UKH

Had to stop climbing for a couple of months due to an ankle injury. Went to get my gear out for the first day back at the crag and found that a whole load of my DMM Featherlight straight gate krabs have developed a serious corrosion problem on the gates.

Yes these are old but I’ve older straight gate krabs and the matching bent gates in the QDs aren’t corroded.

Has anyone come across this issue before? Any suggestions (apart from not using them)

No I don’t climb on sea cliffs and the nearest bit of marine water is over 50kms from where I climb.

Photos might help.

Was the gear stored damp?, Kept in a place with high temp variations? What else was in the bag, a burst bag of crisps, any unsealed foodstuffs?

Gates will corrode more rapidly than back bars due to the range of components used.

All very interesting but rather academic if you are doubting your gear. If you doubt it on the ground,it won't help you much higher up.

How old are these? I have some DMM snap link krabs from the mid 80's which I thought were called "Featherlight". They are rated at "2000kg". Their distinguishing feature is that they are very narrow in cross section. My understanding is that they were withdrawn not long after I bought them, I think because the narrow cross section caused too sharp a bend in the rope but I never quite understood that. (To my knowledge no manufactorer has produced krabs with such a narrow cross section since). Anyway I kept them on my rack as racking krabs which is where they still are. I wouldn't now use them in any safety-critical capacity. They came in different colours which made them ideal for that purpose though the colour has now largely faded. They show no signs of corrosion despite occasional contact with sea water over the years.

Martin

My chemistry teacher explained that aluminium corroded very easily but its oxide was very stable and formed a protective coat. I think this is removed by sea water  hence corrosion  proceeds rapidly. He told us a slightly dubious tale that special forces in WW2 would paint a ring of salt solution, mercuric chloride IIRC, around the fuselage tail of enemy planes so that the tail would collapse on takeoff thus destroying both plane and crew. Perhaps there was a similar acting substance in your cupboard /storage bag?

Gear stored dry- aired after use. Live in a hot tropical climate but gear is well looked after (silicon gel packets in bottom of gear box and they get replaced). Little temperature variation, constant 28-32C. Only thing is possibly more and saltier sweat than U.K. Yes they are the old 2000kg Featherlights but some still fine.

Will email DMM next week with photos and see what they say given other similar aged krabs aren’t corroding. Would like to post pictures of them up here but not a Supporter.

Consider them retired gear to hold the hammock up while idly swinging in the tropical heat.

Just upload to another site and share a link, if you want to.

e.g. https://imgur.com/upload