Paddy1000111

Hi Everyone, As the topic says really. I have to plant a load of Beech trees and the ground is pretty hard. I want to plant it with an auger really, makes the whole job quicker and easier but I am concerned about root compaction with only a small area drilled as opposed to digging holes for each one. Anyone got any experience with using an auger and the effect it had on the saplings? Thanks!

If the tree is in decline then I wouldn't necessarily be too concerned with killing it off, especially if you do the work during it's dormant phase (as the trees permanent roots will be there but a lot of the feeder roots will have died back as they only live a year or two) My main worry would be severing all the roots and creating an uprooting risk. Cherry trees are very shallow rooting and if you cut all the roots out on one side then the tree could fall in the neighbours direction and you could be left liable for that for creating a dangerous tree.

If it is sap then I would suggest anything that removes sap. IPA alcohol and a small but hard car detailing brush might work, or using any sort of vehicle tar/sap remover. Even white spirit removes sap. If you're talking about replacing it then try anything. Even bleach might work as a last ditch before digging it up. Nothing to loose except 2-3 quid on some cleaner

Correct! In this case mind the only way this climber would have been safe is if he used a cherry picker

LOLER. Anyway, I climb DDRT most of the time unless I'm doing work for myself and once I saw the SRT light I now resent DDRT a little. Mainly because of this rather cloudy area with HSE and the fact I didn't train in SRT. I've always wondered if I did fall at work it gives an insurance company a good get out of "you didn't train in SRT and this isn't the "approved" way... Anyway, I didn't want to turn this into the usual forum debate of SRT Vs DDRT... Not what this topic is about

What do you mean climb up and set your top tie? As in spike and flipline up then set your DDRT anchor?

It depends really. I think DDRT has more disadvantages to advantages compared to SRT. Be it more rope wear if you aren't using a cambium saver ,if you are using a cambium saver the install time is a lot longer. Double the climbing effort, more time spent isolating branches etc by which time you might as well install a cambium saver. Only real disadvantages to SRT is equipment cost and doubling the weight on the branch unless you're using a top anchor. If you're doing SRT compared to DDRT I bet I can throw a rope over a tree, tie it onto the base and be at the top of a tree faster on SRT than I can isolate limbs and get tied in then climb slowly and rather jankily on a DDRT system

The smh10 is the best one to go for. The smh5 is cheaper but pairing can be a pain as you have to pair them in a weird order. The smh10 installs the same as the 5 but pairs better with multiple sets and has a longer range. There's loads of videos on YouTube about installs for the protos helmet. Plus if you want it in another helmet type you can so you don't have to buy a load of protos helmets for everyone. If you install it on your protos you also retain the ability for the headphones to fit inside the helmet. The 3M system etc doesn't allow for that at all

Personally I use a protos helmet and a SENA Bluetooth intercom kit. Tonnes of videos on YouTube about how to install it all. It makes for a low profile, lower cost alternative to the mental money kits you buy from a manufacturer

Guess it's time to do what others have said and look at the pull start and it's bushings. Maybe when it's loaded it's jamming up?

Not a bad idea although I would rather make something that meets specs and can handle what I need it for as opposed to having something that I have to have back ups in place for incase it breaks

Depends, I only bother using a cambium saver as a tie in when I'm not sure about the tree or its tie ins if there's only one branch available for a tie in and it looks a little shifty (not as shifty as the one in this post by a long shot though) then I use the cambium saver. I feel if I weigh half as much to the branch I'm less likely to take a tumble. Plus, once I'm secured I don't have to worry about climbing over my anchor or getting to my anchor to tie in before moving above it!

It hasn't been fiddled with before has it? If they left the cylinder seal off the bottom then it could pump up the compression by a tonne? Could even be touching the head?

Well the winch on the GRCS is a regular boat harken 2-speed self-tailing rope winch which are around £700 depending on the model and what you want out of it. The steel which I will probably use some S275 structural will come to around £60 for some 1/2" plate, some tubing for the hinges and some angles for the brackets. The 5 tonne ratchet strap which can be surface mounted is £15. Powdercoat is £30 ish and then it's just the welding but I have a friend who will do that for a good price. The whole thing would probably set me back £800 to £900 plus testing. When I get round to doing it I'll do a guide and post up how I get on!

Well, I can build the unit and get it powedercoated for sub £1000 including the harken winch. The GRCS system is around £2800 with the VAT so unless single testing costs £1800 then I'm quids in!

I guess my next question is having single units approved. I've done work for aircraft/marine companies and councils etc as an engineer. There's all sorts of specialist lifting equipment and tooling that's all made in house. I wonder how they get that approved?

Anyway, back on topic. I didn't mean this to be a "mines better than yours" "I'm better than you" thing... Just explaining how I SRT when I'm unsure of anchor and how I feel it's safer than DDRT as we were discussing the dangers of srt. At least this seems like a clean cut case of climber error...

Well I was trying to work out if the GRCS is rated or the winch? The only thing to go wrong is the welding which would be certified or the strap/ratchet which would be pre-made? All of the components would theoretically be rated?

