Power Kite Forum

The Ultimate De-power line?

Kamikuza - 11-10-2010 at 05:50 PM

Want to get an Ozone CL for the Speed ... but the depower line is a problem. The OEM one is thinner than regular lines I've seen eg. the PL one ...

I got (and can easily get) some depower line for dual-depower line bars that is slim and I assume will be strong enough when doubled.

So I was thinking - if I 'braid' the line back inside itself, will I have doubled the strength with a core for safety or what?

Kamikuza - 12-10-2010 at 06:43 PM

63 views and no opinions? :(
How about ... what does FS use for the OEM depower line on the Speed 2.5 bar?

borntofli - 12-10-2010 at 07:02 PM

I run double line on mine and no problem.... Not sure what your asking.......

Kamikuza - 12-10-2010 at 08:56 PM

I can get about 5mm depower line that is used in the double depower line bars ... but don't know what it is exactly or it's breaking strength.

The bar's hole is too small for 'regular' sized depower line like on the PL Zero7 or probably the Ozone (beal) line.

So either, what is the OEM Flysurfer line? or can I 'braid' the 5mm stuff back into itself for the whole length of the depower line to create a stronger line?

PBKiteboarding - 13-10-2010 at 12:06 AM

Double line works great for guys that want to push
it till the outer layer breaks.
The sign to replace it sure is noticeable...
Hard to get lazy...

But then the plastic covered ozone line basically lasts for ever...

acampbell - 13-10-2010 at 05:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kamikuza

So I was thinking - if I 'braid' the line back inside itself, will I have doubled the strength with a core for safety or what?


Not sure what you mean but any of these center lines' breaking strengths are in the thousands of pounds, so they are sized the way they are for more for wear resistance than tensile strength.

In some cases a smaller diameter center line doubled over runs through an oval center hole in the bar easier than a single thicker one.

awindofchange - 13-10-2010 at 12:30 PM

If you double the line back inside itself, you would normally increase the test of the line by double - if all things are considered equal. The only issues would be excessive wear where the line was doubled inside of itself or excessive heat buildup.

The line itself would be double the strength, but the end of the line where it looped over would still be single strand and still be at the original strength. So if you were to double over the line into itself to form a loop to attach to something, the end of the loop would still be at the original strength and not doubled up.

Hope that helps.

indigo_wolf - 13-10-2010 at 01:09 PM

This has been a bit of a head scratcher.

Some lines are thicker or thinner based on the tightness of the weave/braid. I think the Ozone depower line is rated at 2000 lbs. Unless you intend to do tandem aerials with King Kong, not really sure how much stronger you would want it.

Some lines resist abrasion by using a sheath, but Sampson (Amsteel) and Beal (who sources the depower line for Ozone foil kites) also coat their lines for abrasion resistance.

Ozone might have decided to go with a thinner, tighter braid/weave as the other half of their "new wider alloy central hole reducing friction".

While most marketing verbiage should be taken with a boulder of salt :rolleyes: "Beal line for chicken loop line - never wears out (But is replaceable in case of failure by accident)" is what they are claiming on the 2011 Megatron.

If you are still leery or want a more visible wear indicator, I would go with PBS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s suggestion and go with the Megatron for water based kites, which uses Amsteel and a PU cover.


ATB,
Sam

h20_megatron.jpg - 16kB

Kamikuza - 13-10-2010 at 05:37 PM

Ah Beal is the brand name, not the name of the item ...

Problem is still ... will the Ozone depower line be long enough to replace the whole thing with the right abount of throw?? It wasn't for the Speed 1.5 ...

(but that's the least of my problems at the moment :( )

indigo_wolf - 13-10-2010 at 06:46 PM

Sorry to hear about the SA :sniff: Truly....

Yeah.... Beal makes all kinds of technical rope and line. Check out their Unicore stuff. Conceptually simple, but pretty brilliant and patent worthy to boot.

Anyway, back to your problem. I think the really question is will the PU coating give you the complete depower range, even is you need to add something like Q-LeaderLine-Pro to complete the connection. Actually, I wonder if Ozone would let you order a longer (custom) depower line. Worth an ask.

ATB,
Sam

bluefunelement - 13-10-2010 at 07:26 PM

buy your own line and mod the megatron no problem -

http://atlantickiteboarding.com/tech-ozone.html

edit - I have done this - it works fine but it is difficult to tie the knot as small as it is from the factory - if you do the beal line and your center lines will swivel and if you don't it will just be static.

indigo_wolf - 13-10-2010 at 07:34 PM

Awesome link :thumbup:

ATB,
Sam

Kamikuza - 13-10-2010 at 08:44 PM

Yeah that's how I did the S1.5 one ... the Ozzie forum guy said you can order Beal line by the meter from their shop - took bloody ages to get the last one though :lol:

Kamikuza - 13-10-2010 at 10:17 PM

Found a spare line in my FS bag ... seems the inner "safety" line in the depower is actually only about the thickness of LEI bridle lines, maybe a little less say 2mm. That makes my life easier!

PBKiteboarding - 16-10-2010 at 11:15 PM

Great Link on the Beal Wolf... High end!

I've seen the odd beals worn out rare, there is an inner line as well as shown (Hanging on as the outer sheath shreds) but not on kites used one snow...
Good old sand that kills the line and water helping sand to stick makes it worse like sand paper.
All fairly easy to replace.
That PU tube on the Ozone Contact Bar really lasts! Like said.... good going Ozone...






So Snow is the easiest for wear on Beal lines and the Land then water hardest... My Demo Kites look like new at seasons end...

That inner line on the FS line is probably 1200-1300 pound line... but time to change for sure...

Sort of like Kook Proof for us... helps us keep our kite from flying away for sure..

I Also make up double line Depower Line...

powerzone - 17-10-2010 at 09:33 AM

Hi Kevin...

All FS depowerline has DC300 (600lb) core inside of 12 strand braided dyneema. the S3 and P4 with Infinity bar use 3/16" Amsteel (or equivelant) and the P2,P3,Pu1,Pu2,S1,S1.5,S2,S2.5, etc all use 1/4" Amsteel.

you could add a length of DC500 (1000lb) Dyneema as a core inside the Amsteel.... this would be a bit better as a safety backup... and would only slightly increase the depowerline diameter

Amsteel 1/4" is ~8000lb breaking strength
Amsteel 3/16" is ~5000lb breaking strength

I dont think there is much point in braiding the Amsteel line back inside itself.... you'd have almost a 1/2" thick depowerline and it wouldnt fit thru the CH loop or the bar. also, the thicker the depowerline, the more wear is experienced by the bar when turning/sheeting. thinner line equals more room in the bar, and less wear on the sides.


i'm confident FS has invested in the R&D to come up with the best design of depowerline for their kites....the proper strategy remains, just to keep an eye on the depowerline and replace it as soon as you begin to doubt its integrity.

Kamikuza - 17-10-2010 at 04:48 PM

Thanks! Great info there!

... what's all that in metric :lol:

While waiting for the wind yesterday, by way of experiment I 'braided' a ~2mm Amsteel bridle line into a ~5mm Amsteel depower line - worked a treat, looks exactly like the FS one :D now I just gotta figure out the breaking strengths but I think I'm gravy!