I keep hearing people say you cannot use snap binders anymore. I believe it is all gossip. No one has been able to show me otherwise. I don't doubt someone has gotten a ticket for something similar and the truth has been lost as information has passed from person to person. I just want the truth in writing. I have searched the DOT website and found nothing about what type of binder you must use.
Complete gossip
I hope not , i hate those ratchet binders , when they get a little rusty and stiff or some tree sap gets on them they would rather wind the chain up than turn on their threads .
I have good luck using anti-seeze on the threads. I hate when they twist the chains. As I got older I got away from snap binders. They are much quicker but make you hurt to get them tight.
I'm going to try that. I use ratchets most of the time but still use the snap binder too. Thanks for the replies.
Certain jobs up here have banned them as with rubber bungee straps. Keeping the dummies safe!
We always put a piece of pipe over the handle to tighten snap binders, plus a bit of wire around the handle to stop them coming undone.
Snap binders can work well when done safely for sure. I am sure somewhere down the road they will get closely scrutinized, but as of now I have not heard of any ban. The longer the cheater pipe the better the bind but the more the danger for sure! I have a scar just above my eye to attest to thier danger.
i like the ratchet binders, some WD 40 keeps the threads working. pirtek sell a similar product with lanolin in it , works good on the threads and lasts a long time.
I have found that the most risky maneuver with the over center binders is removing them.Sometimes your load can shift a little and tighten them up so much that your cheater bar will go flying and hopefully noone is within range to get hit or you don't damage something else in the process.Your chin is in the line of fire too if you are not careful.I use them whenever I can. I have a few pet peeves with the ratchet binders as I have said before here or elswhere,you need to create good habits if you use them. Some people reverse the ratchet before they store them so that they are ready for the next use and some don't.I do not.Sometimes when you store them they get thrown into the gooseneck and that can reverse the ratchet accidentally. Where this becomes a big problem for me is moving equipment in the dark with no hookup lights.There is nothing more frustrating than using a ratchet binder in the dark and thinking that you are tightening when in fact it falls apart in your hand. Yes,you can go inspect it in the headlights of the tractor beforehand but the tractor is quite a ways away if you have a detachable lowbed and that gets old real fast. You need both hands to work so a flashlight is a hassle and just something else to look after and forget.The solution here is snap over binders.They are cleaner and simpler to use and most likely cheaper as well.Ron G
Perhaps you need to get yourself some of them flashlights you stick on your head. I have tried the old flashlight in the mouth trick but that is very uncomfortable.
They have some cheaper ones too but i can't find them on the site. The ones I have clip under the brim and they also work on hardhat brims. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10957802
Yeah, especiallythe 3 D-cell Maglites...
I have no problem with them it's the dolphin lantern that are a tad difficult http://www.dhub.org/object/12292
well the batteries never die on my snap binders
Go to a sporting goods store--even Walmart,K-mart sells head-lites,get a LED one and the batteries will seem to last forever.And my lube of choice is the red grease in an aerosol can for the ratcheting binders--will outlast and outlube regular grease or PB Blaster hands down.I still use an old snap binder in certain conditions--very useful,you just have to be careful.
Ok iron horse and pete here is what i know on snap binders or chain dog they a not banned for use on the roads but when you haul into some sites eg mines and quarry if you need to under go a safety check 1st they will make you remove them and leve them at the gate as they have it in they safety policy that a they are not to be used on site, I have heard a story form one of the other drivers he had one holding down his block and rubber mating and he was made to undo it and leave it at the gate even when he wood not have had to undo it to unload I find ratchet binders can be pain when it is wet as the ratchet seems to slip instead of undoing or doing up but if you keep the wd40 up to them it is not problem they just don,t last as long as the snap type ones
I just bought 4 of these "LEVER BINDER - DURABILT "RECOIL-LESS". The pivoting handle is supposed to eliminate the snap back.
I was wondering this myself, basically I would not drive an unsecured load one meter and what do these geniuses say is the approved tie down method? A rope, heavy duty ratchet straps?
They want you to use ratchet binders, As they are worried about some one get hit by snap type binder, so you need to have ratchet binders on your truck, I don't recoil less ones are OK I think it wood depend on the person on the gate
I'm sure some plants are cracking down on the traditional binders for sure. I had one graze my eye, as I mentioned and saw a fellow worker lose his eye due to not using the cheater pipe properly. They work fine, if you use them right. If you are careless, (as I was when I was young), or without fear ( as the guy I saw get hit), then yer in trouble. From my experience I will say, use them alone! As soon as someone says they are gonna help you, thats when someone gets hurt! Be smart and be safe. And for God's sake don't let the pipe slip off near the face.
Well I just got in from tying down my deere m for transport in the morning and the trailer that I borrowed had all ratchet binders in the neck. Its a little 12k deckover btw. Anyhow, there is nothing I hate more than sicky threads on ratchet binder wanting to twist my chains up, or when the little dog doesn't want to flip over. And they take so much longer to tighten. Just give me a set of standard over the center binders and I'll be along my way, they might be "more dangerous", but you have to be smarter than the binder.
