I have a PKD Buster 4.0 M Power kite
A while ago I was flying it and one of my Brake lines snapped.

I'm trying to figure out what I can do.

Do I need to buy new lines?
Can I repair them?
If so what kind, the site I looked at says they come with

Flying lines:
High tech fiber line, 25m x 200/90kg colour - grey
Dyneema SK75 8x1 braids and coated

but I don't know where to get more or what the stats mean, I also notice that the brake lines are longer then the normal lines.

If someone could help me out with this it would be great, I live in Canada and have no problem with ordering them of the internet I just don't know where from or what to get.

naa just re-tie - the brake lines dont take much stress.
i wouldnt really worry about it.

thats crazy your brake line snapped.

give them a call i would bet they might replace it for you.

just make sure the lines are the same lenght.

i have a feeling theres goig to be people saying not a good idea though.

depends where it broke. If it broke close to the loop sleeving you could salvage the set by making them all the same length and re-sleeving them. If it broke in the middle somewhere, buy a new set and keep the set you have as backup for emergency. do not try and buy only one line or just 2 new brake lines as you will have a mis matched length of a mess.

One of Ripsessions shops is in Canada and he can hook you up with some new lines if you need to go that route and save you shipping from here in the states.

u2u sent

why send a u2u? I want to know what you think he should do also. Come on BK share your knowledge with the rest of us.

I told him that I was the NA dist for PKD and asked him where the line broke and where he lives in Canada, Then told him to email me direct as it is easier to answer from my phone.

Than I will be able to answer directly, and in the best circumstance, more than likely replace the brake line for him. Isn't that how your kite company's take care of your customers? I have repaired a number of PKD kites at no charge to the owner.

Anything else I can do for you? :D

Sorry, I miss spoke.
It did cost some customers. They had to pay shipping to get it to me. I pay for the return shipping, and a few of them I hand delivered, I like my customers.

ahh see now do you feel better that you got all that out in the open Just let it out we're hear to listen

Also now you look like a good guy taking care of a pkd customer.

At the word of Dino, I am surrounded by greatness.

Secil any response?

if its just your brake "flying line" and its near the original sleeving, i have replacement sleeving kits. i highly doubt they are the lines from PKD since they sell everything as "kite only" than you probably had 25m lines so going down to 20m in length you will not notice much.

where in canada? i can post mark (1x canadian stamp + envelope) a sleeving kit to ya.

if you want new line sets, we have those too.

another u2u avoided, my mailbox still remains full though.

U2U SENT

The Break is just over a foot away from the original sleeve.

I've emailed Bigkid to see how much it would cost to get a set of new lines or if it can be repaired

About how much would they cost to get a new set or a reapairkit from you ripsessionkites?

I live in Richmond, BC as well and I'm not far from Garry Point so I could meet you there one day to pick them up.

Secil, since you live almost next door to Rip, it would make the most sense to check in with him about your lines and any other kite equipment for that matter. He is usually flying at GP, along with the local kite buggy crew, most weekends. They are great folks to meet and I have found them more than happy to answer any kite questions and help out with all manner of kite and buggy gear.

Welcome ,

What are you planning on doing with the Buster? Bring it on out to GP and we will get you riding ! Lots of different kites available for you to try as well. Don't be shy !

Sounds to me like you want a sleeve kit. ( cheap and easy ) You will then have to shorten all 4 lines to match.

DON'T EVER just tie your lines. That would be an " airhead " move !

Since it is the brake line and not far from the end I will try tying a fisherman's knot for now which is what bigkid said would probably work. I can look into resleeving it a little later on.

I probably wont be down at GP for a bit though as I'm working quite a bit over the next week or so and then going away for a couple weeks but you never know I will be out this summer because I haven't gone in way too long.

As I said in the email I would just tie the line as is. But the right way is to redo all 4 lines to match the length of the shortest line. Or replace the set. Comes down to time, skill, and money. The choice was decided He would just tie the broken line together for now.
The offer I made to fix the lines still stands.

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites i highly doubt they are the lines from PKD since they sell everything as "kite only" than you probably had 25m lines so going down to 20m in length you will not notice much.

PKD Buster is sold R2F rigged and ready with lines, handles and accessories.

What I will probably end up doing is if in the next couple weeks I get a chance to fly I will tie the knot and use it like that.
Then since I'm going away for two weeks and wont be able to use it I will detach the lines and send them to you this way I spend less time without the lines.

The knot will not hold. Even using a Fishermans knot, it will not hold. Spectra line is naturally slick, so the line will just pull through the knot...and yes, even the fancy fishermans knot, bowline knot, figure 8, prussic and pretty much every other type of knot on the market, even with keepers tied in, will eventually just pull through or break. The next problem is that tying a knot in the line will shorten the line, which means you will need to re-adjust the other 3 lines to match or tie pigtails on your leaders and re-adjust there....but the knot will not hold. Lets say that you actually do get the knot to hold, the line will just break again after a couple sessions with even the lightest amount of force on it.

Tying any type of knot in Spectra or Dyneema line will weaken the line by as much as 60% of the breaking point. This means that if you have a line rated at 220# and you tie a knot into it, the strength of the line could be reduced to as little as 88# because of the knot. 88# of pressure is nothing on a power kite, even on the brake lines. Remember that you are probably flying with 400#+ test lines on the mains.

