I was thinking of getting some to try it for rigging. my thoughts where if its elastic it would make the drop control less precise. in a good way. anyone ever use it? i'm not talking about over a structure or anything that would require a short fall. just general lowering limbs and blocking down. and, whats it like for abrasion?
nylon rope
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Every time I try and reinvent the wheel my ride gets really bouncy
whats the good reason? have you ever watched the video of testing dynamic and static ropes? the static ropes are 50% stronger but break with much less weight dropped because they cant absorb the impact. they only down side would be if the load bounced. but I don't think a piece would free fall far enough to do that. I've never used them though so I don't know why they are bad.
nylon ropes lose 15-20% of its strength when wet... enough of a reason for me.
more info
Nylon fiber is affected by the absorbtion of water. Nylon is hydrophilic meaning it will absorb water. The overall strength and stretch can be greatly affected by moisture in the fiber. Whenever possible try and keep your ropes away from water and as dry as possible. Our in-house testing shows that loss of strength in wet ropes may be as high as 70% in nylon ropes without DryCore™ but only 40% in ropes with DryCore™. A 11mm Drycore™ rope that holds 11 falls dry, holds 7 falls wet. That same rope without DryCore™ may hold only 3 falls when wet. In general the data shows that the loss of strength through the presence of water in nylon ropes is significant. The good news is that nylon’s original strength and elongation returns when the rope dries.
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smokey01
ArboristSite Operative
The full article that Tree Pig is quoting from is available at
......
http://www.sterlingrope.com/media/document/techmanual.pdf
Some more interesting quotes about Nylon to add to Tree Pig's info but reading the whole article is very informative.
Nylon allowed construction of lighter weight ropes having great impact absorption and the ability to hold upwards of 5,000 pounds...
Most of our static and dynamic ropes use nylon or polyester as the main ingredient.
Nylon
The generic name for nylon is “polyamide”.
Climbing and life safety ropes are made primarily with either nylon 6 or nylon 6,6. Wallace Carothers at the Dupont Institute developed nylon 6,6 in 1935.
Nylon 6 has slightly better elongation characteristics making it more suitable for dynamic ropes.
...The nylon used in life safety ropes are strong and light with great elongation and impact absorption qualities.
Nylon is the superior yarn to use in recreational climbing ropes because of this impact absorption.
There is no better product for that purpose at this time.
Don't like stretchy ropes over slate rooves, Joe.
Pelorus
Uva uvam vivendo varia fit
Interesting info here too. The Thread Exchange, Inc.: Polyester Thread Information.
CalTreeEquip
ArboristSite Guru
Nylon is way to stretchy. There are such good arbor ropes now why would you use anything different? I had a nice 5/8th 3 strand I liked to use back in the day but the braided lines started to come in and they were so much better. Now there are some many kinds and colors and composites why go back to the stone age?
I suppose I didn't cut trees long ago enough to use the stuff. I have good rope. I wasn't trying to go backwards, I was just curious if the elasticity would soften the shock of a lowered piece. like it would a falling climber.
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
I use 1" nylon for lowering limbs and chuncks often
But then I guess I have been doing things wrong for over 50 years so why change. The size is to allow better grip, the extra strength from the size means I never worry if it will break. Never lets a limb fall further than I plan.
When I started natural fiber was the standard, hemp was top of the line, so nylon is still the "new stuff". I haven't seen any 100% nylon rope in the size we use for sale in a long time. The rope we get is nylon and polyester. It's a lot stronger and costs less than the bull ropes I see others use.
But then I guess I have been doing things wrong for over 50 years so why change. The size is to allow better grip, the extra strength from the size means I never worry if it will break. Never lets a limb fall further than I plan.
When I started natural fiber was the standard, hemp was top of the line, so nylon is still the "new stuff". I haven't seen any 100% nylon rope in the size we use for sale in a long time. The rope we get is nylon and polyester. It's a lot stronger and costs less than the bull ropes I see others use.
CalTreeEquip
ArboristSite Guru
Really? You would rather use heavy assed 1" 3 strand then this?
Stable Braid 3/4”
The last 1" 3 strand I had I left pinned under a Fir log. Nice 150' piece of tag line but not worth retrieving.
In my most humble opinion that is.
Sorry, I often take questions quite literal. The original question was "Nylon" rope. Not a blend. You just said you use 1" nylon, and then through in the caveat, it's a blend of polyesters. Yes, polyester blends can be quite acceptable. I started with hemp also, I think I still have slivers of that stuff in my hands, Joe.
smokey01
ArboristSite Operative
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
I still use some 100% NYLON that we have had for some time
But the newly purchased ones are blend. Could not find 100% 1" nylon when we needed 300 ft. rope for a job.
But the newly purchased ones are blend. Could not find 100% 1" nylon when we needed 300 ft. rope for a job.
CalTreeEquip
ArboristSite Guru
I think 100% nylon is still used in maritime applications as mooring and tow lines.
I really was curious if it would be a softer stop in rigging. and lets say your ground guy lets a top run out and stops it at 90 degrees, would it bend the stem less? as far as strength, obviously its not the strongest. but a 3/4" twisted is rated at 12,800 lbs. that's very strong for a dynamic rope. the elasticity was kind of the point of the question. I was imagining it as more like bungee jumping. you can fall 100' and the bungee cord will absorb the shock. do it on a double braid and it would be like concrete. that's an extreme example but the physics are the same.
Just going off of memory here but definitely not for climbing since it wouldn't meet OSHA requirements as there is too much stretch. I believe climbing ropes have to be less than 7% stretch. For rigging lines I'm not sure. I'd be worried about melting temps unless you were running it through a pulley all the time and slowly through a friction brake.
beastmaster
Addicted to ArboristSite
I bought some polydyon(sp?)bullrope, it I believe has a lot of nylon in it. It's made to have some stretch in it to lessing the shock load. I work with some idiots some times and I think That rope may of saved my ass a few times on big chunks of wood that some groundy didn't let run. You don't see it stretch but you for sure feel the lack of shock. A few times I get prepared for it, and I or the tree feel hardly nothing. I bought 200 ft of 5/8. Its Husky brand and rated for 18,000 lbs. It's a double braid.
The only applacation I might not use it for was drop catching a heavy piece low over a tile roof, but even in that sernario the stretch is relative to the emount of rope your using so on a short drop, close to the ground it wouldn't stretch that much. I think the stuff is great. It's not bouncie and you'll never notice the stretch, but you'll sure feel the lack of shock load on heavy wood. I bought my at Tree stuff 200.00 buck for 200 ft or there about. Hard to beat that for a quality bull line.
The only applacation I might not use it for was drop catching a heavy piece low over a tile roof, but even in that sernario the stretch is relative to the emount of rope your using so on a short drop, close to the ground it wouldn't stretch that much. I think the stuff is great. It's not bouncie and you'll never notice the stretch, but you'll sure feel the lack of shock load on heavy wood. I bought my at Tree stuff 200.00 buck for 200 ft or there about. Hard to beat that for a quality bull line.
Caghrlos
ArboristSite Lurker
Don't like stretchy ropes over slate rooves, Joe.
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