Question about rope storage

Okay so this has been on my mind and I'd thought I'd ask and see if anyone has an informed answer. For most of the summer I have kept one of my ropes, a petzl Volta 9.1 mm 60 meters, in a black/grey Rubbermaid storage bin on my back deck. The bin is in shade all day except for a three hour span in the morning. Is it possible that UV rays from the sun might be infiltrating the bin and damaging my rope during those three hours a day when the bin is in the sun? Thanks for listening.

I'd be more worried about heat than sun. Especially if the bin is a dark color, it could turn into a solar oven for three hours a day.

Climb.tooth.radish wrote:Okay so this has been on my mind and I'd thought I'd ask and see if anyone has an informed answer. For most of the summer I have kept one of my ropes, a petzl Volta 9.1 mm 60 meters, in a black/grey Rubbermaid storage bin on my back deck. The bin is in shade all day except for a three hour span in the morning. Is it possible that UV rays from the sun might be infiltrating the bin and damaging my rope during those three hours a day when the bin is in the sun? Thanks for listening.

Sun cannot "infiltrate" through a black/grey bin, unless the lid is off, or the bin has major cracks. Heat yes, but no UV exposure to be worried about. Both heat and UV exposure can have a negative effect on long chain polymers (which is what you should be worried about), but I can't quantify the effect of heat. A number of real-world (but unscientific) tests of UV exposed rope (which should be worse than heat) have shown that the effect over a limited duration, while certainly measurable, isn't immediately catastrophic. caimateriali.org/index.php?…

Thanks everyone. The bin does not actually get very, very hot inside, and since UV is not an issue I think my rope should be fine.

In my not-so-expert opinion, your rope should be fine. But might I suggest, if space is at a premium, swap that rope for a couple of jackets from the back of your closet--three hours of warm weather a day won't kill a jacket, and your rope could live indoors.

Imagine if you climbed in direct Sun, at altitude, several days per week! People do that you know.

Your rope is fine.

Robert Cort wrote: Both heat and UV exposure can have a negative effect on long chain polymers (which is what you should be worried about),

So lets assume it's a black box and he lives in Phoenix. I still don't see the inside getting much hotter than 160 degrees.

Is there any data on the exact temp that could damage a rope? I bet it's quite a bit hotter than that.

Did what I did at one point. Contact the manufacturer. They reassured my decision.