Broken aluminum ring

[Reddog]

I am coping this from another forum as a warning on some aluminum rings!
There seems to have been a second failure now also but no details.

Friends,

I was just informed that an aluminum ring that we splice into an adjustable friction saver has broken. No one was hurt. Without the broken parts in hand we have yet to conclude whether the ring was abused, defective or of substandard materials, but the worst is to be expected.

All we do know is that the ring WAS NOT MADE or supplied by Buckingham, Petzl or DMM. From a photo that I've seen, the ring appears to match what we have in stock from Kong. If, in the coming weeks it proves out that the ring was defective or of substandard materials there will most likely be a recall issued by the manufacturer.

The ring mentioned is most commonly spliced into our adjustable friction saver (code 33002, 32152) but are also sold alone in two sizes, small and large (26585, 26584). The variety that broke is polished aluminum (silver in color) and without any logo or other markings. This ring also has a faint "casting seam" around the outside edge. http://www.sherrilltree.com/Professi...-Alum-Ring-828

PLEASE INSPECT life support tools periodically for signs of damage or defect. If you drop (purposefully or by mistake) hardware from height, consider disposing of it permanently as is common in many other life support professions. Hairline cracks in metal can be difficult to detect with the naked eye.

Given the circumstances, and even without a recall, SherrillTree will voluntarily replace any SherrillTree-supplied product having the above-described ring with a more clearly marked and certified variation as soon as they come available. Please mail your polished aluminum ring or ring-attached splice to;

Ring replacement
SherrillTree
200 Seneca Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27406
(please include your return address and telephone number inside the package)

Further details to be posted (within this thread) as soon as available. We sincerely regret any inconvenience or anxiety this is certain to cause.

Tobe Sherrill

[Reddog]

Here is some more info.

Dear friends,

Attached to this post is official notice from SherrillTree recalling an aluminum ring sold for use in life support activities.

Certified notice by US mail along with return packaging is being assembled for distribution in the coming few days.

The rings that Sherrill, Inc. distributes have always been strictly sourced from KONG Bonaiti of Italy based on a high level of confidence in products forged by the manufacturer. It appears that the rings in question were not and, most importantly, did not receive individual testing.

We strongly recommend climbers using polished aluminum rings not sourced from SherrillTree (or Vermeer dealers) and not having strength ratings inscribed, to contact their supplier and push for replacement. There's great likelyhood that the manufacturer of the ring in question (not Kong) exports directly or indirectly to several other arborist suppliers.

(Known arborist manufacturers NOT distributing this ring include Petzl, Buckingham and Komet.)

With best regards,

Tobe Sherrill

[rebocardo]

> without any logo or other markings

That probably says it best.

[timberfaller390]

I have a good many years in doing vertical rescue. Our policy has always been if a caribiner has been dropped from a greater distance than chest height it was destroyed. I guess they could have been moved over to non life safety duty but it would be too easy to mix them up. All of our life safety biners have locking gates, the utility biners do not so there is no mix up.