Ring Failure

Life support gear should be 100% inspected by the manufacturer and tested to half it's rated strength. That should rule out most bad welds. Anybody welding TIG knows what they're doing.
 
Received this email from WesSpur today.
I purchased a few rings this spring.
I made a friction saver with two and one into my SRT system.

I havent used them since alerted to a problem here on the Buzz.
Now I'm waiting for some answers.

Received from Wesspur:
Aluminum Rings Important InformationMonday,
August 31, 2009 5:32 PM
From: "Nathan" <nathan@wesspur.com>
Dear XXXXX,

Recently we have discovered that 2 Aluminum rings used in tree climbing systems have broken under what is considered to be normal use and in one case immediately after inspection. The rings involved were unmarked aluminum polished rings and were not purchased from WesSpur.

We have decided to notify all of our customers who have purchased any of the following:

CLI902 Aluminum Ring, Small

CLI911 Aluminum Ring, Large

CLI211 Friction Saver Prusik (includes an aluminum ring)

We are still gathering information about the rings, why they broke, where they were made, and if any of ours came from the same manufacturer. We are also trying to identify any other gear that may use the rings in question. In the mean time we want anyone using aluminum rings to be aware of the recent failures. Because failure can be fatal we think it would be prudent to stop using these products until we can determine the facts.

Once we have more information we will notify you and keep you up to date on any findings. If you have a ring that you wish to return we will gladly accept them, no matter what the condition as long as you purchased them from WesSpur. We will credit you for mailing costs up to $5.00 plus the cost of the ring or prusik friction saver. We can help arrange shipping if necessary, just call us at 800-268-2141. Our mailing address is 1680 Baker Creek Place, Bellingham, WA 98226. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at 800-268-2141 or email ryan@wesspur.com

Best regards,

Ryan Aarstol

WesSpur Tree Equipment <font color="blue"> </font>
 
T.I.G. is nothing special, being a former certified welder, I have met pro T.I.G. welders who could barely tie their shoes let alone make any sort of consistent weld.

As far a Kong goes, I've never bought any Kong's products before, they all look too weak for tree work, maybe rock climbing. I'll stick with good manufactures like Buckingham, Samson, and a little bit of Petzl.

And if I ever find any part of them that says Made in China then I might just roll up in a little ball under the tree I'm too afraid to climb because of my gear.
 
Look familiar? It's made by King Snaps.

Product-2008410182310.jpg


Kinda reminds me of the ISC Snaphook...

That's another nail in ISC's coffin for me. I wish they'd step up and show me I'm wrong.
 
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T.I.G. is nothing special, being a former certified welder, I have met pro T.I.G. welders who could barely tie their shoes let alone make any sort of consistent weld.

[...]

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So any idiot that can turn on a bottle of gas and flip a switch can weld with TIG? I'm asking because while I'm not a welder, my brother is, been doing power plants for over 20 years. He seems to think TIG is kinda special. Says it was a tough cert to get. He's not too bad at tying shoes... pretty good at high pressure SS pipe too.

I'll take the welded ring over cast aluminum any day.
 
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We had him checked out at the local ER and he was back in time to see the tail end of the Masters.

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Not quite. I was just a separate event volunteer judge. I know the climber and saw him after the fall. He looked a bit woozy. 1. I asked him if he wanted to go to the ER and drove him. There were no "official" checks to the ER. I think that a trip to the ER should be mandatory after a fall like his, not left to his discretion.

Also, the first thing the nurse did after hearing him say "neck pain" was to fit him with a neck brace.

2. I think that the protocol for emergency care was a bit lax. I think that in all the excitement, the ring took precedence over the climber.

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1. Great call Chris.

2. Chapter events should probably follow ISA's lead and have an emergency plan for each event. If a climber falls 3' or greater, a trip to the ER is mandatory. The climber's safety and well being must always be paramount.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Look familiar? It's made by King Snaps.

Product-2008410182310.jpg


Kinda reminds me of the ISC Snaphook...

That's another nail in ISC's coffin for me. I wish they'd step up and show me I'm wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why is the minimum breaking strength 27KN while the proof is only 16KN, shouldn't the proof be above 22KN to be legal for treework?
 
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It is a hard cert to get, but can you tell if those rings are welded by a certified welder or not? Do they have certified slave labour in China?



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You have a point there.
 
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Serious matter indeed fellas and the type of incident that strains confidence for sure.

I have it from a knowledgeable source that the ring was NOT a Petzl product but rather added to the bridge of this 4th generation climber's saddle. As described to me it fits the description of the ring we are recalling and many an arborist supplier has peddled.

As some may know I posted a voluntary recall August 8th, within hours of hearing of a previous incident. Attached here is the latest version with better photos. If someone has the described ring (non-colored, polished aluminum ring without inscribed load rating) who didn't buy it from us, send it to us anyway and we'll provide a free replacement. These need to be off the street and fast.

Please feel free to download this attachment and send it to anyone you think might be in harms way.

sincerely,

Tobe Sherrill

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Hey Tobe I have a friction saver purchased from my nearest vermeer dealer, its the one that has yellow webbing with green or orange webbing on and an aluminum ring at each end.

These have no visible markings on them, but they're also painted grey, do I need to worry about them?
 
Yeah what you described sounds like buckinghams friction saver. The ones in question came from Kong. Better safe to ask, then find out the hard way
 
For record's sake:

All hardware that is used in the Teufelberger products that Treemagineers are involved with is produced by DMM in Wales. Also, on the more recent rings you will see there is an individual number laser etched into the coating allowing complete tracability of the component.

Working with producers we know and feel happy with, who produce under conditions we are familiar with has always been a key target for us. Obviously this doesn't mean there can't be problems or issues but it makes these easier to sort.

One core issue to this whole matter of failing PPE is continuous quality control, rather than individual testing. You could also batch test every nth karabiner or whatever, so long as you have a quality assurance scheme in place.
 
Could someone please explain to me how this issue will be addressed by OSHA, and ANSI. As I am NOT an American, the standards are unknown to me.

It is odvious that there must be a loop-hole which allows retailers to market UN-RATED gear!

I am NOT pointing fingers at anyone, BUT a lot of Canadian arborist are buying gear from the USA. Our Standards are difficult to figure out as we don't have a body like ANSI, unless you count the CSA (Canadian Standards Association). It is almost impossible to find a saddle that meets CSA standard. The loop-hole is (in some places) that IF the gear meets CE standards, it MAY be used.

Thats MY understanding anyway! I agree with countryboy, In a tree isn't the place you want to worry about your life support gear.
 
I was judging the event when the climber's ring failed and I can see how it would have appeared that priority was given to the failure and not our climber. I'm sorry for that but I insist it was not. I saw the shock, disbelief...then anger and knew I was not qualified to deal with it especially when he rose to his feet so I sent for our in house e.m.t. (I use the acronym whincingly because I know he's far stronger crudentialed than that). It was NOT a good idea to help him up and ask him a lot of "are you alright?" "what happened?" type of questions. Keeping this climber down was also NOT an option so my next course of action was to get someone qualified over there and not bombard him. Thank you Rescue Rat for your role at MTCC. I was also glad for the calm that the climber displayed under the circumstances. I know people who would STILL be at the base of that tree stomping back and forth, completely unapproachable. The crowd was very patient also. Hats off to MTCC. I'm proud to be a part of it. WHIZ
 
The following Monday at safety meeting we all pulled up our aluminium rings. The rings on my friction savers were hammered. One made my heart stop. I'm switching out to new and stamped...and I'll inspect regularly
 
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