The reason the line will break is that even though Spectra line is 10 times stronger than steel (of the same size), Spectra / Dyneema lines have a very low melting point. As pressure is applied, heat is created in the knot and it will MELT the line in half. This is the reason that sleeving is used. Sleeving material is made from a dacron or polyester material that has a very high melting point compared to the Spectra. The high melting point helps protect the Spectra line from cutting itself in two when a knot is tied. With proper sleeving, your line only looses about 8% to 10% of the breaking strain.

Sleeving your lines is very easy to do, if your break is only a couple inches from the sleeving material then just re-sleeve all four lines to get them even and go fly. It only takes about 20 minutes to re-adjust and re-sleeve all of your lines.

We sell seeving kits that comes with the sleeving tool and 5 extra lengths of sleeving material for $7.95
You should be able to get one of these kits from any local kite shop as they use the same sleeving for dual line stunt kites as they do for the power kites. If you can't find a sleeving kit or if you don't have a local kite shop, you can make your own sleeving tool. Just find a buddy that plays guitar and see if they have a broken high "E" string. You can also use some piano wire just make sure it is very thin and somewhat stiff. Bend it in half so that you have about 18"+ of length. Stuff the bent end through the center of the sleeving material and push it all the way until the bent end sticks out the other end. Thread the flying line through the bent end of the wire just like you are threading a needle and pull a long segment through. Then carefully pull the wire back through the sleeving, pulling the flying line with it.

Once the flying line is pulled through the sleeving, set your sleeving tool aside and slide the sleeving material to where you want it, fold it over and tie with normal overhand knots. Cut off the excess line. Do the same for the other 3 lines making sure they are perfectly even with the first and your done.

Hope this helps.

what advice is that??? i can understand tying a knot if you flew sport kites. this is not good advice by any means and is also promoting bad practice too. when you fly the breaking point now has a weak link and it will always come to that knot.

these are power kites, no knot will work. and if you tie a knot what about your other 3 lines?? there would be even load.

if you're lines have un-sewn sleeving I can easily provide you with one sleeve as a freebie. if they are sewn than the faster way is to cut it off and re-sleeve all four.

secil, if you cant make it to GP no problem. if you contact me Ill pick up your lines and reset them for you while your gone if you'd like. why pay shipping back and fourth for sleeving, you might as well get new lines.

maybe the Buster III comes R2F now, but the PKD Joy, Buster didnt.

why tie a knot that will most likely fail sooner than later? You have to tie the knot and then adjust the 3 other lines so all 4 are equal length. Just do it right once .. re-sleeve it and be done. I would never recommend tying a knot in the line just as Kent and Ricky have said. Maybe if you were on vacation somewhere and had no way to fix the line correctly and wanted to fly while on vacation I could understand a quick fix of tying the knot. But you have the opportunity to fix it correctly ... i say do it right.
Just remember this is also a safety factor for you. I bet you never trust the lines again if you just tie them. You will always be thinking in the back of your head that the line could break at any time. If it breaks at a bad time then you possibly could end up hurt because of the broken line.

awindofchange, Rip, Dakitez,
you hit it the nail right on the head
i cannot think of anything more that need be said
this is good because i want to go to bed
so Sicel get the knot idea out of your head
and bigkid, maybe you should go back and reflect on the advice you said

Chris

Ok if you say a knot wont work then I wont do a knot.

ripsessionkites when are you next in Garry Point I can detach the lines from my kite and drop them off I might not have time to hang around for a while but I only live a couple minutes away.

Good move !

As others have pointed out you will not have 4 even length lines if you knott one. You can mabe that up by fudging with the knotts at the bridle or handles but it simply isn't worth the agro' . Best to do it right.

C'ya out there ! :wee:

Quote:

Originally posted by Secil Ok if you say a knot wont work then I wont do a knot. ripsessionkites when are you next in Garry Point I can detach the lines from my kite and drop them off I might not have time to hang around for a while but I only live a couple minutes away.

Quote:

Originally posted by Secil Ok if you say a knot wont work then I wont do a knot. ripsessionkites when are you next in Garry Point I can detach the lines from my kite and drop them off I might not have time to hang around for a while but I only live a couple minutes away.

my number : 778 855 KITE (5483)

just look for the little asian guy using the largest kite around. LOL.
also if you ask anyone just sitting around they will point you in the right direction. also if we miss each other, you can pass your lines to .... Bladerunner (ken #2), TDMC96 (ken #3), Coolbreeze (grant) and they will get it to me asap. you're around good company at the park and on the forum. we wouldnt steer you in the wrong direction, KITE FAMILIA.

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites just look for the little asian guy using the largest kite around. LOL.

his kite is the same size as everyone else .... he is just so small that his kite looks bigger than everyone else.

Ok, I'll probably be able to drop them off saturday morning or afternoon.
See you around!

WOW. I'll have to recheck all the lines I have seen with knots. I did tell him you can tie the lines together because he wanted to NOT do anything more. I told him the RIGHT way was to resleeve them and offered to do it for free. Am I wrong or right Secil?

I think most of this is just common sense ?
If you could not get a sleeve kit within reasonable distance in reasonable time of course you can do a short term re-tie of a line. If you adjust for it to equal out ! + don't trust it.
It is a line thing that can be handled quick and cheap so doing it right only makes sense.
If it was a bridle failure then I see how your standing by the product is great !

I have had a knott in a line on my Syn' for about 3 sessions now. A combination of lazy and curious has left it in there ! This topic makes lazy me say, leave it in ! :duh: