I just had a rude awakening today and wonder if anyone else has seen this happen. I have used a Fritzke Box for my Mitchell System for about 10 or more years. I always used to run my gear through the washing machine on gentle cycle after any caving trip to the Guads. Since we got a new washing machine that has a vertical tub, I decided not to put the chest harness/box through the machine for fear of damaging the washing machine. I may not have washed the harness by hand, either, foolish me....
Today I took out my vertical gear since a local newspaper writer wanted to do an article on me. When I found my chest harness, I was stunned to see that a number of places on the anodized aluminum plate had corroded to the point where I could scratch it off with my fingernail! Needless to say, I am retiring the system which I regret deeply. The Fritzke Box gave me years of superb service and always worked like a charm.
I took the box down to a local steel manufacturing place and they said they thought it was my sweat that had caused the corrosion. My last trip was four days in Lech and needless to say, I sweat a lot in there. If I didn't wash it out, that could indeed be the culprit.
Has anyone else had corrosion issues like this before? In all the years I had the box, it has never corroded even the slightest, despite areas of the anodizing having worn off. My CMI extruded aluminum ascenders weren't affected, but they probably weren't exposed to as much sweat since they were only hand held, not right up against my body, absorbing sweat like the harness.
Thanks for your replies,
Peter Jones
Shot in the Dark Cave Photography