What Does
Chain Tongs Mean?
Chain tongs are a type of wrench used to tighten or loosen pipes in the drill site. Chain tongs are made of different components, like the chain, handle, gripping teeth and a hooking slot to adjust the chain to fit the pipe circumference. The gripping teeth engage the pipe and the adjustable chain encircles the pipe while the handle is used to turn the pipe. Chain tongs are safer and easier to use than conventional tongs when it comes to handling large diameter pipes at the drill sites especially for pipeline installation projects using trenchless methods, such as microtunneling, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and pipe jacking.
Trenchlesspedia Explains Chain Tongs
Chain tongs are easy to use but come with some instructions that need to be followed. For example, chain tongs shouldn't be used with power drives to turn it; pieces of pipe shouldn't be inserted into the handle to increase the leverage. It can lead to damage of the chain tongs and can also cause injury to the worker. The worker should always be in control of the chain and should ensure that the pins in the chain links are locked securely into the jaw before turning or loosening the pipes.