Ladders
- Thread starter Wolfart
- Start date
whitelackington
New member
Twenty years
would be a good time to replace them,
earier if they have started to degrade.
would be a good time to replace them,
earier if they have started to degrade.
nickwilliams
Well-known member
whitelackington said:
Have you got any rational engineering basis whatsoever for this statement?
whitelackington
New member
40 years of caving,nickwilliams said:
being in charge of retiring ladders and buying new ones.
All our equipment is recorded in a tackle history book,
when and where purchased, every time it is taken out of the tackle shed, its removal and return is recorded,
any defect or incident is recorded in the book and reported to the tacklemaster.
nickwilliams
Well-known member
So, we'll be seeing an article which provides a summary of the data and an explanation of your conclusions based on that data appearing in Caves and Karst Science shortly then, will we?
Bob Smith
Member
WL, perhaps you should specify the inspection regime that you use, (broken wire inspection techniques, galvanic corrosion inspection etc.) This is a pretty grey topic as it doesn't take into consideration quality of build or materials used, use and abuse etc. IIRC in an earlier someone (Bob Mehew perhaps?) mentioned the possibilty of an approved inspection course for such things. (In only 15 years of caving i have seen at least 5 ladders fail that were less than 5 years old!)
jasonbirder
Member
I've always worked on the principle that other peoples ladders and club ladders should be retired immediately they show any signs of wear - in the hope that I can offer to take them off their hands for the price of a drink or fish them out of the bin etc...Whereas my own personal ladders can carry on until they snap!
Christian_Chourot
New member
Can't we just expect any ladder to fail at any time and and just replace ladders when they fail, look obviously worn/dodgy or can afford to replace them? They're not safety critical pieces of kit since climbers should always be (and yes, mine always are) lifelined, so I don't see the same issues for ladders as I do for rope. Granted, being on a failing ladder can't be nice but I simply expect a ladder to be able to break on day one and make sure I use a lifeline.
Simple I think but who knows, maybe I'll readjust my thoughts when a ladder I'm on fails and I poo myself.
Are people who are more preoccupied about ladder life more likely to be using them unlifelined, or do they just not want to be on a ladder that fails?
Simple I think but who knows, maybe I'll readjust my thoughts when a ladder I'm on fails and I poo myself.
Are people who are more preoccupied about ladder life more likely to be using them unlifelined, or do they just not want to be on a ladder that fails?
whitelackington said:
For clarity: I dont think WL is refering to MCG ladders, he must be refering to one of his other clubs?
I have been in MCG since 1979. I can not recall MCG ever retiring a ladder, so some MCG ladders will be over 30 years old. They are still servicable.
Peter Burgess
New member
Is there a culture of
"I don't want to have to think about whether my ladders are OK so just tell me when I should throw them away".
instead of
"Let's use common sense, check the ladders carefully on a regular basis and use my own judgement".
Please introduce yourself to me if you are of the former persuasion as I will be happy to remove the responsibility of ownership from you.
"I don't want to have to think about whether my ladders are OK so just tell me when I should throw them away".
instead of
"Let's use common sense, check the ladders carefully on a regular basis and use my own judgement".
Please introduce yourself to me if you are of the former persuasion as I will be happy to remove the responsibility of ownership from you.
cap n chris
Well-known member
Since everyone will always be using a lifeline with their ladder, there's no problem in using them until they fail!
Graham is correct. I had a (purchased new) ladder fail after just over a year - in fact it was still shiny and new-looking on the day it snapped mid-way on one side.
Graham is correct. I had a (purchased new) ladder fail after just over a year - in fact it was still shiny and new-looking on the day it snapped mid-way on one side.
anfieldman
New member
cap 'n chris said:
Chris,
Was this before you became the new svelte Cap'n Chris??
cap 'n chris said:
The only problem with this being that you are then potentially all stuck at the bottom of a ladder pitch without a ladder hanging down. This is fine so long as you can then get yourselves back up again. I imagine most people could manage but, if not, it could be a long, cold wait ...
Despite this, I agree completely ... so long as you can hang two people from a ladder without it looking likely to snap, I'm happy to keep using it.
cap n chris
Well-known member
anfieldman said:cap 'n chris said:
Chris,
Was this before you became the new svelte Cap'n Chris??
I wasn't on it at the time. Dr. B was. Is there something you're trying to say?
anfieldman
New member
cap 'n chris said:anfieldman said:cap 'n chris said:
Chris,
Was this before you became the new svelte Cap'n Chris??
I wasn't on it at the time. Dr. B was. Is there something you're trying to say?
Moi? :halo:
