Bad c-clamps?
- Thread starterLekoBoy
- Start date
How far back (year wise) is that?
MPowers
Well-Known Member
On Feb 16th, ETC dealers received a recall. We were alerted to a specific shipment, on or about Oct. 2011, of potential bad product.
Product purchased and received prior to that should be fine. However, if you have a concern, test your clamps and contact your dealer or the factory.
All ETC dealers were advised of the shipment # and any orders direct or drop shipped that were included. All shipments to dealers and drop shipments direct to customers were identified and they were sent recall information. Dealers are required to test all clamps possible and to inform and follow up on any drop shipped orders. The test is easy, use a torque wrench and set it to 23 lb-ft. tighten the clamp and if it breaks or cannot reach 23 lb-ft, immediately remove it from service. Dealers are required to send in certification that every clamp in the suspect inventory is tested and any clamps not meeting the specs are removed from service and destroyed. Any end user clamps that fail the test may be returned to the dealer or the factory for immediate replacement.
Product purchased and received prior to that should be fine. However, if you have a concern, test your clamps and contact your dealer or the factory.
All ETC dealers were advised of the shipment # and any orders direct or drop shipped that were included. All shipments to dealers and drop shipments direct to customers were identified and they were sent recall information. Dealers are required to test all clamps possible and to inform and follow up on any drop shipped orders. The test is easy, use a torque wrench and set it to 23 lb-ft. tighten the clamp and if it breaks or cannot reach 23 lb-ft, immediately remove it from service. Dealers are required to send in certification that every clamp in the suspect inventory is tested and any clamps not meeting the specs are removed from service and destroyed. Any end user clamps that fail the test may be returned to the dealer or the factory for immediate replacement.
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That's what I was looking for. Thank you
It's all brand new. Shipped probably in Dec/Jan.
Les
Well-Known Member
Air bubbles making their way in to the casting, causing failure points are the most prevalent.
Yes, certainly an inconvenience and we apologize for that. We also appreciate everyone that we've been in contact with that has performed the inspection and testing on their specific set of clamps. It doesn't take but a few minutes and then you're good to go. The primary goal here is to make sure everyone is safe.
Thanks to MPowers for all the great info above.
As far as what can cause a bad clamp? Well, indeed it can be from air bubbles in the casting but in this case it turned out that a very few clamps were made from a material different than we specified. Most of the problem units were found at ETC where we've been doing testing every day for some time now.
We have been working with the dealers to pull all the stops towards contacting everyone in the shipping dates affected which is roughly last October through most of January. If you have any questions, ETC Customer Service would be glad to take your call.
Thanks for understanding,
David
MPowers
Well-Known Member
There are a number of things. If the casting material is made from recycled material, there can be contaminants ranging from chemicals to wrong alloy mixtures. If the casting material is outside the correct temperature range there is a strong likelihood of voids or air bubbles. Cooling at the wrong rate can create internal stress fractures and or "crystallization" (strong candidate for this problem but not convicted....yet). Not likely in this case but if the object is sand or plaster cast, and the moisture content of the casting material is not completely purged, fractures and voids can result. If the cast mixture is not completely homogenous (usually due to bringing the cast material to temperature too rapidly and at too great a heat) the mix can contain solids or clumps that weaken the cast and cause inclusions and other problems. Last but not least, even if no other problem in technique, temperature, time, etc. are present, if the actual alloy composition, amount of carbon, iron etc are not in the proper percentages, (the primary suspect in this case) the product can be too soft or too brittle or..... long list. These are not all the possibilities but cover the major players.
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A C clamp is something that is so simple we take for granted there is no problem. This is why we always stay away from China clamps,or anything else rigging, there is no way to confirm quality control. We all know their QC is suspect at best. I **** near took a 21 ft pipe in the head from fifty ft because a contractor used China crap.
I want to point out this is a great example of why we say only use rigging hardware that has the manufacturer's identification stamped on it.
If you were using Ebay Chinese c-clamps:
a) No one would have noticed a problem with the product build quality in the first place.
b) No one would be checking all the stock in the factory's warehouse to see if it's safe.
c) No one would contact every customer and dealer telling them there is a problem.
d) No one would have figured out that if you can put 23 lb-ft torque on it, it's safe to use.
e) No one would be offering to exchange them for new ones that are safe.
f) You wouldn't have someone like David North on here telling you what to do if you need help.
If the only brand on the product is "China", you are on your own if the product fails.
If you were using Ebay Chinese c-clamps:
a) No one would have noticed a problem with the product build quality in the first place.
b) No one would be checking all the stock in the factory's warehouse to see if it's safe.
c) No one would contact every customer and dealer telling them there is a problem.
d) No one would have figured out that if you can put 23 lb-ft torque on it, it's safe to use.
e) No one would be offering to exchange them for new ones that are safe.
f) You wouldn't have someone like David North on here telling you what to do if you need help.
If the only brand on the product is "China", you are on your own if the product fails.
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