Spring broke

Hey Steve, have you called Nick or Josh @TreeStuff to see if they can get one for you? I would think that this is not the 1st time this has happened before. If not let me know I could possibly send you mine as a loaner. I've got the Yellow, Blue, Green, & brand new Tactical Black. Best of luck!
 
I just happened to be looking for them at the exact time that they posted, the only one that I didn't wait for was the Tactical Black with Bearing Pulley, that one cost me $350, but I started out with a Blake's Hitch over 2 1/2 decades ago. So in response to the entire equality argument, I'm working from sunrise to some days well after sunset, weeks or end with no day off for several months at a time. Which means no Social life to speak of, besides the folks on AS, or the Buzz. My free time I spend it splicing all of my own ropes. Climbing & Rigging. I do understand where you're coming from, I thought I was going to starve to death when I first started in the trade. We all have our priorities in life, some have more drive than others. With no insult towards anyone that lives our lifestyle! I never look back, I look to the future!
 
I hear you my friend, I wish our gear didn't cost as much as it does, but everybody's got to get their piece of the preverbal pie! Some more then others. Insurance being the biggest challenge! Even the city has to get their cut. Permits required for just about everything! Total BS....
 
Steve Connally said:
Spring broke on gold runner. Opposite end from set screw. Help. Can I fix it? How? Need it for Jambo. I'm boning now but need runner for Jambo.
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I somehow missed this thread going by, Steve. What was the situation you were in at the time the spring broke, if you don't mind my asking? Were you up in a tree?

I guess I'm wondering if you've established a habit of making sure that the Rope Runner is fully engaged before you load it up with your weight, or not.

(Edit: Just like any climber using a hitch is supposed to verify that their hitch is engaging before removing their backup positioning lanyard.)

With that habit, the spring could break from one moment to the next, and you'd probably still be ok. Without that habit, the Rope Runner could drop you, correct?

Thanks in advance for any answers you choose to give.

Tim
 
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I tried to imbed a gif of kitty from arrested development yelling spring break, but failed. Sorry everyone. I am ashamed.:tonto:
 
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How da fuck do you break a runner spring..I once stretched one replacing a bollard ....still worked mint but Bing sent me a couple spares... good man that Bing
 
@swingdude; I would guess that metal fatigue could happen sooner or later. Everything breaks down eventually. I would guess that a spring, being a dynamic, moving component, might break down a lot faster than metal that is just asked to sit in place doing its job, like a metal side piece on the Rope Runner. Also, it might be possible to get a spring in which the quality of the metal is not what it should be, for some reason. A quality control problem, let us say.

Bottom line, yoyoman produced a video that showed how the Runner acts without a spring present at all, and how it can be set to engage manually and still work in spite of the missing spring. Developing the habit of ensuring that the Rope Runner is engaged on the rope, just like a hitch, can prevent a fall, if the spring were to break while up in a tree, and a climber failed to notice that it had happened.

A broken spring might not be a really obvious thing, visually.

Tim
 
And yes, Bing is a really good man, and an amazing inventor, who almost single handedly is responsible for starting the shift of tree climbers to SRT. The Rope Runner is an amazing invention. Users just have to be aware of how it works, and practice good, safe techniques in its use.

Tim
 
It just broke fatigue I guess. Broke at the end where it enters the bollard. Just a few years of hard use! I am fastidious about checking and rechecking before I load life support. After an ascent I went to position for taking my off my tether and it just didn't look rite. So I manually set it and then slacked it to see what was what. It stayed limp so I looked and the spring was broken. I finished the tree and switched to the bdb for the rest of the day. I wasn't remotely worried about it but hyper aware. If I wasn't aware I might drop until it caught but I'm certain I wouldn't take a fast trip to the ground. I can't imagine a life support device relying on a millimeter of bent soft metal. It's just a convenience not a death trap.
 
I use my runners hard especially my fav one...I think that spring was faulty...I have an old pantin I use nearly everyday ...for almost 4 years...well some breaks in there...ot is way thinner and its function more intense...still strong..my black OG...is beat up but spring is good....oh shit replaced that my bad...I will shut up...no big deal..
 
Steve Connally said:
It just broke fatigue I guess. Broke at the end where it enters the bollard. Just a few years of hard use! I am fastidious about checking and rechecking before I load life support. After an ascent I went to position for taking my off my tether and it just didn't look rite. So I manually set it and then slacked it to see what was what. It stayed limp so I looked and the spring was broken. I finished the tree and switched to the bdb for the rest of the day. I wasn't remotely worried about it but hyper aware. If I wasn't aware I might drop until it caught but I'm certain I wouldn't take a fast trip to the ground. I can't imagine a life support device relying on a millimeter of bent soft metal. It's just a convenience not a death trap.
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Steve, no disrespect. Plus, I'm still not an owner of the Rope Runner, so I have no way to directly test what I think is the case. Having said that, I found @yoyoman's video on the subject fairly convincing. Maybe he could chime in with his opinion.

I think that your habit of being "fastidious about checking and rechecking before I load life support" may be the thing that saved you from a serious injury. Your "Gift of Fear" as it were. It would be time and trouble, but maybe someone who owns a Rope Runner could set up a safe test environment, in which something like a sand bag was attached to a Rope Runner at the same point a climber would be. With a nice soft landing pad at the bottom. Using a Rope Runner that has had its spring completely removed. Compress the Runner at the top of the rope, so that it is not gripping the rope in any way at the start of the test. Then let it drop, and see if it catches on the way down, or if it falls all of the way down to the soft landing pad. It would be encouraging to find out that it only dropped a couple of feet before grabbing the rope and stopping the descent of the sand bag. It would also be nice to know if that does not happen.

This second to last line of your post, "I can't imagine a life support device relying on a millimeter of bent soft metal" may in fact be the case. If so, you need to check the Rope Runner's grip on the rope every time, just like you would a hitch. That is all that I am saying.

Tim

P.S. Here is the link to the Richard Mumford video I was referencing about the Rope Runner.


Also, another video he made about the importance of a spring in multiple devices. It raised a point that I had never even considered, which is how weightlessness affects things. (Like when you are standing on a branch, and it suddenly breaks out from under you.) Well worth watching.

 
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