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acorneau
Feb 19, 2009, 6:50 PM
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Anyone have any information about the viability/cautions against (re)bending the angle on bolt hangers?
I have a standard Fixe hanger from the gym which has been bent to a (close to) 45 degree angle from years of falls. I also have some brand-new Fixe anchor hangers (#463) some of which aren't bent out enough to get a carabiner through the hole when it's against the wall.
Is it ok to bend these hangers a little bit?
(This post was edited by acorneau on Feb 19, 2009, 6:52 PM)
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reg
Feb 19, 2009, 7:18 PM
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bending back will weaken the metal albeit maybe not enough to kill someone. sounds like it was installed incorrectly in that stress should be in-line with the fold.
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angry
Feb 19, 2009, 7:25 PM
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I'd retire the old bent one. If it were on a route, I'd clip it but I sure wouldn't put it on a route in it's present condition.
Send the new ones back, clearly they were manufactured wrong. Bending might not hurt them too much but you should make Fixe aware of a potential manufacturing problem.
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johnwesely
Feb 19, 2009, 7:25 PM
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It sounds like they got bent that way the first time just fine, so I don't se the harm in it.
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limeydave
Feb 19, 2009, 7:38 PM
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(This post was edited by limeydave on Feb 19, 2009, 7:39 PM)
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kennoyce
Feb 19, 2009, 7:45 PM
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A picture would be very helpful, but just based on the info provided I would say that you are fine to bend the new hangers, but I would retire the old ones.
Hangers are manufactured by bending them, so I would guess that bending them a little bit further would be fine, just keep in mind that the more you bend them the weaker they will become. I wouldn't bend the old ones back though because this will most likely weaken them much more.
Keep in mind that I don't know the exact processes involved in making a hanger, and I have no clue if they are stress relieved after bending or if they are heat treated, but I would climb on a hanger that has been bent a little bit to facilitate an easier clip.
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GeneralZon
Feb 19, 2009, 7:58 PM
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I consulted with one of my buddies who is a gunsmith and works with metal all the time. He said it is definitely possible to bend it back, but cautioned, "It depends on the radius and temperature. Generally the thicker the metal, the more radius you need or it will crack, UNLESS you heat it, and even then it may still want to crack. And if you do get it straightened back out it will bend again and then it is going to be dangerous." He said for the $3.25 it isn't worth finding out the hard way.
That was his 2cents.
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acorneau
Feb 19, 2009, 8:16 PM
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Thanks folks. For some clarification, I will not be putting the older half-bent hanger on any route, just using for classes in the gym. The anchor hangers might end up on climbs, though (eventually).
The more-bent hanger is on top, less-bent on bottom:
The less-bent on top:
More-bent with biner clipped:
Less-bent not able to be clipped straight on:
Unfortunately, I'm at work and the standard hanger is at the gym, so no picture of that one.
Edit to add: I have 9 of these hangers; 3 are the more-bent, 6 less-bent. All 3 more-bent hangers are stamped with "Fixe 26KN". Out of the 6 less-bent, 4 are stamped "Fixe 26KN" and 2 are "Fixe 25KN" with the little gecko logo.
(This post was edited by acorneau on Feb 19, 2009, 8:45 PM)
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johnwesely
Feb 19, 2009, 8:43 PM
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limeydave wrote: [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3234;[/image]
You should always were a helmet. Even when walking down the street in an open field. You never know when danger will strike.
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johnwesely
Feb 19, 2009, 9:35 PM
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acorneau wrote: johnwesely wrote: You should always were a helmet. If you were a helmet, what kind of helmet would you be? 
