Leaving equipment for the next day

Jesse

Jesse

Location
Lexington, KY- USA
On friday I was removing two large eucalyptus trees. The job is scheduled for two days worth of work. The first tree I started on had four leads and I left the tallest as a rigging point for the second tree. At the end of the day there was still part of the second tree left and the rigging point was still necessary for monday. No worries of the gear being stolen (back yard locked no traffic) but what about the rain (it did rain too). How bad is it for the ropes and slings to suffer through a rain storm over the weekend and then be put to the test monday morning? Is it worth the time it saves? No chance of freezing in this case (I am in northern California).
 
Some ropes are weaker when they're wet. Off the top of my head I can't recall why. I'll poke around my notes and see if I can find out.

Maybe Nick or someone will weigh in here and enlighten us.
 
I'll guess that to the extent that any fibers may/do absorb moisture, said internal moisture may well provide enough resistance to the fiber's "normal" range of motion so as to effectively weaken them. Unless the water was subsequently frozen or the fibers were sufficiently loaded (as in toward the limits of their normal capacity) it probably wouldn't amount to much detriment. But consider how the fibers would usually stretch and squeeze more tightly together as they become loaded. If there were sufficient hydraulic impedance, that motion could be limited while the water is being squeezed out. To the extent that occurs, it could make the fibers "feel" like they were being stretched/squeezed-together to their limit sooner/quicker than usual, hence they would act with less elasticity.

orrr something like that... :)
 
i think that after cooling from production nylon is about never dry. Nylon soaks up more water than any other synthetic line; and seems always thirsty. Polyester doesn't stretch as far, nor soak up nearly as much water. Lower stretch for sailor pulling would lend towrds the polyester that is less problematic with water i think; perhaps that is where Butch's experience hails from.

i believe the swelled fibers give more internal friction to weaken, are easier to abrade, tear/cut thru easier; plus for all that you have to carry more weight! Some repellers used to soak lines to keep friction hardware cooler years back, but that stopped i believe. Now they are trying to make 'dry coatings' for the fibers to maintain lighter and stronger lines in mountain/ rescue.

Water isn't all bad, it can wash ropes and be then they can 'dry'. This can better equalize elasticity, tighten cover (to let less dirt in) etc. when 'dry'.

Like Glen said; err something like that

edit; o uh like Dan said..
 
i hate roping with a wet rope. you dont have near the control, the rope "grabs" the lowering device. if i need to leave rigging lines ill usually pull a throw line up for the night
 
also me ...I prefer lay a throw line for the night.
I think that water is not dangerous...may be capture more dust mwhen the rope is wet...one time ten years ago we had a bad experience with ice...the rope in the morning was frozen..and we cannot use...
 
SPAM

I've left a pull line and returned the next day to see it cut off as high up as a person could reach.
 
I generally prefer leaving a throwline but I've left lines in trees for 3 or 4 days before. I pull my primary lifeline down though because I don't want it out of my possession... ever.

I don't like working with wet lines either, my knots don't behave the way I want them to.
 
Wet lines tend to be a fact of life around here, but I have worried about rodents nibbling on my slings and things when I leave them overnight. Often I've opted not to leave my stuff in a tree just because I can't see it from the ground and therefore can't inspect it before I ascend the next day or after the weekend.
 
I have some 3mm and 6mm rope of various lengths which I occasionally leave in a tree, always hitched up high to make it hard for a kid to get to. I hate the idea that a kid could come to grief on a line I've left in a tree.

I like to stay flexible enough to be able to attend an urgent job fast if at all possible so I like having my climbing lines with me all the time. Plus I like to know everything I can about the life my climbing rope.
 
Re: wet strength loss- It is simply a fact of life with nylon-Nylon monofilament fishing lines lose strength via water absorption There are no fiber friction factors in play in that case. The loss is from 7%-20% and never should be a factor in utilizing the rope in normal loadings. Polyester, polypropylene, and HDPE don't absorb significant moisture and are essentially unaffected by water.
As for leaving stuff in a tree... I do so rarely. If leaving a rope I like to coil all excess and then hang the coil out of normal reach where it can easily be unhooked with a polesaw.
 
In some areas it can be illegal to leave a line in a tree unattended and you could be liable if someone gets hurts trying to use it, but more important, what if a squirrel or some animal decided to nibble on it while you're gone?

We have a rule all gear and out of the tree if we're not there (if it's a hard to get to point sometimes we'll leave a cheap string like mason line over night in the tree and then pull the rope back up).
 
i've left rigging lines/blocks in a tree overnight, and also have pulled up a throwline. never thought about the squirrel factor though. hmm. as for wet ropes - i'll just say that this is the time of year i start to dread that nasty skanky smell of seattle tree work in winter. after really soaking wet days the ropes get hung near the furnace but just as often they sit in the gear box damp until the stink is so bad we can't stand it and then i toss them in the wash. i worry more about the amount of cold muddy water my friction hitch will squeegee into my armpit (under rain gear!), than strength loss.

i love my job.. i love my job.. i love my job..
k.
 
[ QUOTE ]
i've left rigging lines/blocks in a tree overnight, and also have pulled up a throwline. never thought about the squirrel factor though. hmm. as for wet ropes - i'll just say that this is the time of year i start to dread that nasty skanky smell of seattle tree work in winter. after really soaking wet days the ropes get hung near the furnace but just as often they sit in the gear box damp until the stink is so bad we can't stand it and then i toss them in the wash. i worry more about the amount of cold muddy water my friction hitch will squeegee into my armpit (under rain gear!), than strength loss.

i love my job.. i love my job.. i love my job..
k.

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny
 
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