Simon Wilson
New member
I've been using the Camp Turbo Chest for three months now and it's starting to show some wear but it's wearing in a way that I didn't expect.
There is some minor wear in the bottom of the rope channel and there is some minor wear of the cam. The wear to the cam is less than I would expect for a Croll and I think that is probably because the cam is made of a better material.
I have noticed that sometimes the rollers don't turn. The strange thing is that when this happens the rollers appear quite free. I step up and they don't roll but if I assist them with a finger they do. This happens with newer and cleaner rope.
Once a Turbochest has been used for caving it is bound to get particles interfering with the free running of the rollers. So even if they seem quite free they are not quite as free as they could be and that is unavoidable in normal caving use.
So even when they are as free running as can be the low friction of new cleanish* rope is not enough to overcome the friction of the bearings. You would expect that the abrasion of new cleanish rope to be low and to cause very little wear but wear is showing on the rollers. There are several flat spots on the top roller. When the rollers are new they have a nominal diameter of 8.00mm and are within about 0.02mm. The top roller on my Turbochest is now worn down to 7.71mm at the smallest point. I think that if other parts don't wear out first, eventually the biggest flat will be favoured and could get big enough that the roller never runs. The flats are hard to see except when you roll it so I made a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNfnbLKFLSk&feature=youtu.be
* Before anybody gives me any more crap about keeping ropes clean - my ropes regularly go in the washing machine. No matter how clean you think you keep your rope it will be abrasive. One of the worst abrasives is aluminium oxide on the rope from abseiling.
There is some minor wear in the bottom of the rope channel and there is some minor wear of the cam. The wear to the cam is less than I would expect for a Croll and I think that is probably because the cam is made of a better material.
I have noticed that sometimes the rollers don't turn. The strange thing is that when this happens the rollers appear quite free. I step up and they don't roll but if I assist them with a finger they do. This happens with newer and cleaner rope.
Once a Turbochest has been used for caving it is bound to get particles interfering with the free running of the rollers. So even if they seem quite free they are not quite as free as they could be and that is unavoidable in normal caving use.
So even when they are as free running as can be the low friction of new cleanish* rope is not enough to overcome the friction of the bearings. You would expect that the abrasion of new cleanish rope to be low and to cause very little wear but wear is showing on the rollers. There are several flat spots on the top roller. When the rollers are new they have a nominal diameter of 8.00mm and are within about 0.02mm. The top roller on my Turbochest is now worn down to 7.71mm at the smallest point. I think that if other parts don't wear out first, eventually the biggest flat will be favoured and could get big enough that the roller never runs. The flats are hard to see except when you roll it so I made a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNfnbLKFLSk&feature=youtu.be
* Before anybody gives me any more crap about keeping ropes clean - my ropes regularly go in the washing machine. No matter how clean you think you keep your rope it will be abrasive. One of the worst abrasives is aluminium oxide on the rope from abseiling.