carabiner age

[carlos]

do people retire them at a certain age or just when they are worn and not working so well?

i understand there is no set lifespan as with textiles.

thanks carl 

[Steve Bullman]

Replace my main 4 every 12 months regardless of condition

[Joe Newton]

7 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Replace my main 4 every 12 months regardless of condition

You can always wash the dust off y'know

[carlos]

27 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Replace my main 4 every 12 months regardless of condition

er wanna sell any of your old ones!!!

think i should prob get a few new ones.

[Steve Bullman]

I got rid of a stack a while ago!  Still have a tub full 

[peds]

I generally replace aluminium biners once they've had two of three millimeters of wear, depending on the shape of it. Steel gets replaced if they ever take a knock serious enough to leave a mark or a burr. If it isn't visibly damaged after a fall, aluminum doesn't, as I stumbled upon some research a few years ago that suggested aluminum biners actually get measurably stronger after a sharp knock.

 

If there's no specific need to retire a piece I don't. I've inherited a couple of oval biners that are still in regular rotation for racking things on that are older than almost all but the most senile members on here. They get cleaned and lubricated occasionally and still work just fine. 

(edit: the biners, not the senile members. I don't know how often they get lubricated...) 

Edited January 2, 2019 by peds

[jamallio96]

(edit: the biners, not the senile members. I don't know how often they get lubricated...) 

Probably more often than they should but not as often as they would like!

[scottythepinetree]

11 hours ago, peds said:

I stumbled upon some research a few years ago that suggested aluminum biners actually get measurably stronger after a sharp knock.

Any chance you could find a link to this? I'd be interested in seeing it.

 

I found this small study a while ago which indicates almost no change after a single impact from varying heights, but can't imagine how an impact would make biner stronger.

 

http://www.outdoorsafetyinstitute.com/news/single/should_you_retire_a_dropped_carabiner/

[Khriss]

Aluminium 'work hardens' after knocks n shocks, until it cracks.  Very hard to determine without x ray. It can be annealed ( softened) again, but that's impossible with a carabiner assembly. I would say, if it's looking tatty n chipped, with weak gate, bin it. K

[mikedrums69]

Always depends on there function. I like have multiple karbs of the same shapes so I can swap them about and ‘share the wear’ so to speak. I think it’s more of a personal  piece of mind thing I do it for