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shah269

Two questions regarding maintenance

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I'm sorry but I have two very dumb questions.

Line maintenance?
Is there any special technique in keeping ones lines healthy?
UV light and the general environment I'm sure do a number on lines.
Is there any way in which one can prevent damage?
A quick google search brought up something called line wax?

Canopy maintenance.
Is it best to store a canopy within the container or is it best to let it breathe after a day of skydiving?
Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

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If you're going to be going a while between jumps (and we're talking several months here) pull the canopy and put it in a tupperware bin, in a closet (temp, humidity, bug controlled).

As for lines... generally you don't gotta jack with 'em, and I wouldn't apply ANY chemicals to them. Never know how it will interact with the lines, fabric, webbing, container, or any other part of the assembly. Just not worth it.
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

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I wouldn't put anything called wax on the lines, it sounds like a dirt magnet.

Keeping the canopy packed will lessen the possibility of the fabric being exposed to chemicals or cat pee etc.

It doesn't need to breathe while in the closet, in fact I put my packed rig in a large heavy plastic bag before I put it in the gear bag.










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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If the canopy is damp, hang it overnight - to dry out - then stuff it in a plastic bag or deployment bag.

It does not matter whether you store it in a plastic trash bag or nylon deployment bag.
The act of packing wears out canopies far faster than sitting on the shelf.

Leaving a main pack - for years - makes little difference. Only the rubber bands will rot out.

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If you don't know how to untwist your brake lines ask a rigger or packer. You start up at the cascade and run the line thru your finger towards the toggle (like getting the kinks out of a garden hose). The main reason for doing this is that as the slider comes down the lines it heats the lines up which will set the twists if you leave them in.

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If you don't know how to untwist your brake lines ask a rigger or packer. You start up at the cascade and run the line thru your finger towards the toggle (like getting the kinks out of a garden hose). The main reason for doing this is that as the slider comes down the lines it heats the lines up which will set the twists if you leave them in.


A slide can produce that much heat?
Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

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WOW!
Learn more every day.
I had no clue they got that hot.
Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

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i advise you to run as fast as possible and then drop to your knees; kind of like the soccer-guys do when they hit a goal. you'll figure out quite quickly how hot it can get! ;)

that, or bang the fat out of a size 8+ girl while on your knees over a longer duration of time.. :D

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

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The main reason for doing this is that as the slider comes down the lines it heats the lines up which will set the twists if you leave them in.



Is this true for all line types?

The main problem with twisted lines is that they get shorter. Of course if they then set that makes the problem irreversible.
"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

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I believe it's true for all types of lines just that each type is more or less resistant than others. But I'm not sure which is most/least resistant off the top of my head.

EDIT to add: After a quick seach it seems that Spectra has the worst resistance to heat (and shrinking) while HMA and vectran do not shrink much (or at all).

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The main problem with twisted lines is that they get shorter



That's a negative ghostrider. The main problem is that they don't lie flat, and have a tendency to half-hitch around themselves or other stuff. Ever heard of a tension knot?

Short lines are easy to live with, just watch out for the stall on the bottom end. Tension knots are a slightly bigger problem.

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WOW!
Learn more every day.
I had no clue they got that hot.






And whatever ya do, don't put silicone spray on the lines to reduce friction and lower the heat...I know a guy that lost his shoes doin' that! :D










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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The main problem with twisted lines is that they get shorter



That's a negative ghostrider. The main problem is that they don't lie flat, and have a tendency to half-hitch around themselves or other stuff. Ever heard of a tension knot?

Short lines are easy to live with, just watch out for the stall on the bottom end. Tension knots are a slightly bigger problem.



I was thinking more on opening where one half of the canopy would be set in deeper brakes than the other causing an asymmetric opening with the potential for the canopy to spin up. Brake lines never seem to twist up evenly on both sides on the canopies I have packed - I don't understand why.

I didn't know twists were linked to tension knots - that's a great reason to spend a minute a day untwisting them!
"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

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And whatever ya do, don't put silicone spray on the lines to reduce friction and lower the heat...I know a guy that lost his shoes doin' that! :D


Help a brother out...what?
Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

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Leaving a main pack - for years - makes little difference. Only the rubber bands will rot out.



This happened to one of my current canopies. The previous owner left it in the container and d-bag over several summers. He had black bungees on at the time. They started to lose their coloring, and left a lovely black ring around the lines every foot or so.

When I first saw it, I genuinely thought the lines were rotting, as do a lot of people. It doesn't look good, but I've had it checked out by a rigger etc. and apparently they're still perfectly fine!

50 jumps later on the canopy and they ain't broke yet! :D

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Brake lines never seem to twist up evenly on both sides on the canopies I have packed - I don't understand why



people tend to favor turning to one side when they land to collapse the canopy


others - twists be come loops, loops become knots, knots become tangles - I'd worry about this long before I'd worry about twists making one side shorter or not

the heat from the slider shrinks the lines - nylon shrinks with permanent heat damage

as for coating the lines.......I'd think dirt attraction is about the worst thing to try for line preservation........

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

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If you don't know how to untwist your brake lines ask a rigger or packer. You start up at the cascade and run the line thru your finger towards the toggle (like getting the kinks out of a garden hose). The main reason for doing this is that as the slider comes down the lines it heats the lines up which will set the twists if you leave them in.



It helps to start above the cascade, separate the lines on the tail, then work your way down. If you just start at the cascade, you can still have a twist or two above it.
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

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