voxac30dude
ArboristSite Operative
i wanna try using a munter hitch on a carabiner for smaller branches on pruning jobs. does it work ok?
has anyone ever used a munter hitch for lowering branches?
- Thread starter voxac30dude
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treeoperations
ArboristSite Operative
i have done it, youve got to get a fair bit of weight on to it to make it run smoothly i wouldnt reccomend it.
802climber
ArboristSite Operative
You may want to consider a rescue 8 / figure 8 for this.
Or a mini porta-wrap?
Or a mini porta-wrap?
JeffL
ArboristSite Guru
Yes, I've done it slinging off 3-4 limbs in Norway Spruce at a time, and lowering them to the ground using a single ground guy. I'd sling them off to a rigging plate, with a soft locked rope running a munter hitch off a limb, and cut and lower bundles of branches so all he had to do was unchoke the straps and drag the brush, I did the rest.
Dave
ArboristSite Guru
I use the Munter frequently for stuff up to 100 lbs or so. Very quick and easy.
voxac30dude
ArboristSite Operative
i know it will work and all but what i wanna know, is it practical? i dont have a porta wrap right now but am going to buy one soon. i know it puts heat and wear on the rope but will it get me by for small stuff until then?
imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
how big are we talking here, and what rope?
For situations where you cant just drop the branches for whatever reason, and they need to be lowered, I carry a bunch of slings with me up in the tree. Depending on the size of the job maybe about a dozen. They are cheap. I use 10~11mm static ropes. What I'll usually do for smaller stuff up to about 3" is put a sling around 4 or 5 branches, cinch it off real tight, then clip them all on to my drop rope thats run up through a carabiner slinged to the tree a bit higher up. Ground crew is holding the other end, I cut off all the branches, then while they are lowering, unhooking and sorting out, I sling the next bunch of branches. They send the slings back up on the same rope by the time I'm done with this, so i grab my slings, clip the rope in and away we go again. I rig this rope off an anchor point seperate to my own tie in.
As things start to get bigger I reduce the number of branches, until it gets right down to 1. If the crew is needing to use any force at all to hold the weight, i rig the rope at the top anchor through a friction device - usually an ATC style device rather than an 8. 8's tend to twist the rope too much. These are cheap as chips, give heaps of control, and will still run with not too much weight on. A lot of devices wont work with a light load.
I'd say forget the hitch, its a pain in the ass. If you've got 10mm rope then grab an ATC style device or any of the one million knock offs out there for about $10, a carabiner, and you're set. You can use this device for rapelling also. Try to go with one with a wider edge on it for heat dissipation, but with all these style devices you wont want to send down screamers. JUst take it slow.
Shaun
For situations where you cant just drop the branches for whatever reason, and they need to be lowered, I carry a bunch of slings with me up in the tree. Depending on the size of the job maybe about a dozen. They are cheap. I use 10~11mm static ropes. What I'll usually do for smaller stuff up to about 3" is put a sling around 4 or 5 branches, cinch it off real tight, then clip them all on to my drop rope thats run up through a carabiner slinged to the tree a bit higher up. Ground crew is holding the other end, I cut off all the branches, then while they are lowering, unhooking and sorting out, I sling the next bunch of branches. They send the slings back up on the same rope by the time I'm done with this, so i grab my slings, clip the rope in and away we go again. I rig this rope off an anchor point seperate to my own tie in.
As things start to get bigger I reduce the number of branches, until it gets right down to 1. If the crew is needing to use any force at all to hold the weight, i rig the rope at the top anchor through a friction device - usually an ATC style device rather than an 8. 8's tend to twist the rope too much. These are cheap as chips, give heaps of control, and will still run with not too much weight on. A lot of devices wont work with a light load.
I'd say forget the hitch, its a pain in the ass. If you've got 10mm rope then grab an ATC style device or any of the one million knock offs out there for about $10, a carabiner, and you're set. You can use this device for rapelling also. Try to go with one with a wider edge on it for heat dissipation, but with all these style devices you wont want to send down screamers. JUst take it slow.
Shaun
voxac30dude
ArboristSite Operative
im gonna use a 150' 7/16 double braid rope to lower small 2-4 inch diameter branches by about 4-6 feet long sections and none will be shock loading the line. it's all gonna be run from a pully girth hitched to the tree high up and then a munter hitch on a caribiner on the base of the tree with a sling attaching the biner. the tree is a eucalyptus robusta.
