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ijg0
Guest
Just ordered some rope from Bernies (60m Semi Static Marlow). All our other club ropes have the length marked at the end on some sort of tape. What is the best way of doing this? Is it just electical tape :?:
underground
Active member
We used electrical tape plus a sleeve of clear heat shrink tubing to cover it up... the pen still washed off though
SamT
Moderator
Industry standard technique that.
leave a little bit of rope (say 5 - 10mm) poking out the end - helps keep the heat shrink sleeve from slipping off the end.
Mark it up with club/owners name, the length (best to be a bit conservative e.g. mark a 16m rope up as 15). and the date the rope was purchased - will help in the future to decide whether your rope is past it or not.
D
Dave H
Guest
I also add a rope number, so that it is easy to log what trips it's been used on, and how many people have used it.
I still 'retire' them when they are three years old, are hairy, or have taken a fall on them. Comparing the trip list and amount of 'hairyness' suggests that you shouldn't allow people who abseil fast to use your rope if it is a bit dirty.
When I retire the ropes, I either cut them into short lengths and take them to the tip, or replace the marker with a large red one (one each end) clearly stating that they are not for SRT use.
Rather than writing the label, I print mine on the glossy inkjet (plastic) paper, before covering them with the heat-shrink and I've had no legibility problems.
I still 'retire' them when they are three years old, are hairy, or have taken a fall on them. Comparing the trip list and amount of 'hairyness' suggests that you shouldn't allow people who abseil fast to use your rope if it is a bit dirty.
When I retire the ropes, I either cut them into short lengths and take them to the tip, or replace the marker with a large red one (one each end) clearly stating that they are not for SRT use.
Rather than writing the label, I print mine on the glossy inkjet (plastic) paper, before covering them with the heat-shrink and I've had no legibility problems.
We used a labbeling machine a few years ago and now that the member who owned it has left our ropes are back to the traditional insulating tape and marker method.
We used to put on, length, Rope ID, Club, and Date, but now we don't put on the date after we were forced to throw away 2 3 yr old 100m ropes because they were older than the manufacturers guidelines yet had been used 3 times each.
Now we keep the date of ropes a little more in-club and make more of the logging of rope use.
Ian B.
We used to put on, length, Rope ID, Club, and Date, but now we don't put on the date after we were forced to throw away 2 3 yr old 100m ropes because they were older than the manufacturers guidelines yet had been used 3 times each.
Now we keep the date of ropes a little more in-club and make more of the logging of rope use.
Ian B.
The Leaflet that comes with Marlow, (going off memory here) says 3 years guaranteed rope life if maintained perfectly and a shelf life of 5 years. We had two ropes that had neen used twice so went from being unused shelf life to use life and 2 years less usage time.
Ian B.
Ian B.
Stu
Active member
ianball11 said:
Ok, what follows is only advice!
You can knack a rope in a day give it enough grief... it could last 20 years (and some have). The "guarantees" each manufacturer gives are different in each case ( I have a bunch of literature from different companies as I do some sourcing). Most will agree over a pint that a life should last 10 years with no usage and that when used an expectancy of five years normal use is not uncommon i.e. use it from new - five years. Leave it bagged for nine years, get it out of bag, rope will last one year!. Make sense?
That's why it seemed a bit low and the statement about five year shelf life may have meant just that and somehow was misread, but I don't know and I don't want a fight about it!!
If you're in charge of club ropes get yourself a copy of how to do a drop test (plenty in the books and the net). It's a fall factor 1. Find out what the Fall Factor 1 pass mark is for your ropes e.g. two falls, take a sample of your rope (just over two metres - worth the sacrifice) and do a test. Make sure your rig is MASSIVE and have a sharp knife to hand! If the rope passes and the sheath/core integrity is good (visual and handling tests) AND you know the history and usage of the rope... carry on using and monitor.
I personally wouldn't necessarily chuck a two years old rope out if it passed a drop test and it had been used very little. Let's face it 100m ropes get used for one thing - big abs. Not too hard a life there.
THIS IS OPINION!!!
D
diggerdog adam
Guest
Ive tryed all ways of marking ropes and to date the best so far has to be the dog tag !
Simply melt a neat hole through the tail of the rope use a stainless steel key ring and attach the stainless dog tag costs about £1.50 to get it engraved from pet shop or if you have a dremel D.I.Y Never looked back
Simply melt a neat hole through the tail of the rope use a stainless steel key ring and attach the stainless dog tag costs about £1.50 to get it engraved from pet shop or if you have a dremel D.I.Y Never looked back
stu said:
Quite agree dude, but we don't tecnically own the kit, the students' union do, which is fair enough they pay for it, and so they stick to what they get told by the manufacturer.
We don't drop test very often at all, hmm, something we should do more often. In fact I can think of a rope drum that has not been tested in three years.
Ian B.
Stu
Active member
ianball11 said:
Amended the detail because I got the FF wrong
, but the gist is the same.Re: not owning the ropes. Your point is valid, I would probably do it anyway though. The Uni will expect the kit they buy to be used and maintained in an appropriate manner. After all you use it, they don't clean it (not in an unfair world anyway!)... drop testing is easily within that category.
cap n chris
Well-known member
If, instead of a dog tag, you tied a 100kg+ lump of engraved granite on the end, you could lower that end down the pitch first, thread the other end through the hangers and then abseil down the free end and then pull it back through the hangers (or maillons, to reduce wear and tear); the dog tag problem is thus easily solved.
cap n chris
Well-known member
BTW the granite is engraved with the rope length. You'd probably need a heavy duty bag and strong person to carry it though.
D
diggerdog adam
Guest
Only ever done 1 pull through trip, and i must say we had no problem the rope end is so much more fexible than having a inch and a half of tough srink tube.
But thanks lads any way i can see where your coming from
I guess that dog tags come in all shapes n sizes so prob best to get a bit of old rope fit the tag take it down a cave and satisifly your self
All i can say is it works for us !
But thanks lads any way i can see where your coming from
I guess that dog tags come in all shapes n sizes so prob best to get a bit of old rope fit the tag take it down a cave and satisifly your self
All i can say is it works for us !
cap n chris
Well-known member
Apologies for being silly.
D
diggerdog adam
Guest
i was getting worried then how do you engrave granite !
