Cavechat.org

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Chads93GT wrote:My life is worth $170. I have it. Simmons roller plate. No thanks.

I myself dont like the simmons either. I would much rather have the PMI. It just feels much beefier and solid then the simmons. Easier to work also. I am wanting to try the double roller and the reverse QAS as i have heard it is better for bigger barrel chested people. After alot of time on rope my back starts to hurt.

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I bid on and won the Alpine Box, so thanks for the heads up Gary! Now just to pull it all together...

I know I will probably, eventually invest in a PMI, but for now I am happy with Fritzke (and for half the price too). This is the first I've seen or heard of them coming apart. I'd like to see what wrong with it.

I dont see anything that could be "glued" on this PMI chest roller. It is made from plate aluminum and is bolted together. The roller is made with sealed bearings. The roller and wire gate are both held by bolts with locknuts.

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Here are a few pics from my roller. I have only had it a few years, but have never had anything come loose. Just about everyone i know who uses a Ropewalker uses this roller and i have never heard of anything coming loose. I would have to say they didnt use Locktite or any type of glue. As a machinist and building simillar pieces like this, if you would ever have to remove the bolts for some reason it would make taking it apart very hard and you would probably damage some pieces if they were locktited together.

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That is my bad indeed. Idk how i got off track....

If I did not have a chest roller I would buy The PMI hands down. But , I already own a ball bearing simmons ( bought it before the PMI came out) and will continue to use it as long as it works. I cannot justify spending 170 bucks just because something easier to use comes out when what I have works fine and is just as efficient ( the bearings itself).I am basing that statement on what Tim White told me in an earlier thread. He told me Berta uses the Simmons for contests and the PMI for caving, or at least she did back when he told me that about a year ago. With the simmons ,in the event of a failure on rope I carry an extra pin assembly and carry it on rope and have practiced changing mid rope in the event of a failure. I understand the PMI is easier to get out of but so far I never had a problem with Simmons. When and if my Simmons goes bad , I will buy a PMI but not until then. I do have one question about the double roller, If you only use the roller for ropewalking , why does it seem to me most guys have the double as opposed to the single ?? Is it redundancy or am I missing something here.

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Yes, it has locktite or some kind of glue on the threads of the 2 bolts. One on each side. I have taken one of mine apart when I broke one of the rollers from use and switched it out with the other roller from the other side. It is very, very, hard to break the glue/locktite loose. I spent 30 minutes at least trying to break it before it loosened. I'd like to know if there is any kind of adhesive remover or locktite remover that could be used to make them easier to service. I'm sure PMI doesn't want anyone to service them, and of course it voids any warranty, but as far as I know, there really isn't a warranty on wearing out the rollers. I think the roller lasted around 200,000ft. of ropework and caving. As of 6 months ago, I noticed mine and a couple of my friend's chest plates have some kind of manufacturing defect in the etching of the logos on the front, as in these areas have been cracking and the aluminum flaking off as if exposed to battery acid, which they were not. My old roller from 2006 did not have this defect, but I have been caving too much to send the new one back, as I need it too much.

Vertigo wrote:Yes, it has locktite or some kind of glue on the threads of the 2 bolts. One on each side. I have taken one of mine apart when I broke one of the rollers from use and switched it out with the other roller from the other side. It is very, very, hard to break the glue/locktite loose. I spent 30 minutes at least trying to break it before it loosened. I'd like to know if there is any kind of adhesive remover or locktite remover that could be used to make them easier to service. I'm sure PMI doesn't want anyone to service them, and of course it voids any warranty, but as far as I know, there really isn't a warranty on wearing out the rollers. I think the roller lasted around 200,000ft. of ropework and caving. As of 6 months ago, I noticed mine and a couple of my friend's chest plates have some kind of manufacturing defect in the etching of the logos on the front, as in these areas have been cracking and the aluminum flaking off as if exposed to battery acid, which they were not. My old roller from 2006 did not have this defect, but I have been caving too much to send the new one back, as I need it too much.

The "method" for making it easier to break locktite loose is called, heat. locktite is used a lot in automotive applications, ive always used a torch to break them loose. AFterall, the locktite is in the threads themselves which have extremely small tolerances. you arent going to get any kind of penetration with any kind of solvent into those threads that will make a difference. Use a little heat, or buy a set of craftsman allan head sockets and you wont spend 30 minutes breaking them loose ;)