We used to use as we call them "dogs" and the good ol 2-3' long pipe. We stopped using them at least 10 years ago now. Luckily nobody has gotten hurt in those previous years. But we have had a couple of pipes go flying off. With ratchet binders I have noticed that they don't twist up the chains when they're seasoned or used. Heck i havn't had a problem with them twisting the chains in almost 3 years myself i'd say, but damn its frustrating when they do. The majority of problem we have is the roll pin will slip out and catch on the lever while trying to ratchet it. Thats just fixed by a simple push.
A little oil on a ratchet binder once a week and it will never twist a chain or have a stuck dog.
Is it not true, that a bit of maintanance goes the distance!
Sometimes oil wont help the cheap binders, a pry bar held through the ring at one end of the ratchet types solves any chain twist problems for me. ointhead
I prefer snap binders but not the usual kind. It must be used with safety precautions.
I stopped using snap binders a few years ago when I heard the NH DOT frowned on their use. Now use ratchet binders and put Fluid Film on the threads and ratchets.
Nice quote
Nope, not illegal. Although I'm surprised OSHA hasn't tried. Both are good (when used properly) and both have their purposes. We carry (and use) both, depending on the load.
i like both.but,trying to use a snap binder under a 637 on a scraper jeep can be pretty hard to do.(space issues)1/2inch ratchets work well in tight spaces.binder maint. is key! most scrapers lubricate your binders for you! for flat bed work snap binders are great!i have been told CAT makes an excellent "dry film lube" in a spray can,that is excellent for binders!
10-4 on the leaky belly pans, when I used to haul the big stuff & needed lube just run your finger inside a belly pan & there it is! lol The CAT dry lube is ok, WD40 or liquid wrench works better IMO. Ron G., the light on the headband trick works ok, I use a mini maglite & when I tie down I chew it like a cigar & it always shines where our head goes.
Some of the northern mine sites won't allow them on site, lord knows why!
I know this thread is kind of old but here in the GWNW the national saftey council load securement rules mandate a positive locking method for overcenter binders. the new ones come with a u shaped clip with a pin to hold them in locked position. there are handles built for releasing them that don't transmit the unlock force . IE one side is half open. A pipe with a slot cut in the side works well too.:Banghead
Lights. Hello. When this is on special it is something like $3. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45807 To mount it on your hardhat take the center strap off. I use a glue velcro bit on front and the light. For the sides I use a zip wiretie on each side. I also mount a AA maglite on one side with the same zip tie.
Take Em apart and throw Em in a bucket of Diesel now & then
I like each kind for different situations with the snap over binders I usually put the pipe or bar under the handle and pry up to release it.
I've moved away from snap binders and have been using, with great success and safety for that matter, a binder combining the old style dog and ratchet tie down in one. Here is a link to check out. Not sure if they are available overseas though.
Old thread, has any new laws came to light since it was started? I was under the impression that MO does not consider a tiedown unless it has mechanical locking mechanism such as a screw........ The way i understand it is you cannot throw a chain on the rear and pull machine forward to tighten or use a break over binder. The part I am unclear on is can we not use them at all or are they acceptable if they have a mechanical locking mechanism Pj
I'm still using them , Haven't heard anything about them being banned yet .
Rolled through the I-81 south scales at Greeneville TN with the lowboy last Friday. 15,000 lb Nissan forklift, Bobcat T190 with forks, wood cribbing blocks, combination of several chains, ratchet binders, and snap binders in full view, they gave us the green light.
Still work here too
If it was a law, it would have to come from the Feds via the FHTSA. Any single state which would enforce such laws on the interstate or on interstate traffic could get sideways with interference with interstate commerce.
I have seen some hybrid binders , a snap style with one end threaded to adjust a bit finer..I like the Dominion chain bx binders, they are recoil-less the center moves when you unhook. http://www.slingchoker.com/sling2/dc/chain/i23a.htm
The snap binders we had at work, we weren't allowed to use a pipe. The thought being that they were not designed to be levered on. Same reason we couldn't use a pipe on a breaker bar.
I use a cheater that's open on one side so it can't take your head off, and I really don't pull them that tight anymore anyway. Last week I was coming out of the pit and there were two snap chains and a binder laying in the road, the binder had the last four inches of the handle broken off (?????), but otherwise looked fine. Is it legal to use?
Not sure it would be worth the chance of DOT calling it a damaged binder
I prefer using the over-center binders where I have room unless the load is rubber mounted. for loaders and such that seem to always loosen a touch after initial securement I prefer to use the ratchet binders because it is quicker to snug them down a bit more. I too hate when the chain twists on ratchet binders and usually spray with PB blaster or some such thing. The problem here in the winter is with the use of Calcium Chloride on the roads the threads will rust up very quickly, making the over center binders preferable.