My Warn Zeon wiinch has synthetic rope on it. Not thinking of changing, just wondering about safety factors. Does synthetic rope recoil like steel cable?
Synthetic Rope vs Steel Cable
- Thread starter BillW
- Start date
Contrary to the myth that is still being perpetuated about synthetic just dropping to the ground when it parts under load, yes, it does recoil exactly like steel cable when it parts under load. The difference is mass x velocity = the potential for damage. In the case of synthetic, the mass is 1/6- 1/8th the mass of steel cable so even though the velocity is similar, the total force delivered when it smacks into something is much less.
A way to visualize it easily is you grab 3 feet of steel cable and your buddy has 3 feet of synthetic. Ya'll take turns hitting each other and see who quits first.
they recoil if snapped (between the drum and the end) but not with the destructive force of a heavy steel cable. if the clevis or hook fails and any part of it is left on that line it can come for you.
NM he beat me to it.
NM he beat me to it.
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I would also think that when a synthetic line parts it would loose velocity at a faster rate than steel - less weight to overcome air friction, etc. Further reducing the force with which it could strike an object (or person).
Does that make sense?
ya. that's the mass vs velocity equation., Blaine mentions.
it may not cut you in half like steel could but i'd not want to take a lick to prove it. it still has the potential to hurt you if your in the wrong place.
I'm not that smart but watching the speed the line moves when it parts should help you figure it out.
This one for how fast the synthetic flies.
This one for steel.
there is a vicious video if steel cable breaks, i have posted this b4. it rips vehicles and mannequins to pieces and shows how fast that line can get loose and what it can do and it's horrifying to see the destruction the cables are capable of. those lines don't come straight back either if your within 15' of it your not safe as it recoils whipping back and forth.
those hanger bags made to drop the line would/should be much more efficient vs a synthetic line.
those hanger bags made to drop the line would/should be much more efficient vs a synthetic line.
Weight bags require the use of a crystal ball, how is yours working?
not well enough to follow ..plz explain.
i said more efficient due to mass it's handling not if it was actually needed. but if you have an opinion of them plz share.
oh boy it's turns out it's a factor55 video, most is ridiculous pulling points, but the recoil is evident............14-15m is the dyneema rope and it snaps back to the pulling rig.
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If you depend on a weight bag to try and slow down the line's speed, you have to be able to predict where it will break. You can't.
If you put it in the middle and the line parts under the weight, then both ends head off in opposite directions to do what they are gonna do.
If you put it near the winch and it breaks just outside of that, then the whole thing heads off towards the recovery point and then the opposite happens.
The best thing to do with a weight bag is use it to hold down your table cloth at a picnic in case the wind comes up.
valid point.
i don't care what winch line you run i cringe evry time i see a video with a taught line and some fool reachin out to grab it. or 3 guys talking smack standing within 3ft of it.
what i'd like to see tossed in here is proper rigging of anchors, right way wrong way. maybe add on some info about pulling angles.
This is at least 75 feet of synthetic that recoiled all the way back to the anchor point.
Given a choice, I would rather get hit with this than with steel cable. It's the same reason I have converted to lighter weight aluminum and synthetic rope rigging gear.
Given a choice, I would rather get hit with this than with steel cable. It's the same reason I have converted to lighter weight aluminum and synthetic rope rigging gear.
We work recoveries with folks in the danger zone of synthetic often. We don't with steel, ever. I've seen a lot of synthetic breaks and two things are generally true, it doesn't break due to high load, it breaks due to something damaging it since your winch isn't powerful enough to break it. That means it is a low force failure with little energy. The second thing is while I wouldn't want to get hit, it isn't a hospital visit if I do unless I'm doing something extremely stupid in which case I deserve it.
Ronnie Dahl.
In that same video, you got to see the hanger bags stay right were they were as the cable ripped through them like they weren't even there.
In my case above, I was doing a bit of a side pull and the rope parted at the poorly cast Warn hawse fairlead. I switched to a TRE aluminum hawse immediately after.
I don't believe they are poorly cast and polished, I think the porous nature of it just being a casting is the problem.
ripped through everything. oops, you got no head. oh snap, your leg is over there......hey look, we have a convertible now.
i have not watched it entirely for some time now......i never had 1 in my hands but i don't see the weight or construction in those saddle bags to contain a cable failure. i think i'd be more efficient vs the synth line but then we play Blaines point of guessing where it's gonna rip.
TRE doesn't say cast or billet and there could be a spectrum of cast quality based on who and where it was done, no?
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The bags never really made sense to me, since the only real way for the bag to slow the line is to physically attach the weight to the line. Then you have a big heavy bag being moved at a high speed.
I have often wondered if a drag chute type device would work better than a heavy bag. But then you are still playing the guessing game and a drag chute (or multiple) would be unwieldy to set up every time.
Early on, I would throw a blanket over the line, thinking it might tangle and create drag. But I haven't done that in a long time since switching to synthetic.
OP
Everything about the TRE hawse looks like a machined piece of plate. The Warn hawse was clearly cast, with some machine work and a very heavy powder coat to finish making it look smooth.