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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

Author
When to replace a belay device

neats
28-Apr-2005
9:35:11 AM
My belay device is working fine, the plastic over the wire attachement however has a number of pinches on it. This has resulted in the plastic coating being split open leaving the wire exposed (normal wear and tear me thinks).

The wire itself is not damaged, but i guess its just a matter of time... Is the plastic bit able to be replaced? Is it worth replacing it? or should I just buy a new belay device??

Any thoughts would be helpful, thanks.

manacubus
28-Apr-2005
9:40:30 AM
All the plastic on my devices is long gone. This doesn't affect the safety of the device. It would only be a concern if the wire cabling started to get spiky (like the wires on very old and abused nuts).

Rich
28-Apr-2005
11:07:46 AM
i have a spare i'll sell u for 15 bucks neats, barely used.
dalai
28-Apr-2005
11:32:54 AM
Keep using it Neats. ATC's etc will still work fine without the wire also if the wire gets too damaged.

Just when belaying seconds, you need to be more aware of the device that it doesn't slip down the rope/s. Similar to the old sprung stitch plates without using the additional keeper cord.

hangdoggy
28-Apr-2005
3:23:31 PM
i bought an ATC for my wife, on which the wire snapped on one side......i snapped it off completely drilled out the rivits and replaced it with accesory cord...
the wire serves no structual purpose to the act of belaying other then to keep the device close and not let it creep up the rope..

sticky
28-Apr-2005
4:06:09 PM
The only problem I used to have with my old Wild Country VC was that once the wire was stripped bare it was much more flexible than the insulated wire - invariably on rappel it would flex inwards and 'pinch' between the rope and the belay device body (hard to explain).

The result was a jerky, horrible abseil, and when it got caught when belaying, a jerky feed out of slack.

I got a new belay device (different brand) and no more worries.

ShinToe Warrior
28-Apr-2005
4:14:36 PM
just out of interest, what belay device did you get as a replacement?

Rich
29-Apr-2005
1:16:04 AM
only prob i could envisage is the wire getting caught and sucked up in the ropes when rapping as happens sometimes. if the wire is torn a bit, well u can imagine the rest.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
29-Apr-2005
8:17:52 AM
sticky
>- invariably on rappel it would flex inwards and 'pinch' between the rope and the belay device body
Rich
>wire getting caught and sucked up in the ropes when rapping as happens sometimes

The problem is easily solved by clipping an extra krab through the rope loop in the device but NOT back into the harness, so that its kind of 'free floating'.
This helps fill the space so nothing gets sucked in and also takes away the jerkyness of abseil ropes pinching off too quickly.
I do this as standard practice on my old sticht plate.

sticky
29-Apr-2005
1:06:36 PM
On 28/04/2005 ShinToe Warrior wrote:
>just out of interest, what belay device did you get as a replacement?

BD ATC-XP. Works a dream.

M8, yeah, could've done the extra krab thing, but simple works better for me. I don't like clutter when I'm rapping.

cheers
Kyle

ShinToe Warrior
29-Apr-2005
2:11:16 PM
On 29/04/2005 sticky wrote:
>BD ATC-XP. Works a dream.

Have you used ropes of different diameters with it, and if so how does it affect rapping/belaying? does it
work better with certain ropes over others?

neats
29-Apr-2005
2:32:03 PM
Thanks for the advice everyone!!

Rich
29-Apr-2005
3:31:08 PM
On 29/04/2005 ShinToe Warrior wrote:
>On 29/04/2005 sticky wrote:
>>BD ATC-XP. Works a dream.
>
>Have you used ropes of different diameters with it, and if so how does
>it affect rapping/belaying? does it
>work better with certain ropes over others?

it works the same as an atc except it has a go-slow side with friction bars on it... as with all devices, the thinner the rope, the faster it goes.

kezza
29-Apr-2005
11:36:25 PM
If you are really concerned that the wire will get damaged without the plastic covering, there is always the option of covering it with some sort of tape. The plastic on my belay device has split, but hasn't come right off yet, I was just planning to put tape around it so it wouldn't get dirt and other tiny objects in between the wirey bits etc I mean it's not like the plastic is anything special, PLUS tape fiixes everything!!
...
Kerryn

neats
2-May-2005
7:43:45 AM
Great idea Kezza!

IdratherbeclimbingM9
2-May-2005
2:08:49 PM
kezza said;
>PLUS tape fiixes everything!!
(sic)
Better than tape for this application is liquid rubber. You can buy cans of it called 'Redskin' in some hardware stores. Comes in a variety of colours, paint it on and let it dry. Has 1000s of uses ... including excellent for marking gear (non corrosive etc).

Other suitable fixes include;-
Skateboarders use a clear gel to 'repair'/stop-wear on shoes. Dries to a flexible tough finish.
Surfers use similar to repair Surf & Boogy boards etc

kezza
2-May-2005
10:30:32 PM
I'm sold, that's quite impressive.. liquid rubber it is..
---
Kerryn

There are 17 messages in this topic.

 

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