I would be a hardshell helmet with an emergency kit including a space blanket, suture kit, road flare, emergenc y radio, a satellite telephone, 3 gallons of water, extra rope, extra belay device, extra helmet, shampoo, bpa free nalgene bottle full of milk, reeses puffs, steel carabiner, and a copy of the Self Coached Climber stowed inside under the suspension
(This post was edited by johnwesely on Feb 19, 2009, 9:35 PM)
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acorneau
Feb 19, 2009, 9:43 PM
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johnwesely wrote: acorneau wrote: johnwesely wrote: You should always were a helmet. If you were a helmet, what kind of helmet would you be? I would be a hardshell helmet with an emergency kit including a space blanket, suture kit, road flare, emergenc y radio, a satellite telephone, 3 gallons of water, extra rope, extra belay device, extra helmet, shampoo, bpa free nalgene bottle full of milk, reeses puffs, steel carabiner, and a copy of the Self Coached Climber stowed inside under the suspension
Just your luck, Petzl makes that one. I think it's called the Ecrin Roc, Majid Special Edition.
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troutboy
Feb 19, 2009, 9:46 PM
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acorneau wrote: johnwesely wrote: acorneau wrote: johnwesely wrote: You should always were a helmet. If you were a helmet, what kind of helmet would you be? I would be a hardshell helmet with an emergency kit including a space blanket, suture kit, road flare, emergenc y radio, a satellite telephone, 3 gallons of water, extra rope, extra belay device, extra helmet, shampoo, bpa free nalgene bottle full of milk, reeses puffs, steel carabiner, and a copy of the Self Coached Climber stowed inside under the suspension Just your luck, Petzl makes that one. I think it's called the Ecrin Roc, Majid Special Edition.
It that the one with the cool green and blue stick figure illustrations on it ?
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jeepnphreak
Feb 19, 2009, 11:12 PM
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Considering that those bolt hangers are only a few $. Just replce it. Not need to risk your/others safty on questionable gear.
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USnavy
Feb 20, 2009, 3:13 AM
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acorneau wrote: Thanks folks. For some clarification, I will not be putting the older half-bent hanger on any route, just using for classes in the gym. The anchor hangers might end up on climbs, though (eventually). The more-bent hanger is on top, less-bent on bottom: [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3236;[/image] The less-bent on top: [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3237;[/image] More-bent with biner clipped: [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3238;[/image] Less-bent not able to be clipped straight on: [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3239;[/image] Unfortunately, I'm at work and the standard hanger is at the gym, so no picture of that one. Edit to add: I have 9 of these hangers; 3 are the more-bent, 6 less-bent. All 3 more-bent hangers are stamped with "Fixe 26KN". Out of the 6 less-bent, 4 are stamped "Fixe 26KN" and 2 are "Fixe 25KN" with the little gecko logo.
Those hangers are rather poor choices for lead anchors. Those hangers are primarily used to build belay and rap stations and for top rope anchors. They can be lead on but they can bend in the way you have experienced on lead falls, they are much harder to clip then the correct hangers, and they pose many other problems.
I recommend scraping them completely and replacing them with the right hanger.
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climbryn
Feb 20, 2009, 3:30 PM
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Dont those hangers usually have rings attached? Did you have to cut the ring off? I've never seen those with out rings, it looks like clipping a biner to it would create a bad position for the biner to be loaded.
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kennoyce
Feb 20, 2009, 3:59 PM
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Thanks for posting the pics.
After seeing the type of hanger you are refering to, I would have to say that there should be no problem with bending them the little bit that they need to be bent. It shouldn't weaken the hangers enough to worry about.
One side note on the clipping method seen in the photo, you should really be clipping those hangers the oposite way. The way they are being clipped the biners are being loaded in a very weak position, you should really clip them from under the hanger not over it, and this way the biner will be loaded along the spine like it is designed to be.
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acorneau
Feb 20, 2009, 4:32 PM
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kennoyce wrote: One side note on the clipping method seen in the photo, you should really be clipping those hangers the oposite way. The way they are being clipped the biners are being loaded in a very weak position, you should really clip them from under the hanger not over it, and this way the biner will be loaded along the spine like it is designed to be.
Very true. I was demonstrating the way most people would clip them when on the wall (clip from the top and then rotate the biner gate down).
I'm playing with them here at my desk and they do clip easier from below. However, a large HMS biner (BD Rocklock) just barely fits when clipping bottom up.
I'm not going to worry about bending them. If they do end up on climbs they will have quicklinks on them anyway.
Thanks for the discussion!
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