In a message dated 96-03-23 10:48:11 EST, you write:
>My advice is to purchase a NEW professional style climbing belt with all
>heavy duty hardware. Don't depend on leather or rope straps. A new Klien
>belt is about as good as you can get, won't put you in the poor house, and
>is a very comfortable belt to use on extended climbs.
Bruce --
I agree with your good advice. Unfortunately Klien doesn't manufacture
safety belts anymore; most of the manufacturers are only selling full fall
arrest harnesses. This is highly recommended for amateur tower climbers as
well. The last two of my "Up The Tower" columns in CQ Contest magazine dealt
with safety bellts and equipment. Anyone that is interested can e-mail me
their postal address and I'll be happy to send them a hardcopy. BTW,
leather safety equipment (belts and lanyards) is not acceptable by OSHA. It
ages and dries out and becomes weaker over time.
As far as inspections, professional climbers are required to do a visual
check of their equipment every day or before every use. Any climbing amateur
should do the same. The current belts and lanyards made out of nylon or
other synthetic materials are not subject to the same aging problems as
leather so what you're looking for are split, cuts and frays in the synthetic
materials and any problems with latches, D-rings, etc.
Check your local yellow pages under 'safety equipment' for local
retailers.
73, Steve K7LXC
>From Mr. Brett Graham" <bagraham@HK.Super.NET Sat Mar 23 23:38:51 1996
From: Mr. Brett Graham" <bagraham@HK.Super.NET (Mr. Brett Graham)
Subject: setting pier pin for 45G
Message-ID: <199603232338.HAA29072@is1.hk.super.net>
Here in VS6, everything is concrete. Therefore, we have occasion to anchor
things into the stuff...
For minor stuff, expanding anchors will suffice. Since they'll never come
out unless you chisel out the concrete around them, the stainless steel
version is prefered. Waterprooofing hint: put some Araldite (an epoxy
glue) in the hole before setting the anchor. As the anchor expands, it
pushes the Araldite into all the voids that would otherwise retain water &
eventually wick through the concrete.
For any serious stuff - the pier pin for Rohn 45 would probably count - we
use Hilti anchors. This company makes a literally dozens of different
anchors for concrete. They have a whole series of chemical anchors which
would be perfect for the application. They come with either a plated or
stainless steel threaded rod & a glass epoxy-filled cartridge. Drill the
hole, blow out the dust, drop in the cartridge, drive the rod in with a
hammer to break the cartridge, attach drill chuck to end of rod & drive it
home (which mixes the epoxy at the same time). About 20 minutes later, you
have an anchor which is stronger than the concrete it's set in.
A cartride & rod (non-stainless) costs about US$20 or so here in
over-priced HK. Due to the abundance of concrete, Hilti actually has
several of its own storefront outlets in town. So, I'd expect the volume
about cancels the standard excessive mark-up & they should sell for
approximately the same price in the States.
One point I'd like to stress - the Hilti anchor is designed as a set. It's
a special rod intended for the application - I WOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER
SETTING JUST ANY BOLT IN CONCRETE WITH EPOXY. QSL?
73, VS6BrettGraham aka VR2BG bagraham@hk.super.net
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