Stien RC 3002 Lowering Device.....Anyone got one

[tophopper]

It'll pay for itself 6 times faster though.......considering you do big technical take downs on a regular basis. The GRCS mounts better for preservation work.

Im not saying its not worth what they're asking, I just think, even though the GRCS is ALOT more costly, its also more versatile, which makes it more efficient and a better value.

 

[sotc]

I wouldn't want to have to lift with it but just the ratcheting feature makes it better than a porty and fiddle block, taking up slack as a piece goes over makes it superior. There may be design flaws that are not obvious but I think I will pick one up this year.
As for the GRCS, I rarely use the bollard. Even the logs I posted in the work pix thread yesterday were all dropped on the winch. The bollard stays in the shop unless BIG wood is name of the game.

 

[bonner1040]

We look forward to your review...

 

[treesmith]

I wouldn't want to have to lift with it but just the ratcheting feature makes it better than a porty and fiddle block, taking up slack as a piece goes over makes it superior. There may be design flaws that are not obvious but I think I will pick one up this year.
As for the GRCS, I rarely use the bollard. Even the logs I posted in the work pix thread yesterday were all dropped on the winch. The bollard stays in the shop unless BIG wood is name of the game.

At what weight do you make the switch, Willie?

 

[sotc]

Oh, probably when negative blocking 400-500 pounds, pretty rare

 

[Burnham]

Willie takes names and all the rest...

 

[sotc]

Eh?

 

[treesmith]

Oh, probably when negative blocking 400-500 pounds, pretty rare

Seriously? You'd switch to the bollard for 500#? Seems all I hear are how the bollard is never used...like folks just use the winch for everything. I know in the GRCS DVD, Greg lowers out some pretty good nuggets with the winch. I'm thinking, "Save that rascal...use the bollard!"

 

[FJR]

The GRCS is put up on every removal and the bollard rarely gets used here.

 

[treesmith]

What is the deciding factor for using the bollard?

 

[MasterBlaster]

When there is no lifting required?

 

[treesmith]

I meant as in, at what weight (of piece being rigged), do you prefer the bollard? I see no sense in wear and tear on the winch, so I pretty much go to bollard any time dynamic loading is involved. The winch is better suited to static lifts/lowering.

I figured Willie would have switched to bollard on those fir chunks the other day. Willie, what did those nuggets weigh? You said 400#-500# dictated bollard....did those chunks not weigh that much?

 

[Altissimus]

.... I have never used the Bollard .... If its no hoisting a few heavys near something important we use PortOWrap

 

[sotc]

Pretty consistently 200-250, 1 may have been more. I like to pull up the slack as the piece comes over, can't do that with the bollard

 

[sotc]

I go much heavier when top roping.

 

[FJR]

The deciding factor to change to bollard is if we have to block down and rig pieces as we are getting closer to the ground to avoid the winch from getting hit by the piece. This situation is when the tree in tight quarters and we aren't able to fell a larger stick. I probably over use the winch and lift more than most would, but I love having more control and less shock loading. We don't get to bomb trees out too often, maybe a handful of times during the year, so the grcs gets a lot of use.

 

[treesmith]

So it's not a matter of weight of the piece being rigged that dictates bollard use?

 

[rangerdanger]

I've heard various things from people about switching between bollard and winch. We don't own a GRCS but I've talked to a lot of people who have, and read a lot of stuff on the matter. Everyone has their own thing I guess, some, like Willie, like to keep the winch on when blocking spars down because you have that ability to take up the slack that's created during negative blocking. Some switched to the bollard when any sort of dynamic loading is involved and only use the winch for lifting. Me, I'd probably do something like Willie does, but only up to a point. When the pieces start getting in an excess of 800lbs(just estimate off the top of my head, could be more or less) I'd start thinking of switching to the bollard, just because the forces generated can be so great.

 

[FJR]

Yeah I will keep the winch on there until its an extreme dynamic load or it can be hit by a piece. Extreme is all relative though, I just go with my gut. Has anyone ever heard of a grcs wearing out and not working properly?

 

[sotc]

Only the one Gerry videoed...

 

[tophopper]

Rarely do I feel the need to take out the stretch using the winch when negative blocking. If the piece is be dumped into a pulley below it usually isnt snubbed off and is let run anyway to some degree. If im blocking down a tree growing through a deck or something, the last 1 2 or 3 pieces may have to be snubbed off with the stretch taken out prior too, to prevent them from hitting the decking. This sometimes applies to a low limb over a house as well if there isnt a good overhead gin point. But for 90% of the pieces, they hit the block running anyway and are slowly brought to a stop.

 

[Burnham]

Pulling the slack out as the piece tips over lowers the load by shortening the drop...that's one great feature of a ratcheting bollard. That's different than winching it tight before cutting. Does the GRCS work that way?

 

[treesmith]

I agree, Burnham, though I've never had it done with my ratcheting bollard. It doesn't have the fairleads like the Hobbs ora GRCS, just the cross-posts on the nose. Therefore, the groundie pretty much stands out front, maybe somewhat to the side, of the bollard. You'd have to stand perpendicular to it in order to remove slack as the piece tipped. As has been said, the piece is usually going to be allowed to run anyway, so that little slack seems negligible.

 

[Old Monkey]

As a piece goes over you can snug it up on the GRCS.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Really? You'd stand underneath the load, cranking the handle?