BARNHART COMPLETES ROOFTOP REACTOR REPLACEMENT

Barnhart was hired to remove and replace a reactor at a chemical plant. The reactor was 11’ diameter and 20’ long and the only access was through the roof. The crew also faced a tight setup area for the crane and a limited staging area.

To gain access, a 14’ X 14’ roof hatch was fabricated by the customer. While the team was building the Liebherr LTM 1400 mobile crane, the new reactor arrived. It was loaded and staged onsite on a Barnhart trailer so it could be moved into position when ready. This saved the customer money, as offloading in the laydown yard would have required remobilizing a crane and truck.

The 500-ton mobile crane had 86’ of main boom with 125’ of luffing jib and 275,500 pounds of counterweight. The reactor weighed 43,000 pounds at 135′ radius for the lift. The team navigated pipe racks and power lines and faced windy conditions. 

It took five days to build the crane, lift material in the building so the structure could receive the new reactor, remove the old and install the new reactor through the hatch and demobilize. The job was completed safely and on schedule.