Sorry, bad explanation on my behalf. I usually tie an alpine butterfly and stick a carabiner through it and pull that up onto the the small ring side of the cambium saver. The knot side which is now unloaded goes over other branches and gets basal tied, if my cambium saver branch snaps then the loading changes to the basal anchor and hopefully the branches below. Worst case scenario the top snapping branches on the way down would hopefully slow my decent a little ?

It's basically because if you use a cambium saver you tie into the cambium saver and you hang off a branch so it is only your weight on the branch i.e a top anchor. In this format you're climbing with the same forces as a DDRT system, all of your weight only on the branch. If you base anchor then it's like having a pulley on the branch. Your weight of say 80kg is on one end of the line then the other end has to balance your weight so the anchor is basically weighing or pulling 80kg too. In total you have now loaded the branch with 160kg (your weight on one side of the line and the anchor pulling your weight again on the other acting as a 2:1 pulley system. Now, let's say you climb above your anchor point without using redirects. The "safety factor" when doing rigging if my mind is remembering correctly is 11x. You slip and fall 2/3 meters. Your shock loading (especially as you are using a static line) can be up to 880kg. Now, because of the basal anchor and the 2:1 system you have created your loading on the limb is now 1760kg of force in the worst case scenario.

Hi everyone, I'm curious as to if anyone has made their own GRCS system? I have been looking at the GRCS system and it is, for me anyway, restrictive on a cost front and apart from the steel and the cost of the winch from a sailing supplier (all of which you could get for under £1000) there's nothing "special" in a sense. If it was welded by a trained and certified welder and made from the correct steel there's no reason I can't design my own is there?

It's around 5ft from the tree. There's a steep drop off the back (right side) that's the natural "lay of the land" there was a steep drop off from the back of the lake but it got levelled out and a load of trees (oak, maple, beech) planted on the new hill, all of those are growing well. I can't say 100% where the soil went, I wasn't there at the time!

Wow, like others have said that's an ambitious anchor. I usually use a cambium saver for srt (with an alpine butterfly and carabiner stopper) and I would be reluctant to tie to anything smaller than my fore-arm and I'm only 76kg. Personally, If I'm not sure 100% of my anchor (dying tree or questionable condition etc) I install the cambium saver so I'm not double loading the branch and then run the unloaded tail end of the rope down over other limbs and tie off as a basal anchor. It may be a bit anal and probably too belt and braces but I would rather spend 2-3 minutes firing my unloaded rope tail over some branches and tying off at base than spending hours/days in hospital and possibly a lifetime in a wheelchair. Plus climbing a tree is easier when my arse isn't going 5p, 50p the entire ascent. I also think that sometimes people forget that when using a basal anchor for srt and no cambium saver/top tie anchor, the limb loading is double your weight and needs to be quite beefy if you fell. Looking at that branch something went wrong in the human factor sense. Either neglect (not paying attention to his anchor), laziness (there wasn't a bigger limb that high and took the short cut instead of using re-directs) or something else. No-one in their right mind would climb on that SRT or DDRT. Personally I wouldn't even use that as a re-direct. I guess climbing SRT got him the 8m though with lack of friction and smoother ascent (dependant on technique). I think SRT is safer mind. Less friction and rope wear, smoother ascent (dependant on technique) and more ability to add redundancy i.e throwing the unloaded end of a top anchor system over some branches and base tying. The only downside to SRT is you are climbing on the single rope rating not double that but with most ropes being rated to <2000kg with an impact force of something crazy like 5200kg I'm not that concerned. In reply to Devon TWiG, I don't think it adds justification for two anchor points. If the rope snapped or the climbers system failed due to a manufacturing fault etc then I would say yes. Although if your climbing system failed or the rope snapped in DDRT then you would be no better off. This is just a case of operator error. It's this sort of stuff that causes people to be sucked into shredders, car accidents etc.... I don't mean this aimed at the climber in this post but the old saying "you can't fix stupid" comes to mind. If there's people involved there will always be a human factor. He could have had 2 anchors but then you could say cars need two drivers, guns need two triggers, countries need two governments (the last one might not be a bad idea...). accidents happen, it's life.

Ahh, now you're on to something. The area of bare dirt is the sheep however where the new oak trees are on the right in the 3rd image is where a couple hundred tonnes of mud was shifted from another part of the property a couple of years back. There's also a lake on the left of the tree, can that cause root rot of some sort?

It depends on your agreement with him. As a subcontractor he is liable for damage caused by his work practices and will have insurance in place to cover damages during his work. That's just a fact of subcontracting and in reality, one of the reasons companies use subbies a lot. As far as I am aware there's no such thing as employers/company insurance that covers subcontractors of yours apart from covering from liability for example if they injure themselves on your equipment (which as a subcontractor they shouldn't be using anyway) and try to sue you. If he IS under your insurance, using your equipment and his damage is your problem then he is an employee of yours, you should be paying him on PAYE and he will be under IR35.