Looking to buy a mech advantage kit

[david1332]

So I thought I didn't need any more gear. lol I was wrong .

So I've been getting more jobs that I've noticed mechanical advantage would help me out a great deal, either pulling a tree or lifting a limb while rigging from a block set up high in a tree.

What would be a good kit for me? I'm not looking to spend a ton of money at the moment but still want a dEcent piece of gear. Or am I better off building my own?

Or should I just buy the maasdam puller and forget the mechadvantage kit.

I will be using it to pull trees over more and skid logs compared to lifting

 

[benjo75]

The maasdam puller works good. I wouldn't trust it for pulling limbs in a tree using a block. I have 2 and both have a bad habit of slipping when the pressure eases up. I'm using the 3 strand 1/2 rope it recommends. Tightening up on a tree it tends to slip unless someone is pulling on the end of the rope exiting the puller. Then as the tree starts leaning your way and the rope gets slack it can slip and stop grabbing again. It's designed to grab more the more pressure is on it. I love mine but they don't like a rope with little pressure. Sounds like a GRCS would be perfect for your application. But there's almost $3,000 gone. I don't use mine everyday but if I didn't have one I would order another one tonight. You can lift and pull and also unwrap the rope and let the limb down. Can't do that with ratchet pullers. You mentioned skidding logs. That's going to be a hard way to go with anything man powered. The GRCS has bit for using a big drill.

I either use the tractor or the winch on my Jeep if I need to pull anything more than a few feet. I use the 3 to 1 a lot. It consists of using a pulley at the base of the tree. Running your pull rope through it and back toward the tree your pulling. At the best point I'll tie an Alpine Butterfly and clip in a micro pulley with a biner and head back toward the first pulley. If you use decent pulleys a 200 lb man can pull around 600 lbs. There is a good video of this method at Climbibgarborist.com

 

[benjo75]

Also, TreeMuggs has an excellent video on his site Educatedclimber.com. It's in the video section under English Truckers Hitch. It explains how to do this with nothing but a rope.

 

[david1332]

Correction, by skidding logs I don't mean 10 footers. I mean pulling large rounds across a yard that would otherwise be extremely cumbersome to lift .

 

[benjo75]

For the rounds I would recommend one of the Log Dollys. They're great for moving big wood. It takes a little bit of work to get them on the dolly but then you're ready to go.

 

[david1332]

So I would be better off buying a 4:1 or a 5:1 kit with 50 feet of line or so? And some sort of rope grab ofcourse

 

[greengreer]

The stein kit is nice. 50' of rope will run out quick. I would do 100' if building your own.
Also dont attach it with rope grab, they will cut through the line when overloaded. Just use a piece of tenex or hitch cord. The vt is a good hitch for this purpose as it advances easily.

 

[david1332]

The stein kit is nice. 50' of rope will run out quick. I would do 100' if building your own.
Also dont attach it with rope grab, they will cut through the line when overloaded. Just use a piece of tenex or hitch cord. The vt is a good hitch for this purpose as it advances easily.

Is it better than the old fashioned fiddle block kit?

 

[greengreer]

It's a nice 4:1 kit with progress capture. It comes with everything you need except the prussic to attach to the line you are pulling on. It's simple, well thought out, and sturdy. You could probably put something similar together cheaper, but not by much.

 

[david1332]

It's a nice 4:1 kit with progress capture. It comes with everything you need except the prussic to attach to the line you are pulling on. It's simple, well thought out, and sturdy. You could probably put something similar together cheaper, but not by much.

So all I would need would be the kit and a rigging prussik. So about $345. That's not too bad for a good kit.

Lol the DMM kit is $850

 

[greengreer]

Yep, about $2 worth of 3/8 tenex will do the trick

 

[david1332]

Yep, about $2 worth of 3/8 tenex will do the trick

Would a rigging prussik be better?

 

[greengreer]

Same thing, if you can splice. If not just tie some double fishermans loops and save yourself some $.
Making a tenex eye tp eye is ridiculously simple. Iirc 3/8 tenex is like 45cents a ft. You can make all kinds of cool stuff with it and it is a good, cheap way to play around with splicing.
You don't need a performance cordage in this application as it's just setting the system up.
The stein kit uses a nice cordage in a michoacan that captures your progress with virtually no set back and releases easily under load.

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Correction, by skidding logs I don't mean 10 footers. I mean pulling large rounds across a yard that would otherwise be extremely cumbersome to lift .

You are not going to be pulling anything like that across no yard.

 

[wyattwilson87]

I've used 3:1 with maasdam and a half inch 3 strand countless times to pull trees over. It will slip without pressure but a single operator can handle the lever and the exiting rope just fine IMO. I personally decided to buy 2 double pulleys off amazon and a decent rated 200 foot half inch 3 strand. I think I spent less then $100 and have gotten almost a year out of them, even with regular use. I would recommend buying name brand though. using the double pulleys you get that much more force, and coupled with the maasdaam you can apply some good heat.. sometimes too good. It also eats up a lot of rope. This technique is obviously only good for pulling not lowering. I've used it to pull my truck out of the ditch a time or two...
I've also used a pro traxion instead of the maasdam. Again probably not recommended but it captures progress. Just have to be careful not to load it too much because it will become very difficult to unload. I generally use it just where an extra hand would help. And Because my rope is my "beater" rope I don't get overly concerned with what it does to it.
I needed a mechanical advantage system fast and fairly cheap so that's the route I chose. So far everything has held up and continues to get the job done.

As far as lowering goes, I acquired a rugged belay device that I use the same as one would use a porta wrap. Works great.

And the tree dolly has saved my back time and time again. Seemingly expensive units though...