Lifting straps and towing straps.

[chapel gate]

What's the difference?

I get the stretchy recovery strap thing, but what's the difference between lifting straps and towing straps.

I found it mildly amusing today when some timber we were lifting slowly passed by me with a hint of impending doom suggested on a tag as "not to be used for lifting"..

 

[Shayne]

Stretch means bounce which is dangerous when lifting or setting down says mr flatfingers

 

[Chris]

It's partly a liability issue. If you go to the (no don't) regs, then there is a difference between anything that raises a load against gravity and something that drags. There are statutory inspection regimes for lifting but not dragging. OK so you're dragging a car onto a trailer, the rope snaps and the car rolls back and kills someone. Ahh haa you cry, not lifting, can't do me. Wrong. Not under the same regs, no, but you just know they've thought of that. Yep, still work equipment. However, do remember that these regs only apply in a work setting.

People who make recovery equipment just don't want the hassle of going to court so they tag it with not for lifting. Perfectly good enough when it left the factory, but once you've abused it, it's going to be fit for nothing.

 

[Higgy]

Some of my Hoists and Hand winches Even a Ten Ton one, Have 'Not for lifting Humans' Stamped on them ..Always makes me Chuckle... The manufacturers Conformity of use Law is always The biggest arse saver for most Manufactures .... They might as well Stamp... 'Do Not Use'...On it

 

[Gr8Yota]

Static-Dynamic-Kinetic...

static for lifting and winching 2-3% stretch max
Dynamic for towing 5-10% stretch removes the shock loads
Kinetic for snatch recovery 25% stretch for ‘bungee’ effect

problem is most people don’t know what they have and as Chris says anything not sold for lifting and thus not having to comply with LOLER (lifting operations and lifting equipment regulations) generally has no identification and poor information on break point etc. For example if I buy a lifting sling it has a tag and a certificate. For example if I pick up a yellow one I know just from the colour it is ‘a 3 tonne’ strap. it has a SWL of 3 tonnes and will break at a minimum of 21 tonnes. If I go and buy an ARB or other 4x4 supplier strap te colour is arbitrary, there is no identifier telling me if it is a snatch (kinetic) or static strap and any quoted figures are breaking loads not swl.

 

[jibberjabber]

Static-Dynamic-Kinetic...

static for lifting and winching 2-3% stretch max
Dynamic for towing 5-10% stretch removes the shock loads
Kinetic for snatch recovery 25% stretch for ‘bungee’ effect

problem is most people don’t know what they have and as Chris says anything not sold for lifting and thus not having to comply with LOLER (lifting operations and lifting equipment regulations) generally has no identification and poor information on break point etc. For example if I buy a lifting sling it has a tag and a certificate. For example if I pick up a yellow one I know just from the colour it is ‘a 3 tonne’ strap. it has a SWL of 3 tonnes and will break at a minimum of 21 tonnes. If I go and buy an ARB or other 4x4 supplier strap te colour is arbitrary, there is no identifier telling me if it is a snatch (kinetic) or static strap and any quoted figures are breaking loads not swl.

 

[IRLGW]

Aren't lifting straps double wrapped to protect the load bearing part and the eye hooks. They possibly have to be load tested in house before being packaged. I think like most people I have swapped use on many an occasion but if you were contracted to lift something then had best not turn up with a tow strap!

 

[Shayne]

Rules and regs aside i can think of many applications where the bounce caused by stretch meaning stop doesn't actually mean stop , we all know momentum adds weight and a ton of steel will very easily destroy the brickwork it will be mounted on , a rigid strap offers more control .

 

[Jon_Tallis]

Like Gr8Yota says lifting equipment in the UK has to be designed as such and certified under LOLER. I'm not actually certain whether lifting equipment is 100% tested but it certainly has to be batch tested. It'll come with a tag and certificate stating its Safe Working Load (SWL) and will have a breaking load (which isn't quoted) at least 7x the SWL (as Gr8Yota says). So with a lifting strop you get something made to a (very high) standard, certified and with a very high factor of safety - the whole point being (at risk of stating the obvious) that whilst having a tow strap break is pretty nasty, dropping things on people is a very effective way of killing them. Certified lifting equipment isn't even particularly expensive! (e.g. a 5te SWL 3m long sling is around £30 - and remember that's not going to break until you've got 35tonnes on it!! A 5te towing strap isn't a whole load less than that and will break at somewhere around 5Te (probably.....)
So in summary, PLEASE don't lift anything even vaguely heavy with un-certified kit, it's not worth it and if you want to tow with it, crack on, it'll be great for that too

 

[clivehorridge]

What's the difference?

I get the stretchy recovery strap thing, but what's the difference between lifting straps and towing straps.

I found it mildly amusing today when some timber we were lifting slowly passed by me with a hint of impending doom suggested on a tag as "not to be used for lifting"..

Looks like overkill to me Mike, 2 strapping ... well... straps, when some baling sisal would have done ... no danger of those straps letting go

 

[chapel gate]

ha ha, bailing string was holding up me trousers..

found some more pics from that job. look away jon..

 

[Jon_Tallis]

I like the Unimog!

 

[chapel gate]

thanks. its proving very useful. from lifting steel ridge beams to picking up the family christmas tree..

 

[Towpack]

Same goes for D and Bow shackles. Rated and "certified" lifting shackles are always more expensive than those not, even though they may all be stamped with the same weight rating. Using untested/certified shackles for lifting is a big no no, even if you go up maybe one or two sizes but as Chris has said this is only in a commercial "at work" environment.

 

[Chris]

The truth is that there's no difference between the material used in lifting and dragging. Marking it with not to be used for lifting is simply a way of providing an 'exemption' if you like from the regime that lifting gear is subject to under LOLER etc. All kit needs to be in good nick, it'd be daft to suggest otherwise. But in terms of testing, not having lifting gear failing and stuff bashing your head in is a really good idea. Most businesses see fabric lifting equipment as consumable. We rarely used to test any of it. We just binned it and bought new each cycle. Of course most of that disappeared from the skip and turned up in the backs of people's 4x4's.

 

[BobMurphy]

found some more pics from that job. look away jon..

You KNOTTED a strop .

I just bought some 3-ton (yellow) strops and read the 'Instruction Manual' .

Bob.

 

[chapel gate]

You KNOTTED a strop .

I just bought some 3-ton (yellow) strops and read the 'Instruction Manual' .

Bob.

What did it say?

 

[BobMurphy]

Page here - hope its legible:

No. 6 in the "Removal from Service" conditions.

No. 9 in the "Operating Practices" guide.

I was (partly) joking !

 

[Bob]

I use a 3m 3Ton Web sling as a tow strap... note: a tow strap, not a recovery strap. It's is purely for emergency towing on the road, and occasionally on snow and ice. I find it handy having two stitched eyes, one with a shackle and the other with a hook, for quick hitching. Especially when it snows, as I could be pulling 7 or 8 cars a day around here with the hills. I can't see ever putting 3ton of a load on it. Beats the he'll out of a rope, or a ratchet strap for that matter, both of which I see used far too often