My friction saving false crotch what not. . .

[Sizzle-Chest]

wow, thats pretty fancy!

So, you all made me worry enough that I am going to upgraid my setup a little bit. After all, it will be holding me to a tree, so it should be decent, right?

so im putting in these thicker rings instead.

 

[TREETX]

Hey sizzler, I recommend catching the clue train next time it comes to town.

I love my ART RG BTW!

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

Hey sizzler, I recommend catching the clue train next time it comes to town.

I love my ART RG BTW!

wow, real friendly round here, eh? and what in the hell is that supposed to mean anyway? if you want to say something then say it.

 

[NickfromWI]

Hello Sizzle chest.
I dont mean to sound like a jerk but man I feel your life is worth the extra money. If you have to ask the questions here then maybe you shouldnt be climbing with a homemade rig like that. Looks real scary and very uncomfortable....

Bollocks! Just because you ask, doesn't mean what you've made isn't good enough. It takes a lot to put your stuff out there for everyone to critique, and it's a great way to get improvements, whether big or small. His setup, though not ideal, IS made with strong enough components, the knots are tied properly, and the way it's all put together is functional and safe.

Sizzle- Here are a few improvements I'd make to your setup...

1- Change the prusik. Take off the 1/2" Buzzzline and put in a smaller, though still strong enough 3/8ths or maybe 7/16ths hitch cord. If there is a sail shop in your area, less than $5 will get you enough Yale Yacht Braid, New England Sta Set (NOT sta set X) or Samson LS. These are some of the cords many are using to tie their climbing hitches, and they will work well in place of that large, bulky prusik you have now.
2- Double fisherperson's loops are good, and long tails are great, but yours are TOOOO long. I would snip those down to about 4". In many a book, I've read that a 4:1 ratio of tail length to rope diameter should be maintained for that (and similar) knots. That would be a 2" tail for a 1/2" rope. 4" gives peice of mind, especially considering that the false crotch would typically be many feet away from you where a mere glance wouldn't be enough to inspect it.
3- The oscillante, as has been said, really is strong enough for the loads you'll be dealing with, but falls far shy of the magic 5000 pounds ANSI encourages us to strive for. I'd spring for the $20 CMI micro pulley. 7000lbs strong, and you'll find many uses for it down the line......(get it????? pulley???rope.....DOWN THE LINE???? no? nothing?)
4- Good use of a stopper knot. I'd put a double overhand knot there, simply because I like it better. It doesn't do the job any better than a figure eight.

Definately get a pulley on there. Yes, like you said, it'll only really make the bend like an inch, but consider that it might be a 200% increase over what you have now.

Oh, and the splicing book. "Working Rope: Basic Braided Splices" by Brion Toss. Affordable, super great illustrations from a great teacher.

Keep it up. You're sure on the right track.

love
nick

 

[Stumper]

Nice, helpful post Nick. You're a good man.

 

[jamie]

we dont use friction savers at work, in my spare time i only really do smallish removals, i should get one but i'm still using most of the company gear.

i reckon the rings look a wee bit too small. splash some cash i'd say. as for the prussic, tie the fishermans together to make a loop and have the knots somewhere between the prussic and the ring.

http://www.honeybros.co.uk/catalogue/more-info.asp?ID=95 you can see the splice on the 'ring strop' (on the right) imagine the knots instead of the splice.


jamie

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

Nick, thanks a lot for the words, they are incredibly helpful, you have no idea. It makes sense to buy smaller line for the prusik, and im working on getting a pulley put in there too. I called CMI and they wanted 22 for theirs + 11 for shipping, which put it way out of reach and the same story for Sherrrill. I am trying to figure out a way to put on the petzle micro pulley, but its hard to find things that work with it. Anyway, terrific advice man.

 

[NickfromWI]

Are you really in Alaska? Probably not an REI nearby, huh?

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

Are you really in Alaska? Probably not an REI nearby, huh?

no, im actually from ORegon, and I was in the REI today looking at parts for this setup. I found a small, beefy ring to use instead of the screw link for only 3$ rated at 50 kilonewtons, which is like . . . . infinity million pounds or something. Anyway, they didnt have any pulleys rated above 8 kilonewtons, and they all had plastic roller bits, so they would not work. I also found a delta link that I could use to hang a pulley on the end and attach the to the straight top, but I cant find a high rated pulley with a big enough hole at the top. Any ideas? I dont want to order from Sherrill for personal reasons, so that kinda narrows things down.

 

[Stumper]

Sizzle, That is weird about the pulleys-I have never seen one that wasn't rated ABOVE 8kN-Even the Petzl Oscillante which is the lightweight baby of all the common pulleys in the rock and rescue world is rated at 8kN per leg for a 16kN total. The Colorado Springs REI always has their own brand of little blue pully rated for 20Kn for $10. It has a plastic sheave but I've used those things for Z rigs for years with zero problems. -It isn't bad as a slack tender either. Congrats on the 50kn ring-I gotta check on one of those locally!

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

stumper, i was thinking today about that time I was staying in Canon city, and I remember one of the days there were no fires, so this forester took us to a stand of aspens and some blue spruce (maybe? some other conifer?) and had us fall everything he marked. It was a blast getting to cut trees we dont have in oregon. anyway . . . sort of off topic.


, they had those little blue guys at REI for 10$, but I thought it was rated at only 8Kn per side and fella there told me it would melt if i put line through it too quickly. what were you using it for again? If its safe enough I would like to use it.

EDIT: I just checked REI website and they were actually rated at 10Kn. Would that do the trick?

 

[NickfromWI]

, they had those little blue guys at REI for 10$, but I thought it was rated at only 8Kn per side and fella there told me it would melt if i put line through it too quickly

ummmmmm....the pulley would melt? Why? How? Almost no friction. He clearly didn't know what he was talking about.

You can get GREAT prusik rope at REI. Something in the 8-10mm range will work swell.

They didn't have the oscillante at REI? They can order in the CMI and you don't pay shipping if you get it at the store.

We wanna see more pics when you get it updated!

love
nick

 

[Ekka]

If you're interested in how the rope guide works. How to install it and retrieve it. What it's like to climb on in comparison to the cambium saver then I encourage you to watch a 9 min video.

The video is in 2 formats so dial up people can view, albeit a poorer quality picture but it will show you what it is and how it works.

Earlier in this thread I posted a pic of it.

http://***************/treehouse/viewtopic.php?t=2715&highlight=

Thanks
Eric

 

[Stumper]

Sizzle, Permit me to explain. Many of the pulleys are marked with the maximum load per side-10kN + 10kn equals 20kn. Usually the combined total is on the pulley up near the attachment point. The per side marking gives an acurate picture of the maximum load that can be moved at the failure point(it takes a 10 pull on one side to move a 10 load on the other) but the device strength is a combo of the 2. The little blue pulley isn't ANSI compliant to hang on but you will never ever break it with your bodyweight without the fall killing you(20 kn is almost 4500lbs). I use those for hitchtenders occassionally but usually in Z-rigs (3/1 block and tackle arrangement) for pull lines for tree felling. The pulley won't melt in use. The sales associate is a dufus. The pulley is nylon and melts at the same 440 degreeF temps as the Nylon ropes that rock climbers use.(And the purpose of pulleys is to reduce heat causing friction-Duh)

 

[pantheraba]

I've never heard of such a thing.

You must be joking.

Dan

TreeCo...are YOU joking? I don't follow what you are trying to say. Stumper gave a good explanation of the rating...here is a picture.