Gardiner Pole (Fully Tightened Clamp)

A fully tightened clamp, what do you guys do after? Replace the section? 
I would like to know how long your poles last before they need replacing?

I am quite sick of the slipping of the poles 

PrideCleaning said:

A fully tightened clamp, what do you guys do after? Replace the section? 
I would like to know how long your poles last before they need replacing?

I am quite sick of the slipping of the poles 

Click to expand...

My SLX22 is my everyday pole and 9 years old. It has had 1 set of upgraded clamps. I replace tape stops when necessary and maintain the pole by washing it out.

I have sprayed the outside of the tubes with a thin coating of engine lacquer 3 or 4 times.

Right from the outset you have to adjust the clamps so they don't spin. When they spin they wear a groove which adds to your problems. My son is a typical example of not doing this. I've had to repair his 3 year old SLX25 by building up the worn section. I used fiberglass resin and then sanded the high spots off. You can use Araldite rapid glue to achieve the same results.

Alex Gardiner made a video once on how to repair a worn groove in a section. (I can't believe this was 8 years ago.)

PrideCleaning said:

A fully tightened clamp, what do you guys do after? Replace the section? 
I would like to know how long your poles last before they need replacing?

I am quite sick of the slipping of the poles 

Click to expand...

Maybe order some new clamps , sure you can order parts of them so wouldnt even need full clamp, and cut the pole down ? Obviously you’ll lose some length but you’ll have a working pole ,

spruce said:

My SLX22 is my everyday pole and 9 years old. It has had 1 set of upgraded clamps. I replace tape stops when necessary and maintain the pole by washing it out.

I have sprayed the outside of the tubes with a thin coating of engine lacquer 3 or 4 times.

Right from the outset you have to adjust the clamps so they don't spin. When they spin they wear a groove which adds to your problems. My son is a typical example of not doing this. I've had to repair his 3 year old SLX25 by building up the worn section. I used fiberglass resin and then sanded the high spots off. You can use Araldite rapid glue to achieve the same results.

Alex Gardiner made a video once on how to repair a worn groove in a section.

Click to expand...

 Sounds like you know what your doing, would new clamps actually fix the issue here? As I’m assuming it’s not the clamps issue it’s more the actually carbon fibre pole has worn down slightly towards the top. 
So either the resin idea or something similar

I've edited my previous post and added a video link I searched for to explain the process @PrideCleaning

My clamps sometimes need minor adjustments during the week due to changes in the atmosphere or temperature, but its quick and easy with the Gardiner widget. It sounds however, like you need a new clamp.

Something else to consider is replacing the nyloc nuts in the clamps from time to time. With regular small adjustments they can cease to grip over time thus allowing the bolts in the clamps to come loose

Cleaning the pole regularly as spruce says will lengthen it's life also.

PrideCleaning said:

 Sounds like you know what your doing, would new clamps actually fix the issue here? As I’m assuming it’s not the clamps issue it’s more the actually carbon fibre pole has worn down slightly towards the top. 
So either the resin idea or something similar

Click to expand...

I have found with my son that wear can either be at the top or lower end of the section. If you have a distinctive wear grove then that's easy to repair. If its spread over a larger area of a section and the clamps have no adjustment left, then I would try to replace the clamps first. They do wear as well.

With my son's previous SLX25 the top section became so worn and thin that the top section broke. But the clamps still had enough 'meat' on them to clamp the section elsewhere.

I have often wondered myself how we can tell if how thin the actual section is due to wear. In my own case with my SLX22, if my top section broke I would replace the whole pole as the rest of the sections will be well worn down as well. Wear happens both inside and outside of each tube section. Maybe @Alex Gardiner could throw some light on this one for us.

Pole care is really down to each operator. It costs nothing to flush a pole out regularly. But it takes time. After every clean the pole hose is cleaned with a cloth and coiled up ready for the next job. One of the local lads says I'm just wasting time doing that. He says that by the time I'm finished packing away he's gone and starting his next house clean. As far as he is concerned his pole is a consumable item. If it lasts a year or two he throws it away and buys a new one. That's fine but we are different people who have been brought up in different environments. He's of the generation who has grown up with the throw away mentality. I've grown up in the middle of nowhere in Africa when you couldn't just order a replacement for next day delivery. It could take months before you saw your order. So we meticulously looked after and maintained what we had. If it broke we repaired it as best we could.  

PrideCleaning said:

A fully tightened clamp, what do you guys do after? Replace the section? 
I would like to know how long your poles last before they need replacing?

I am quite sick of the slipping of the poles 

Click to expand...

Hi PrideCleaning

Some excellent advice and tips have been posted on this thread already.

As with most things in life, prevention is better than cure - as Spruce has said as soon as a clamp starts not tightening quite enough to prevent movement in any one position when closed it is best to tighten it up as this movement combined with dirt and use will start to wear. Also ensuring that the pole hose is cleaned after every job, the pole is flushed through fully at least once a week and then stripped down and serviced every couple of months, will reduce the effect that dirt has on the wear.

However even when looked after, poles will start to wear - they are a consumable item, albeit a 'slow cycle' item.

Domestic Poles will tend to wear most in the fully closed position - this is because this is where they are used when working at low level and it is at low level that most twisting movement is exerted on a pole when working sideways etc to reach low glass. This twisting action will cause friction from a clamp that is not tight enough and start to wear the surface - if not adjusted correctly this can start to happen in just a few weeks of low level use. High level poles that are used fully extended on higher level work rarely wear in such a way as there is relatively little twisting force. To correct any time a pole clamp has allowed a section to twist quickly, adjust it up just enough to stop this.

Now that this has happened and is worn in one spot there are many different approaches to sorting it - here is a selection of options:

1. Work with this section never fully closed - close it down to just below the worn area - this might mean not closing it by the last 1" - you could wrap some tape around the wear to physically stop the pole shutting on to this worn part - this is the quickest and cheapest solution if the rest of the pole is in relatively good condition.

2. Build up the area of wear with an epoxy resin as Spruce has mentioned - this can last several months and can be very quick to do. This will really extend the life of the pole.

3. Cut the worn part off the the top of the section (mask, gloves, fine tooth hacksaw) and fit a new clamp body.

4. Replace the section - the advantage of this is the section will be stiffer than the old section as carbon wear gradually reduces the wall thickness as most wear happens on the inside of each section.

5. Replace the pole - you can then cut down and keep the older pole as a smaller pole or a spare.

A wrap of insulating tape round it does the job 

Worth checking the levers for wear and replacing if necessary, also the delrin shims.