BadDog 0 #1 October 10, 2003 I repacked a reserve last night that had previously been repacked in Germany. When I opened the flap, I noticed that the thread on the seal was routed in a way I had not seen before. I now wish that I had taken a picture of it so I wouldn't have to try to describe it. It appeared that it was tied off normally when it came to the first attachment to the cable. The loop was routed around the pin in the normal way, except that the thread did not pass through the seal. The thread was then tied off at the initial point of attachment. Next, the thread was routed through the seal and then tied off above the point of the first attachment. In other words, coming from the handle end, you'd find a tie-off (the second of the two extra ones), the seal, another tie-off (the normal one that is done first plus the first of the two extra ones), followed by the loop that goes around the pin (where you would normally find the seal). If you cannot visualize this, I may have to recreate it. Anyway, the problem was that when I pulled the release handle, the pin cleared the closing loop and released the reserve but the seal, which was still firmly attached to the cable, jammed in the cable housing and stopped the pin between the two guide rings (it was a Javelin). If there had been an RSL and the handles had been pulled at the same time or close to it, the RSL would not have been able to clear, creating an obvious problem. Has anyone ever seen this method of routing the thread when sealing a reserve before? Was this problem (the seal jamming the cable by getting stuck in the cable housing) just a fluke? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #2 October 10, 2003 How did you pull the handle? Just a short jerk to clear the pin, or a full force, full arm extension? I'm wondering if the seal thread would break.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Samurai136 0 #3 October 10, 2003 The way you are describing it sounds like you would see the safety line tied off in the following sequence: 1. At the swage where the rip-cord meets the pin. 2. Saftey line routed thru the seal and tied off at roughly the same point. (this would put the seal on it's own loop near the swage.) 3. Saftey line routed around the end of the pin and back thru seal and pressed. During a reserve activation the lower loop would be broken but the seal would still be attatched snuggly near the swage. So the problem is the seal is essentially tied on to the ripcord w/ no slack, and being jammed between the housing and the swage/pin during a reserve activation, right? I'd expect the saftey tie to break but it wouldn't suprise me that someone figured out how to use a seal and saftey tie to create a function w/ an RSL. I'd try and contact the rigger and let him know what you found. Ken"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian Ken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BadDog 0 #4 October 11, 2003 I pulled it with what would have been a full extension had the seal not jammed. Once it hung up, I did not apply further force to see if the thread would break (I was not interested in seeing if I could damage the housing). I don't know if it would have broken or not (I did think about that). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
