Northwest Wire Rope Ltd.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or inquiries. |
Check out these links to find out more about rope.
Rope Life Factors For Your Safety
Know you Knots or Hitches
Discard Point - when to retire your rope
Knots Can Reduce Rope Strength
Use Rope Properly
Storage of Rope
Use Rope Properly
Do not abuse or shock load it, observe recommended usage factors for bending and work loads. Keep ropes clean and eliminate abrasion whenever possible.
Working Loads: Working loads are the loads that a rope is subjected to in everyday activity. They are normally expressed as a percentage of new rope strength and should not exceed 10%. A point to remember is that a rope may be severely overloaded or shock loaded in use without breaking. However, damage and strength loss may have occurred without any visible indication. The next time the rope is used under normal working loads the acquired weakness causes it to break. Do not blame the rope, it was simply overloaded and failed from what is known as fatigue.
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Recommended Work Load Limit:
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(Arborist Ropes)
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Rope Use
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Braided
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Twisted
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Climbing Line
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10%
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10%
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Rigging Rope
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10%
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10%
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Bending: Any sharp bend in a rope, under load, decreases its strength substantially and may cause premature damage and failure.
Knots and Hitches: While it is true that a knot reduces rope strength, it is also true that a knot is a convenient way to attach a rope to tree limbs and other ropes. The strength loss is a result of the tight bends that occur in the knot. With some knots ropes can loose up to 50% of their strength which is part of the reason the work load limit should not exceed 10% of the rope strength.
Rope Storage Keep your ropes as clean and dry as possible and store them in a coil away from heat sources. Many climbers keep their ropes in special rope bags which keeps them clean and makes them easy to identify at the job site.
Shock Loads: Shock loads are simply a sudden change in tension - from a state of relaxation or low load to one of high load, Any sudden load that exceeds the work load by more than 10% is considered a shock load. The further an object falls, the greater the impact. Synthetic fibers have a memory and retain the effects of being overloaded or shock loaded and can fail at a later time even though loaded within the work load range.
120 Fry Street
Nanaimo, B.C.
Canada
V9R 4Y9
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