Bungee systems quality

[JAnthony]

Anyone have an opinion on the bungee systems made by Triplette and PBT? Specifically, is one better than the other for any reason? Thanks!!

[rsy]

I don't know about TCA or PBT, but there is not much to a reeless system. 4 cheap blocks, some elastic cord, covered 3-strand wire. 2 female 3 prong sockets with clips and 2 male 3 prong plugs. We buy the blocks, cord and mounting hardware from the local hardware store and the wire and sockets from BG, AF or whoever has a good price. We use the Allstar female sockets because the plastic housing is a bit softer and doesn't crack when someone mistakenly lets go of the plug and it snaps back to the wall.

We use a wire rope strung across the middle of the room perpendicular to the strips to support the elastic cord and to provide a return for the wires to the scoring boxes. We also "tie off" the cords before they plug into the box so that if there is a catastrophe, the boxes will not be pulled down.

If you never set one up before, then find the one with the lowest price, buy it and then reverse engineer it so you can build the next one yourself.

-r

[CvilleFencer]

I pretty much second what RSY has said. Our club proshop, whose website is not quite open yet but could still sell you one if you like, sells an Allstar system for $210.00 that is very high quality, being made out of Allstar parts. The PBT and the TCA systems are both lower quality and of limited durability, but if you have to pick I would go with the PBT system. I think it is the better of the two. I would stay away from the floor model as they are rather hard to use and more vulnerable to damage. Once you have had a chance to study one they are not hard to make yourself, as mentioned.

[JAnthony]

Thanks - good advice! Unfortunately, we're limited by our venue to a floor version. They all seem to be about the same price range, so we'll kick it around and pick one. Thanks for the offer, Cville. I'll be in touch if we decide to go that way.

[Robert Smith]

We put together bungee reels a little over a year ago. It's been a learning experience. We bought all the components separately, not as a package, and it cost us around $100 CDN per strip.

The most expensive components were the end connectors. Not much you can do to save on those. The most problematic part has been the cable. We originally went with Uhlmann reel cable, as I expected it would be better suited than anything we could pick up locally. Not so. I'm pretty sure the size of the pulleys was to blame, but the cable lasted six months before it had so many cracks in the outer casing that it was becoming unusable. So we replaced the cable with cheaper stuff, a copper cable which we were told was previously sold for controlling rooftop tv antennae. We've had around six months from this too. But it's a real pain. The copper stretches inside the sheathing, breaks and then pokes through the inner sheathing. Sometimes the outer sheathing too, but it's quite capable of mating with another conductor without any external indication. So first, intermittent faults, turning to showers later. Small diameter pulleys, methinks, aren't a Good Idea.

So, the search for larger pulleys. Hard things to find, these pulleys. Marine stores carry them but they're hellish expensive. A lot of searching and calling later, I found http://www.amt-usa.com/en/pulleys.htm. They sell farming equipment - egg belts, manure curtains, and 3.5" nylon pulleys. I bought enough pulleys for ten strips for around $50. They're lighter than cast pulleys, but still noisy on the floor; a little plastic foam taped on the sides eliminates that.

So now we replace the second set of cable, and replace again, and wait to see if the pulleys eliminate further problems. More news in six months...

[rsy]

Originally Posted by Robert Smith

So, the search for larger pulleys. Hard things to find, these pulleys. Marine stores carry them but they're hellish expensive.

Yeah, but wouldn't it be cool to have a system with 4 Harken high-speed 75mm Air Blocks made from computer machined 6061 T-6 aluminum bar stock with Torlon rollers and carbon-black Delrin balls in captive race each designed to handle 5,000 lb loads with a breaking strength of 10,000 lb. Only $295.95 each. Check these beauties out Harken Blocks
-r

[KD5MDK]

Originally Posted by rsy

Yeah, but wouldn't it be cool to have a system with 4 Harken high-speed 75mm Air Blocks made from computer machined 6061 T-6 aluminum bar stock with Torlon rollers and carbon-black Delrin balls in captive race each designed to handle 5,000 lb loads with a breaking strength of 10,000 lb. Only $295.95 each. Check these beauties out Harken Blocks
-r

Er, not that much.

Where is a good place to buy 3 prong sockets? I have a project that needs some.

[Robert Smith]

Originally Posted by rsy

Yeah, but wouldn't it be cool to have a system with 4 Harken high-speed 75mm Air Blocks made from computer machined 6061 T-6 aluminum bar stock with Torlon rollers and carbon-black Delrin balls in captive race each designed to handle 5,000 lb loads with a breaking strength of 10,000 lb. Only $295.95 each. Check these beauties out Harken Blocks
-r

Ouch! Impressive. Might be just a wee bit overkill. But I bet they don't sell manure curtains (http://www.amt-usa.com/en/manure.htm#mancur), do they? Or egg belts (http://www.amt-usa.com/en/eggbelt.htm) - although why eggs should need belts I couldn't say. Maybe they're too round shouldered for shoulder straps. Braces. Suspenders. Whatever.