Cobra Synthetic Cabling Merits?

[jomoco]

Who's used them with good results?

 

How long has your oldest installation lasted?

 

Any failed installations?

 

I've been cabling and bracing trees for 30 years now, the vast majority of it old school drop forged steel through bolt installations, using EHS 7 strand cable along with cable grips for the last twenty years.

 

Not a fan of Cobra's encircling terminations, nor any synthetics durability over time compared to steel, particularly in terms of heat and abrasion resistance.

 

Granted that static steel installations cause the tree to become dependent on the system's integrity quicker, and to a greater degree.

 

But the frailty of synthetics, and inferior encircling termination attachment methods, of a system that also causes tree dependency, albeit at a slower rate, causes me to give Cobra cabling an emphatic thumbs down.

 

In fact I'm such an old school luddite that I don't believe in cabling at all unless it compensates for a real identifiable, quantifiable fault/flaw in the trees structure, either above or below ground.

 

Thanks for any feedback, both negative or positive.

 

Jomoco

[Old Mill Tree Care]

Why are you asking if you've already made up your mind? Lol!

[Stubby]

I have only ever braced one tree and that was with the Cobra system . As far as I know its still there and that was 15 years ago .

[Wolfie]

I've installed dozens over the last decade and as far as i'm aware all are still there.

I have had to remove/replace a few failed ones that other people have installed but every time it's been due to incorrect installation.

It amazes me how often i see them poorly installed, they are so easy to do correctly with a bit of common sense.

 

I like the system. It lets the tree naturally flex but helps prevent the excessive flex in strong winds. This should allow the tree to still put on increment girth and reaction growth where it is needed.

I'm not so sure whether it would hold a major failure together but if there was a strong chance of that then i would be recommending removal of the tree.

 

I'd agree that the longevity will be nowhere near a wire brace. I've taken trees down, still with a sturdy wire brace in that my dad installed 30-40years previously but i believe Cobra should be inspected at 5 year intervals.

[Darrin Turnbull]

Try this.

[ame]

[/ame]

[born2trot]

I've put in miles of the stuff 99% of the time as you say completely unnecessary . As another member has stated when replacing old stuff it's normally not been done correctly. The plastic can get very stiff and mouldy over time and it's very easy to cut with your silky , how this affects it's tensile strength I do not know . I also doubt it could actually ' brace ' say a huge platanus limb but I am under the impression it's just to deflect the said limb away from a potential target .

As a footnote there is much quicker , simpler alternatives to cobra anyway .

[jomoco]

Why are you asking if you've already made up your mind? Lol!

 

My mind is made up, about synthetic frailty, and Cobra's lame encircling termination method. I believe they'll land themselves and companies installing their systems in a court of law in time.

 

However I like the idea of dynamic cabling with steel components and steel throughbolt attachment terminations, and inline compression springs, such as used to tension utility power lines for the last 75 years or so.

 

Indeed I believe very large trees will someday soon be harnessed to generate clean electricity using such a system slaved to a hydraulic accumulator in close proximity to the tree.

 

Jomoco

[jomoco]

I've put in miles of the stuff 99% of the time as you say completely unnecessary . As another member has stated when replacing old stuff it's normally not been done correctly. The plastic can get very stiff and mouldy over time and it's very easy to cut with your silky , how this affects it's tensile strength I do not know . I also doubt it could actually ' brace ' say a huge platanus limb but I am under the impression it's just to deflect the said limb away from a potential target .

As a footnote there is much quicker , simpler alternatives to cobra anyway .

 

Thanks for the feedback B2T.

 

But the reason I caution you about using synthetics is that your liability in a court of law is untenable from an Insurance representative lawyer succeeding in finding both you and Cobra mfg guilty of gross negligence.

 

You be the judge.

 

Your honor the prosecution's case for gross negligence rests on the fact that the injured party was never informed that the failed synthetic cabling system used in place of the traditional steel system did not meet the same resistance to heat trauma.

 

Furthermore that the mfr of the failed synthetic cabling system, who sold that system on the basis of being superior to a traditional steel support system, gave no warning or precautions in any of their literature of their system's potential for catastrophic failure when exposed to high temperatures, such as occurred in my client's case when his garage caught fire and melted the synthetically cabled branch directly above it, triggering the failure of that branch, causing it to crash down onto my client's garage, exacerbating damage to the structure, and impeding the fire dept's efforts to extinguish the fire.

 

Had my client known that the traditional steel cabling support systems he was professionally advised to replace with a flammable synthetic system, was magnitudes of order more fire resistant?

 

My client would not have agreed to replacing a proven heat resistant steel support system with an inferior flammable system.

 

The prosecution further puts forth that fires are an integral aspect of the natural and suburban environments that trees grow in, and that fire dept's exist for very good and self evident reasons.

 

Thank you for your consideration on this important matter your honor.

 

Jomoco

Edited May 6, 2016 by jomoco

[treequip]

 

causing it to crash down onto my client's garage, exacerbating damage to the structure, and impeding the fire dept's efforts to extinguish the fire.

 

 

But your honour, since the fire that caused the melting burned the structure to the ground its all a bit of a moot point

 

Bar room lawyers do make me laugh:laugh1:

[Andymacp]

Thanks for the feedback B2T.

 

But the reason I caution you about using synthetics is that your liability in a court of law is untenable from an Insurance representative lawyer succeeding in finding both you and Cobra mfg guilty of gross negligence.

 

You be the judge.

 

Your honor the prosecution's case for gross negligence rests on the fact that the injured party was never informed that the failed synthetic cabling system used in place of the traditional steel system did not meet the same resistance to heat trauma.

 

Furthermore that the mfr of the failed synthetic cabling system, who sold that system on the basis of being superior to a traditional steel support system, gave no warning or precautions in any of their literature of their system's potential for catastrophic failure when exposed to high temperatures, such as occurred in my client's case when his garage caught fire and melted the synthetically cabled branch directly above it, triggering the failure of that branch, causing it to crash down onto my client's garage, exacerbating damage to the structure, and impeding the fire dept's efforts to extinguish the fire.

 

Had my client known that the traditional steel cabling support systems he was professionally advised to replace with a flammable synthetic system, was magnitudes of order more fire resistant?

 

My client would not have agreed to replacing a proven heat resistant steel support system with an inferior flammable system.

 

The prosecution further puts forth that fires are an integral aspect of the natural and suburban environments that trees grow in, and that fire dept's exist for very good and self evident reasons.

 

Thank you for your consideration on this important matter your honor.

 

Jomoco

 

 

So In this nonsensical logic, if you pruned a tree then a car crashed into it and the tree fell on a house you'd be liable !!!!!!!

I'm sure your post must be with a hint of tongue in cheek