Gas and gear.

[matdand]

Some of the guys I work with have the habit of storing gear (mostly rigging ropes) in the chipper with the gas, oil, prestone, whatever. I tell them I dont think its a good idea, but Im not the boss so they do it anyway. Sometimes they even put their own climbing gear.

So am I paranoid or is this a bad habit to take?

 

[Jesse]

Bad habit for sure.

 

[qchugger]

The guys that do that are the reason we have such an incredibly high job-related injury rating as an industry. It is absolutely stupid to do that. Do these guys wear spikes in every tree they climb too?

 

[Blinky]

From what I've read, petroleum products don't have much effect on fibers like Nylon and Dacron but still, no way I'd do that with my gear... it's MY gear and it's mission critical, I respect it more than that.

 

[NeTree]

It's beyond stupid; it's absolutely retarded... and the cause of the only mishap I've ever taken at height.

A new groundie had placed a leaking oil jug in the gear box on top of my climb line; my rule is saws/gas/tools on one side, climbing/rigging gear goes on the other (separate boxed, in other words).

The following day, he'd removed it, and put it where it went, while never realizing the gravity of what he'd done.

As a result, on my next climbing job... the rope was oily in a spot, but it had soaked in. I noticed nothing when I unfurled the rope and climbed up. I hit about 60 feet or so, when all of the sudden, my hitch failed, and I went screaming down to the ground, and landed on my back... HARD. The operative part of the friction hitch is the FRICTION... and I had NADA. I walked away from it, but my hands were fried from trying to slow my descent, and I was bruised pretty good.


ALWAYS KEEP THEM SEPARATE!!!!!!

I tossed the rope and prussic cord. And the groundie, too.

 

[matdand]

Thanks guys! Ill try to convince them to kick the habit. I always keep my gear in the cab next to me and I rarely let anyone else even touch it.

(Oh and we only use spikes on removals)

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Blinky is right...the fibers are pretty durable and inert. Cat urine and battery vapors are super bad.

But...sloppy tool care is generally a reflection of sloppy work habits as far as I've seen.

 

[matdand]

Cat urine?

 

[NeTree]

High in ammonia and acids.

 

[Blinky]

I think nitric acid is a breakdown component of ammonia nitrate in urine. Acids are bad, my guess is oxidizers are kinda bad too.