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Expiration dates

B

Bigfoot522

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
711
I don’t know if this has been covered so I am sharing it with youse. Yall..

We had our monthly safety meeting about safety harnesses and any fall protection wearables.
Long story short, there in no longer any expiration to any of our belts and harnesses.
We used to destroy them regularly.

As long as they haven’t been involved in an incident and pass visual inspection by a competent person they are good for nearly ever.

I personally been cutting with my weaver for over 15 years. A little grimy but in good shape.

I only cut on the side, I have a full time job.

Ultimately it’s up to you what you do with this info and your own equipment.

God bless yall and be safe.
 
I'm no expert but I tend to agree. A tree saddle gets far less use than a harness used every day in tree work or utility work. If the saddle isn't cut, frayed or compromised by chemicals then I think it is fine. If you buy a 30 year old car or truck is your first thought I have to get those seatbelts replaced? I doubt it, and seatbelts are subject to extremes of heat and cold and a lot of UV exposure.
 
Bigfoot522 said:
I don’t know if this has been covered so I am sharing it with youse. Yall..

We had our monthly safety meeting about safety harnesses and any fall protection wearables.
Long story short, there in no longer any expiration to any of our belts and harnesses.
We used to destroy them regularly.

As long as they haven’t been involved in an incident and pass visual inspection by a competent person they are good for nearly ever.

I personally been cutting with my weaver for over 15 years. A little grimy but in good shape.

I only cut on the side, I have a full time job.

Ultimately it’s up to you what you do with this info and your own equipment.

God bless yall and be safe.
Click to expand...
Whoa. That’s wild news. I suppose it makes sense though. My saddle has been heavily used for 5 years with almost zero visible fatigue.
This doesn’t include ropes, I’m guessing. Webbing and fabrics and components though?
 
Are you saying that at a professional arbor-culture company, osha no longer has an imposed lifespan on fall arrest / work positioning devices? If so can you site a few references / share some links to source material for us all to review? I’m having a hard time believing that such a long-standing protocol would be eliminated.
 
My tree saddle is a Notch sliding D which I won’t go back to the G strings ha ha.
It will outlast me.
 
Bigfoot522 said:
As an aside, my daughter was throwing away a like new car seat. I said now wait just a minute!
She informed me that it was expired.
Slaps the forehead!
Click to expand...
Unfortunately those car seat expiration dates can actually prevent you from getting your newborn home from the hospital. That was the first thing the nurse checked on my first two kids. Third kid was born in a hillbilly hospital, they couldn’t have cared whether he was in a legit car seat or not, let alone the expiration date.
 
A lot of these expiration dates on things are an extension of designed obsolescence. Make the consumer think it is not good and they will throw it out and buy another. Madison Avenue advertisers figured it out a long time ago.

A lot of it has to do with lawyers and CYA in retail sales too.

Now, if you have some potato salad in the fridge, pay attention to the expiration date or you may need the rapid rappel option, lol.
 
Yep this is true. There may not be mandate from OSHA, but always default to what the manufacturer states. Otherwise your company could be held liable. If an injury or death occurs, do you really want to have to defend using PPE beyond manufacturer's recommendations ?

Textiles and fabrics degrade and lose strength over time. Most FAS and work harnesses are ten years. My Petzl Bod Fast harness is actually ten years. My arb saddle is also ten years. If saddle companies tell you 5 years, I would adhere to that.
 
TreeRecon said:
Yep this is true. There may not be mandate from OSHA, but always default to what the manufacturer states. Otherwise your company could be held liable. If an injury or death occurs, do you really want to have to defend using PPE beyond manufacturer's recommendations ?

Textiles and fabrics degrade and lose strength over time. Most FAS and work harnesses are ten years. My Petzl Bod Fast harness is actually ten years. My arb saddle is also ten years. If saddle companies tell you 5 years, I would adhere to that.
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To jump off this with a follow up question…
I’ve seen some (maybe a lot, maybe all, I dunno) of these expiration dates come with stipulations like “under heavy use” or “under normal rigors” or “if stored properly” (which in and of itself infers zero use whatsoever).
So like, how the hell do you gauge that?
How does a “saddle hunter” who hunts on average every weekend with the same hunting-purposed saddle for maybe 5 years stack up, compared to an arborist with an arb-specific saddle?
How does climbing method affect that? Sitter vs leaner? Scout climbing in off-season? Some hunt hogs all year from saddles. Number of hours and climate spent in the saddle?
I realize I’m asking a lot. I’m just looking for a general sorta lens through which to figure out what the manufacturer means by heavy use or whatever, vs what an actual end-user puts their equipment through and expects it to survive another inspection, so to speak.
Okay have fun with that mess I just produced…
 
What’s the upside in telling the internet to do their own research and ignore manufacturer recommendations?

I don’t have an opinion on the topic. I shouldn’t. Because I’m nowhere near qualified.

But I’m trying to understand what anyone gains by making these noises, besides feeling cool or like a big man?
 
For saddles I’d be most concerned with the bridge loops and the bridge since they see the most action. Bridge loops are part of the chasis on hunting saddles. Obviously you can monitor and change the rope of your bridge out easily, but with most commercial hunting saddles you don’t have that option with the bridge loops. If they get compromised you’re done, so that’s what I’ll be most concerned about after several several years. Most of bridge/lineman’s loops I’ve come across on arborist rigs are either D rings or tied directly into the chasis.
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
To jump off this with a follow up question…
I’ve seen some (maybe a lot, maybe all, I dunno) of these expiration dates come with stipulations like “under heavy use” or “under normal rigors” or “if stored properly” (which in and of itself infers zero use whatsoever).
So like, how the hell do you gauge that?
How does a “saddle hunter” who hunts on average every weekend with the same hunting-purposed saddle for maybe 5 years stack up, compared to an arborist with an arb-specific saddle?
How does climbing method affect that? Sitter vs leaner? Scout climbing in off-season? Some hunt hogs all year from saddles. Number of hours and climate spent in the saddle?
I realize I’m asking a lot. I’m just looking for a general sorta lens through which to figure out what the manufacturer means by heavy use or whatever, vs what an actual end-user puts their equipment through and expects it to survive another inspection, so to speak.
Okay have fun with that mess I just produced…
Click to expand...
Good question but I think it goes back to something said above. Take the time to visually inspect your gear throughout the season and if there are stitching issues, tears or its just showing a lot of wear, replace it.
 
BTaylor said:
Good question but I think it goes back to something said above. Take the time to visually inspect your gear throughout the season and if there are stitching issues, tears or its just showing a lot of wear, replace it.
Click to expand...
Jah feel, jah totally feel. I guess what I’m asking in so many words is, what does a lot of wear look like to me vs you vs the manufacturer?
TBH I’m home with all 3 kids until 6pm, and thus I have made it y’all’s responsibility to entertain me and provide adult interaction.
 
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