles. An advantage of bucket trucks in this application is that the rubber tires can insulate the truck and operator from the ground, so if the bucket or operator touches a high voltage wire there is no path to ground for current, possibly preventing dangerous electrical shock.
Some fire trucks have a cherry picker (known as a snorkel[5]) instead of a ladder and some window cleaners also use them. Cherry pickers are also used in mining, construction, exterior painting, and sometimes by arborists to work safely in otherwise unclimbable trees.
[edit] See also
- Aerial work platform (about the general category of similar work equipment)
[edit] References
- ^ Buckettrucks.org
- ^ Telescoping booms
- ^ Articulated boom lift cherrypickers
- ^ Reaching new heights in construction and horticulture - Safetyline Magazine (extract), Government of Western Australia, Volume No. 20 (November 1993)
- ^ fire Apparatus Terminology 4
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