Anyone running a 12.5T Bluetooth load shackle as a primary indicator on blind picks? I’m cautious about app-only readouts and want to hear how you manage daily zeroing, battery checks, and calibration certificates to stay inside ASME B30.26/B30.9; for context, we hit 9,200 lb on a four-point chiller lift last week and I’m debating whether to add one to the kit…
But we run a 12.5T BT shackle on blind picks with a belt-and-suspenders approach: enable multi-device viewing (tablet on the rig and my phone at the gate), set a 90% WLL alarm, zero under slack before each pick, screenshot zero/battery, and keep the current cal cert (12‑month) in the lift packet. For reliability we do a quick weekly check against a known test weight — “trust but verify” — and keep a small inline dyno handy for spot checks. If you’re eyeing Straightpoint, their BT app info is here: Straightpoint - Kito Crosby; which brand are you considering?
Quick example: I enable ‘zero lock’ so only the lead’s tablet can zero, do a 1,000 lb check hang before the first blind pick, and screenshot the zero/battery/device ID/time into the lift plan to keep B30.26 clean — works well, but I still treat the BT shackle as an indicator, not interlock. You keep a small check weight on site, @lauragreen32?
If you’re worried about “app-only readouts,” add the vendor’s base station with relay outputs and stick a mag-mount LED/beacon on the rig; you get a hard alarm if the tablet drops. On a 9,200 lb four-point, we log at 10 Hz to the base and stash the cal cert PDF with expiry in the job folder, then tare once with rigging dressed and keep that baseline. Small caveat: Bluetooth hates welding arcs and busy radio traffic, so a wired repeater or 4–20 mA bridge near the operator is cheap insurance.
For blind picks, I treat the 12.5T as primary only if I add a BLE repeater at the boom tip and turn on a rate-of-change alarm to catch snags before you blow a leg in a four-point like your 9,200 lb chiller. Daily, we do a 30–60 s pre-load hang to settle rigging, then apply tare once it stabilizes and auto-log the event with device ID/time into the lift pack; traceable cert and WLL stamp live in the same file to satisfy B30.26/B30.9. If ‘app-only readouts’ still spook you, set an RSSI floor alarm so the tablet screams before the link degrades — would you run it as primary with that setup?