Do essential oils damage climbing ropes?

Stich wrote: That's cool, cuz I huff dat shit 24/7 beyotch.

Witness me as I get shiny and chrome on the way to Valhalla

Over the years I have come across many sources - magazine articles that cite studies, manufacturer statements, and other climbers (including AMGA guides) - that state motor oil and gasoline do not harm climbing ropes. Yet I still have climbing buddies who get all freaked out when I lay my climbing rope and gear down on the parking lot. Are they just ignorant or is there any reason to fear residual oil/gasoline from parking lot surfaces in contact with your rope/gear?

There was a rope that broke in a gym a few years ago, one of the theories at the time was that it had been damaged by placing it on the ground in the parking lot.

Locker wrote:How many times have you heard of a rope breaking due to being set down in a parking lot?

BITD I set my rope down in the Camp 4 lot and it immediately turned to dust.

Kyle Cobbler wrote: ahhhh thank you oil and gassholes for cutting my gas with something that ruins my vehicle...

Don't blame them, blame the government and the greeny weenies for requiring it...

William Thiry wrote:Over the years I have come across many sources - magazine articles that cite studies, manufacturer statements, and other climbers (including AMGA guides) - that state motor oil and gasoline do not harm climbing ropes. Yet I still have climbing buddies who get all freaked out when I lay my climbing rope and gear down on the parking lot. Are they just ignorant or is there any reason to fear residual oil/gasoline from parking lot surfaces in contact with your rope/gear?

There are other potential contaminants from cars besides gas/oil... for example: antifreeze, brake fluid, Automatic transmisison fluid, power steering fluid and battery acid. Battery acid will definitely destroy ropes, the others I don't know...

Locker wrote:How many times have you heard of a rope breaking due to being set down in a parking lot?

It has actually occurred, and the climbers are lucky to be alive considering how far they fell.

At Pipeworks a climber's rope broke and it was determined the rope was exposed to acid. They were unable to determine with absolute certainty if the parking lot was the direct cause of the failure, but they determined the parking lot was most likely to blame.

people.dbmi.columbia.edu/~d…

mountainproject.com/v/broke…

I would say it's good practice to avoid putting your rope on surfaces that collect whatever might drip down from automobiles (aka parking lots). I dont worry about much, but this is one thing that I do try avoiding when possible.

Stagg54 wrote: Don't blame them, blame the government and the greeny weenies for requiring it...

But I still find gas stations in the sticks that offer gas with no added alcohol. Required?

Kyle Cobbler wrote: But I still find gas stations in the sticks that offer gas with no added alcohol. Required?

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099149_state-laws-on-ethanol-in-gasoline-only-seven-states-require-e10-blend

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan…

Kyle Cobbler wrote: But I still find gas stations in the sticks that offer gas with no added alcohol. Required?

Obviously simply passing a law doesn't mean everyone complies...

The climbing rope my friend and I almost used at Shelf had a large, visible discoloration and could be picked open. It tasted acidic, so I put together that the owner had put a dead car battery in the back of her hatchback where the rope was.

Kyle Cobbler wrote: But I still find gas stations in the sticks that offer gas with no added alcohol. Required?

It's only required in select areas, primarily urban areas with polluted air. At least that's how it got started, but more recently ethanol has become a political issue. If you're a national politician that wants the support of the farm states, you are in favor of wider use of ethanol in gasoline. It drives up corn prices (and by ripple effect, other grains. But we won't get into that can of worms), so the farmers like it. And it sounds good, "domestic clean energy" and all that. Even though it's always been debatable whether the ethanol produces more energy than the energy required to produce it.

Locker wrote:"It has actually occurred... ...it was determined the rope was exposed to acid... ...They were unable to determine with absolute certainty if the parking lot was the direct cause of the failure but they determined the parking lot was most likely to blame... I recall reading about that one. I also recall that it was never actually proven to be the cause, as mentioned above. Though "Most likely" it was. No doubt it's not a good idea to set a rope down on surfaces that may contain harmful chemicals on them (i.e. Parking lots). Though I don't make a habit of it, I did it just the other day and wasn't overly concerned.

Battery acid is water-soluble. How long do you think it stays on a parking lot that is exposed to the rain? (Rhetorical question - I know some arid states don't get the inch-a-week precip that the NE typically receives)

Can i give the rope an essential acid peel?

Yoga-essence and hippy sweat most likely won't be on the list, but you can check out a resource like this to find a product's chemical compatibility:
graco.com/content/dam/graco…

this chart seems to have a bunch of "essential" oils

Gunkiemike wrote: Even though it's always been debatable whether the ethanol produces more energy than the energy required to produce it.

I thought that debate was already answered in that it does, unless you make it from sugar cane like in Brasil. Not to mention the fact that it destroys car engines...

Gunkiemike wrote: Even though it's always been debatable whether the ethanol produces more energy than the energy required to produce it.

It's widely known that adding ethanol reduces the BTU count of gasoline. All vehicles get worse fuel economy with it added, and E85 will really drop your MPGs. The main point to E10 is emissions.

J Marsella wrote:Does contact with cats damage your climbing gear and.or decrease gas mileage?

UR GUNNA DIE!!!

20 kN wrote:It's widely known that adding ethanol reduces the BTU count of gasoline. All vehicles get worse fuel economy with it added, and E85 will really drop your MPGs. The main point to E10 is emissions.

Ethanol has roughly 30% less energy than gasoline. So the E10 blend that you are probably getting when the pump says "Contains Ethanol" delivers about 1 MPG less. E85 is only 1/3 the miles per gallon of gasoline, but it's usually priced accordingly e.g. it was $1.08/gal. here recently vs 2.35 for gasoline.

Ethanol USED TO reduce emissions (primarily CO and hydrocarbons) back when most cars lacked catalysts and feedback air/fuel ratio control. Think 1960's era carburetted engines, typically tuned slightly rich. But modern engines achieve optimum A/F ratio quickly and simply adjust for the ethanol's presence. So no benefit in CO or HC emissions. What minor emissions benefit there is derives from ethanol being benzene and sulfur-free. And, as I said up-thread, it's domestic energy, and that has to be good, right? Right?? Just don't count the natural gas that's used to produce the hellacious amount of fertilizer that commercial corn agriculture depends on. And the multiple distillations that fuel ethanol requires (hint - it's crazy energy-intensive, and there is maybe only one or two ethanol plants using carbon neutral energy to distill the alcohol.)

Back on topic - it's not harming your engine. Unless you're driving something built 50 years ago.

Do you know if this dogbones is safe to use? I'm afraid that like a xenomorph his drool is acidic.