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  1. #1
    Senior Member Frawg's Avatar
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    Tarp line tension

    Couldn't find any numbers posted on tarp line tension, so I did some measuring with a cheap dial scale I found in the fishing section of the local Walmart.

    Measurements were on my experimental 5' x 10' "pseudo-cat". The ridge line tension was about 25 lbs and guy line tension was about 5 to 7 lbs.

    Edit: should have said "ridge tie line". I don't use a separate ridge line.

    FYI, FWIW, YMMV, etc, etc....
    Last edited by Frawg; 08-24-2009 at 12:06.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member pineapplenewton's Avatar
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    I wonder what weight you can put on sil or DWR before it fails
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frawg View Post
    Couldn't find any numbers posted on tarp line tension, so I did some measuring with a cheap dial scale I found in the fishing section of the local Walmart.

    Measurements were on my experimental 5' x 10' "pseudo-cat". The ridge line tension was about 25 lbs and guy line tension was about 5 to 7 lbs.

    Edit: should have said "ridge tie line". I don't use a separate ridge line.

    FYI, FWIW, YMMV, etc, etc....
    i know i've put many times that on my lines, i actually use 2 rings on the rl pull tabs now, those are break at 75#min and i broke them twice before i switched to double rings. i always figured there was generally about twice as much force on the rl pull tabs as the ground corners (for a hex anyway), you're numbers look like 3-4 times though, so maybe that's more accurate.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Frawg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by warbonnetguy View Post
    i know i've put many times that on my lines, i actually use 2 rings on the rl pull tabs now, those are break at 75#min and i broke them twice before i switched to double rings.
    Have to admit I was a little surprised at how small the force turned out to be on mine, but I did have quite a bit of 'sag' in my pitch.

    i always figured there was generally about twice as much force on the rl pull tabs as the ground corners (for a hex anyway), you're numbers look like 3-4 times though, so maybe that's more accurate.
    I think we could both be accurate. Force-wise, it's the same scenario as with hanging a hammock, except that guy line tension substitutes for the weight of a body in the hammock. That inverse sine relationship will really crank up the ridge line tension if you don't want to allow much sag.

    BTW, I dug into this because I wanted get a better handle on what was happening with guy line tensioners, and the scale was only 5 bucks. Can't help myself...
    - Frawg

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  5. #5
    Senior Member TinaLouise's Avatar
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    I have a homemade tarp that I've had one of the corner loops that the guyline is attached to, break under stress. I've resewed it back together and added shockcord tensioners to all four corners. So I don't know how much the wind was blowing that day but the tensioners have helped quite a bit. I guess it's good to know the break points of your gear, at least that way you'll know if you set it up in some adverse situations, you'll know before hand if you'll be sleeping soundly through the night or if you need to be expecting something to break.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Frawg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TinaLouise View Post
    I have a homemade tarp that I've had one of the corner loops that the guyline is attached to, break under stress. I've resewed it back together and added shockcord tensioners to all four corners. So I don't know how much the wind was blowing that day but the tensioners have helped quite a bit.
    That must have been fun!

    I've lately been using paracord sheath for tie-outs and have been playing with tubing-based tensioners, per JustJeff's version 2 directions, and have been pleased with them. Still trying to figure out what the minimum necessary length is. Seems like there are two issues -- taking up the slack as the tarp stretches out over time, and dealing with dynamic loads added by the wind. Given a choice between strong tensioners lightly extended and weaker tensioners more fully extended, I suspect the dynamics would make the stronger tensioners a better choice. But that's just a seat of the pants guess. At least it's fun lying in the hammock under a test tarp in a driving rain.

    I guess it's good to know the break points of your gear, at least that way you'll know if you set it up in some adverse situations, you'll know before hand if you'll be sleeping soundly through the night or if you need to be expecting something to break.
    Yeah, if you're gonna skate close to the edge you'd probably want to know where that edge is. Right now I've got the tarp hung with just mason line on all the tie outs. I'd tested some in the past and it broke consistently at around 95 lbs tension. We'll see how it holds up when the next t-storms roll through.
    - Frawg

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