Burley Boys
ArboristSite Lurker
munter
will work fine. obv better to have it set up at the base of the tree and use a pulley at the top, the the groundie can set it for you and work it (if your not positioned within arms reach of the rigging point...)
but if your grounds crew isnt skilled enough to deal with it, i have done it several times to add friction quickly for a limb or two.....
will work fine. obv better to have it set up at the base of the tree and use a pulley at the top, the the groundie can set it for you and work it (if your not positioned within arms reach of the rigging point...)
but if your grounds crew isnt skilled enough to deal with it, i have done it several times to add friction quickly for a limb or two.....
The Munter works fine for what you're describing. Sometimes there's too much friction in the hitch and you have no choice but to pull the end through to get the load to the ground. Depending on how the rope behaves, you'll have to determine how much weight will allow self-feeding.
:agree2:
Or get a rescue-8, using one of your slings to hang it, and lower from that. Munter hitch puts the friction on your rope. Friction device will save the $150 rope and put the wear & heat on the $15 worth of metal. a rescue eight allows you to tie off the load, freeing up both hands. After you have finished the cut, you can release the load and lower it under control.
basic tie off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9B5XASL3Wc
tie off for heavier loads:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMvralRauSE&feature=related
tie off for munter hitch loads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRYkca9xEjc&feature=related
[I stumbled across this one]
Last edited:
outonalimbts
ArboristSite Operative
The Munter hitch works fine-
I tend to want to control some limbs myself, especially if they are close over a particular target. I employ the Munter hitch as well as many other techniques as needed. Depending on the size of the branches being lowered I pick the types of sling, or rope, even chain to secure our carabiners to the tree, and the diameter of the rope as well. I then cut the branches off and tend the Munter. Sometimes, the weight of the branch though too heavy to hold isn't quite heavy enough to overcome the friction of this hitch- I must "force feed" the rope through the 'biner.
Check out this Youtube video that was made while I was removing a Sycamore recently- I had to lower the branch painfully slowly because of the over effective control exerted by the hitch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fs2IjE70Uc
The 8 is okay, the rescue 8 is better, but the rope gets twisted too easily. Petzl makes a square framed 8, which twists less than a round bodied 8, but it still twists the rope quite a bit.
Just remember to be careful, our job is very dangerous, even if you do everything absolutely correct!
:chainsawguy:
I tend to want to control some limbs myself, especially if they are close over a particular target. I employ the Munter hitch as well as many other techniques as needed. Depending on the size of the branches being lowered I pick the types of sling, or rope, even chain to secure our carabiners to the tree, and the diameter of the rope as well. I then cut the branches off and tend the Munter. Sometimes, the weight of the branch though too heavy to hold isn't quite heavy enough to overcome the friction of this hitch- I must "force feed" the rope through the 'biner.
Check out this Youtube video that was made while I was removing a Sycamore recently- I had to lower the branch painfully slowly because of the over effective control exerted by the hitch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fs2IjE70Uc
The 8 is okay, the rescue 8 is better, but the rope gets twisted too easily. Petzl makes a square framed 8, which twists less than a round bodied 8, but it still twists the rope quite a bit.
Just remember to be careful, our job is very dangerous, even if you do everything absolutely correct!
:chainsawguy:
The figure-8 does not twist the rope, providing that it is a braided rope. If you are coiling your ropes, you likely have quite a few twists in it already, and the twists will be concentrated as it feeds through the figure-8.
Storing your ropes in bags will generally eliminate the twisting, along with keeping them cleaner and saving lots of time. Apart from chainsaws, ropes, and climbing saddle, I consider my rope bags among the most valuable equipment investments that I have made.
Storing your ropes in bags will generally eliminate the twisting, along with keeping them cleaner and saving lots of time. Apart from chainsaws, ropes, and climbing saddle, I consider my rope bags among the most valuable equipment investments that I have made.
Rocko
ArboristSite Lurker
The muenter will work but twists ropes,just buy a port a wrap they are the cheapest lowering device you can get and one will last you a lifetime
A port-a-wrap is a bit cumbersome to use up in a tree, particularly if you are moving it frequently. mounting the port-a-wrap low on the tree, and subsequently moving the lowering block around is hardly any better. It also doubles the load on the tie-in point, which is easily corrected by putting the friction at the TIP.
I don't see anything wrong with seeking an efficient way of rigging lighter branches down out of the tree. Furthermore, a port-a-wrap almost requires a two-man ground crew. If a climber controls the lowering from the top side, then a single groundman can drag the brush out to where it can be lowered completely.
I don't see anything wrong with seeking an efficient way of rigging lighter branches down out of the tree. Furthermore, a port-a-wrap almost requires a two-man ground crew. If a climber controls the lowering from the top side, then a single groundman can drag the brush out to where it can be lowered completely.
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