Puget Sound Rope is committed to making the highest quality rope in the world. All of our processes and products are guided by a Quality System that meets numerous federal and international quality standards, which we feel will allow us to continually meet and exceed the needs and expectations of all of our customers.
In this commitment, we have created the following guidelines to assist you in the care and usage of our rope. These basic guidelines will help to ensure you get the absolute best performance and longevity out of our product and use it in the safest manner possible.
These guidelines are not intended and do not create any warranties, express or implied. Puget Sound expressly disclaims warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Puget Sound shall not be liable for any consequential, incidental or contingent damages whatsoever stemming from the use of these guidelines.
There are many decisions to be made in selecting the correct rope for your application. It is strongly recommended that a complete analysis of the application is performed by a competent professional to determine the best rope for the application. Each combination of rope material and construction has its advantages and disadvantages and the selection of a rope always involves compromises based on the type of service.
Puget Sound Rope specifications are based on industry suggested Minimum Tensile Strength (MTS) qualifications. The MTS is based on test data from a significant number of break tests conducted on new and unused rope and is a value two standard deviations below the mean. The MTS is assumed to decrease once the rope is put into use.
Maximum Working Loads (MWL) are normally determined by dividing the MTS by the safety factor. The safety factor is a function of the physical properties of the rope, the age and history of the rope, the type of service in which it is to be used, and the risks involved if failure occurs. The safety factors varies from a minimum of a 3:1 ratio, where new rope being used in a static environment and failure would cause little or no risk to equipment or personnel, to as high as a 20:1 ratio, where severe conditions exists or where failure of the rope could cause severe risk to equipment and personnel.
Since there are numerous uses for our products, it is impossible to cover all application factors. For a rope manufacturer to give blanket working load recommendation would be like a car manufacturer giving the "safe driving speed" of their car. However, if any of the following adverse conditions exist, we suggest that you use the high end of the safety factor:
Safer Use of Fiber Rope- Cordage Institute International Guideline
A regular inspection cycle should be established to determine the condition of the rope.. The following conditions should be looked for:
Although visual inspection of your rope can not accurately predict the residual strength, it does indicate problem areas that may need attention. If any of the above conditions exist or you doubt the strength of the rope, an analysis of the safety factor ratio should be conducted.
Heat has a direct effect on the ropes tensile strength. All synthetic ropes are affected by heat to some degree. Most ropes show a gradual decrease in strength as the temperature is increased. Our catalog gives a "critical temperature" for each type of rope. At this temperature the rope will lose approximately 20% of its room temperature tensile strength. This strength loss is temporary and the rope will recover its strength upon cooling.
In addition to the immediate strength loss synthetic ropes also experience long term degradation referred to as "heat aging". This strength loss is permanent and accumulative. In severe cases it may be accompanied by discoloration of the rope but usually there is no visual indication of heat exposure.
The most common source of ultra violet radiation is through exposure to direct sunlight. The effect of UV exposure varies with the fiber type, protective coatings, rope size and rope construction. The larger the rope the less effect UV has on the strength since the UV radiation is absorbed in the outer layer. For the same reason jacketed ropes or ropes with surface coatings will retain their strength better. UV degradation is usually more a problem of improper storage conditions than of use conditions.
Ropes may be damaged from direct contact with or from fumes of numerous chemicals. To ensure that you receive only the best performance, operators should try to avoid any acids, alkalis, solvents, paints, etc., coming into contact with the rope. The following table is provided to show the effect on rope strength when short term chemical exposure occurs on the material used in our products.
In the case of chemical exposure, operators should immediately clean the rope with any type of mild detergent and then rinse completely with water.
Chemical
Common Acids
Alkali
Common Solvents
Clorox
Gasoline
Kerosene
Hydraulic Fluids
Plasma®
Excellent
Very Good
Spectra®
Nylon
Good
Good to Very Good
Polyester
Co-Polymer
Fair
Fair, Moderate Effect
For the best possible performance of the rope, an appropriate splice should be used to connect or terminate ropes. Always contact the manufacturer for the recommended splice for the rope being used. Knots in ropes can cause a 60% loss of tensile strength and if used, an analysis of the safety factor ratio should be conducted.
The following conditions should exist when storing the rope for any period of time:
