PETZL ASCENTREE Double Handled Rope Clamp for Tree Care Instruction Manual

PETZL ASCENTREE Double Handled Rope Clamp for Tree Care

These instructions explain how to correctly use your equipment. Only certain techniques and uses are described. The warning symbols inform you of some potential dangers related to the use of your equipment, but it is impossible to describe them all. Check Petzl.com for updates and additional information.
You are responsible for heeding each warning and using your equipment correctly. Any misuse of this equipment will create additional dangers. Contact Petzl if you have any doubts or difficulty understanding these instructions.

Field of application

Personal protective equipment (PPE) used for fall protection from height. Double-handled rope clamp for tree care.

• Nominal maximum load: 140 kg.

This product must not be pushed beyond its limits, nor be used for any purpose other than that for which it is designed.

Responsibility

WARNING
Activities involving the use of this equipment are inherently dangerous. You are responsible for your own actions, decisions and safety.
Before using this equipment, you must:

• Read and understand all Instructions for Use.
• Get specific training in its proper use.
• Become acquainted with its capabilities and limitations.
• Understand and accept the risks involved.

Nomenclature
(1) Upper hole, (2) Cam, (3) Safety catch, (4) Lower attachment hole, (5) Handle. Principal materials: aluminum alloy, stainless steel, technical plastic.

Inspection, points to verify

Your safety depends upon the integrity of your equipment.
Petzl recommends a detailed inspection by a competent person at least once every 12 months (depending on current regulations in your country, and your conditions of usage).

WARNING: your intensity of use may cause you to inspect your PPE more frequently. Follow the procedures described at Petzl.com. Record the results on your PPE inspection form: type, model, manufacturer contact info, serial number or individual number, dates: manufacture, purchase, first use, next periodic inspection; problems, comments, inspector’s name and signature.

Before each use

• On the product, verify the absence of any cracks, deformation, marks, wear, corrosion…
• Check the condition of the frame, the attachment holes, the cam and safety catch, the rivets, the springs and the cam axle.
• Check the mobility of the cam and the effectiveness of its spring. Check that the cam’s teeth are not clogged.

WARNING: do not use this rope clamp if it has missing or worn-out teeth.

During use
It is important to regularly monitor the condition of the product and its connections to the other equipment in the system. Make sure that all items of equipment are correctly positioned with respect to each other.

WARNING:

• of foreign objects that can impede the operation of the cam,
• of situations where the safety catch can snag and cause the cam to open.

Compatibility

Verify that this product is compatible with the other elements of the system in your application (compatible = good functional interaction).
Equipment used with your ASCENTREE must meet current standards in your country (e.g. EN 362 carabiners).

Use 10-13 mm EN 1891 type A low stretch kernmantle ropes. Certification testing was performed using BEAL 10 mm Antipodes and Petzl GRIP 12.5 mm ropes (nominal diameter 13 mm).

Function principle and test
The ASCENTREE slides along the rope in one direction and blocks in the other direction. The cam’s teeth initiate a clamping action that blocks the rope by pinching it between the cam and the frame. Each time the device is installed onto the rope, verify that it blocks in the desired direction.

Installing the ASCENTREE

• Observe the Up/Down indicator.
• Removing the rope
• Move the device up the rope while opening the safety catch to disengage the cam.

Precautions

• Before climbing, be sure the branch you chose as an anchor is sound. Do not climb above the rope clamp or the anchor point and keep your lanyard under tension. The rope should remain taut and vertical to reduce the chance of a fall or pendulum. Shock loading must absolutely be avoided when you are close to the anchor.
• Backing up the cams
• A foreign body can lodge between one of the cams and the rope and cause a fall. Depending on your rope installation (one strand blocked, or not), you must back up one or both cams using Prusik knot(s) on the rope.

Additional Information
This product meets the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 on personal protective equipment. The EU declaration of conformity is available at Petzl.com.

• The ASCENTREE is not suitable for use in a fall-arrest system.
• A fall-arrest harness is the only device allowable for supporting the body in a fall-arrest system.
• Use a connecting assembly of maximum length 1 meter (lanyard + connectors + devices).
• A dynamic overload can damage the safety rope.
• You must have a rescue plan and the means to rapidly implement it in case of difficulties encountered while using this equipment.
• In a fall-arrest system, it is essential to check the required clearance below the user before each use, in order to avoid hitting the ground or an obstacle in case of a fall.
• Make sure that the anchor point is correctly positioned, in order to limit the risk and the length of a fall.
• When using multiple items of equipment, a dangerous situation can arise in which the safety function of an item of equipment can be affected by the safety function of another item of equipment.
• WARNING – DANGER: ensure that your products do not rub against abrasive or sharp surfaces.
• Users must be medically fit for activities at height. WARNING: inert suspension in a harness can result in serious injury or death.
• The Instructions for Use for each item of equipment used in conjunction with this product must be followed.
• The Instructions for Use must be provided to the user of this equipment, in the language of the country where the equipment is used.
• Make sure the markings on the product are legible.
  When to retire your equipment:

WARNING: an exceptional event can lead you to retire a product after only one use, depending on the type and intensity of usage and the environment of usage

• (harsh environments, marine environments, sharp edges, extreme temperatures, chemicals…).
• A product must be retired when:
• It has been subjected to a major fall or load.
• It fails to pass inspection. You have any doubt as to its reliability.
• You do not know its full usage history.
• When it becomes obsolete due to changes in legislation, standards, technique or incompatibility with other equipment…
  Destroy these products to prevent further use.

Icons:

• A. Unlimited lifetime –
• B. Acceptable temperatures –
• C. Usage precautions
• D. Cleaning –
• E. Drying –
• F. Storage/transport –
• G. Maintenance –
• H. Modifications/repairs (prohibited outside of Petzl facilities, except replacement parts) –
• I. Questions/contact
  3-year guarantee
  Against any material or manufacturing defect. Exclusions: normal wear and tear, oxidation, modifications or alterations, incorrect storage, poor maintenance, negligence, uses for which this product is not designed.

Traceability and markings

• a. Body controlling the manufacture of this PPE –
• b. Notified body performing the EU type examination –
• c. Traceability: datamatrix –
• d. Diameter –
• e. Serial number –
• f. Year of manufacture –
• g. Month of manufacture –
• h. Batch number –
• i. Individual identifier –
• k. Read the Instructions for Use carefully –
• l. Model identification –
• m. Manufacturer address –
• n. Standards

Failure to heed any of these warnings may result in severe injury or death. This product must only be used by competent and responsible persons, or those placed under the direct and visual control of a competent and responsible person. You are responsible for your actions, your decisions and your safety and you assume the consequences of same. If you are not able, or not in a position to assume this responsibility, or if you do not fully understand the Instructions for Use, do not use this equipment.

1. Field of application (text part)
2. Nomenclature
3. Inspection, points to verif
4. Compatibility (text part)
5. Function principle and test
6. Installing the ASCENTREE
7. Precautions
8. Additional information (text part)
9. Additional information

This product is compliant with the Regulation 2016/425 on Personal Protective Equipment as brought into UK law and amended. The UK declaration of conformity is available at Petzl.com

• Approved Body performing the UKCA type examination:
• Organisme approuvé intervenant pour
• l’examen UKCA de type: SGS United Kingdom Ltd

Inward Way

• Rossmore Business Park Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 3EN United Kingdom N° 0120
• Approved body responsible for the production control of this PPE:
• Organisme approuvé responsable du contrôble de production de cet EPI Product Assessment and Reliability Centre Ltd Bideford
• EX39 4LQ United Kingdom
• N°8509

Authorized Representative in UK: PETZL UK Agency, Unit 3-7, Tebay Business Park Old Tebay, Penrith, CA10 3SS, Unted Kingdom

References

• Petzl.com

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