The problem with ratchet straps is they rely on the pin, the "axle" of the unit to take the strain. One moments contemplation of that load bearing part is disconcerting.
Spansets have no such issue. I would put my faith in one of them far far far more than that tiny pin in the ratchet and as I spent a great part of my life judging the ability of items to with stand stress and loads.... I do not own a ratchet, but I do own numerous Spansets.
PH
Four inches of snow on the ground over the weekend. More this week.
-5'C last night at 7pm.
Not seen the bees for an age.
I looked at Google images of spansets, PH, and can't quite see how you use them. Some look like huge elastic bands and others are ropes with a loop on each end.Originally Posted by Poly Hive
I've just spilled wax all over the kitchen floor. I used a Ragus candy container in which to pour the molten wax and it worked fine the first time round, but when I reused it, the container split with wax everywhere. "Lessons must be learned." (Excuse the cliché.)
Kitta
This explains how to use the spansets
http://www.thorne.co.uk/image/data/D...ve%20Strap.pdf
While I don't have PHs experience of checking straps for strength etc I've got to agree that they're by far the better option. No moving parts is always a bonus -and once you've sussed out how to do them up (nice link Black Comb) you never forget.
Thanks Black Comb - I do have spansets! I just didn't know that's what they were called. They don't look like the ones illustrated on Google.
Kitta
Technically they are called "Hive Straps", Spanset as a company sell all sorts of rigging kit, slings up to 1000T SWL I believe and everything in between. The hive strap has a working load of 0.15 tonnes and the strap it's self new is .3. So 150kgs, working strain for normal usage.
The Safe working load or SWL is always considerably higher than the load involved in case of shock load. A lift of one tonne has usually an excess of 100% to allow for the load getting snagged and suddenly coming free, the shock, in the shock loading.
Anyway Hive straps are easy to use and long lived. My old mentor has ones in use which are over 30 years old now.
A short video explains... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=CcCbQ7W7foA#!
PH
The Spansets I have rusted rather quickly (that black paint peeled off) whereas only the cheaper ratchet straps did so. Ratchet straps are the gold standard for me (especially brass ones!), giving a very secure, tight grip whereas getting that tight grip is harder with Spansets. With Spansets as you flip the bracket over you momentarily tighten even more than when it is at rest, which means on softer materials (polyhives spring to mind) more damage is done.
And with ratchet straps on wooden hives with metal-topped roofs you can tighten until pinging the webbing is satifyingly musical.
Tried using spring clips (each box has its own position, hard to find the right box when your numbers grow a little), lock-slides (ditto), and, in the early days, ropes (oh! the fun of the move to the heather!).
Off topic a bit...
I've still got a carrier bag full of the copper staples which we used to use when we had more hives -very hard on the woodwork but cheap at the time. They've now found a new unexpected use as frame spacers in mating nucs -but I doubt that I'll ever have enough frames to even scratch the surface of that carrier bag.
Last edited by prakel; 03-12-2012 at 06:55 PM.
Proper spansets Gavin are blue painted with orange straps as in the video.
Yes there is a touch of crushing on the roofs of the poly but as it is (if done right) in the middle then once done it is always the same place and makes no odds. I would take a pic of a roof for you but my camera is sold and in the post this day. My new one is my Crimbo pressie.
Your properly tensioned spanset will twang like a violin.
You can keep your ratchets, all depends on that pin sirs... verrra weak. As for hammered in lock slides... *shudders* Staples... double shudders
PH
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