Had to eat crow about those vacuum lifters after a tough job in Cleveland

I always thought those battery-powered vacuum lifters were overpriced gimmicks until my helper threw his back out on a 500-block job and we had to finish in two days. Has anyone else had a tool they swore was useless save their bacon?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel47024d ago

Had to eat crow" is a perfect way to put it... I wrote those things off as too fancy for real work. Then I watched a guy on a jobsite lift a 600-pound sheet of glass by himself with one. Changed my whole mind about them.

gibson.sarah24d ago

Yeah but 600 pounds? I mean okay maybe with the right setup and all that. But I still see guys using these things on jobsites where a simple hand truck would do the same job in half the time if you just had another person. It's like people act like they just discovered fire. I'm not saying they're useless but let's not pretend every single job needs a $400 gadget when you can grab a buddy and a dolly for free. Seen too many folks buy one of these then leave it in the truck because it's actually more hassle than it's worth for most stuff. I get that specialty stuff like glass or big panels is different but for the everyday what are you really gaining?

jade_johnson22d ago

Man, I totally get that. Those vacuums look ridiculous till you see one save someone's back or worse... People don't think about safety until it's too late. A buddy and a dolly works fine until that buddy slips or you hit a weird angle and suddenly you're both fighting gravity. I've seen enough kitchen injuries from guys trying to be tough instead of using the right tool. That glass lift moment is the kind of thing that just sticks with you and makes you rethink everything.