Power Kite Forum

How to keep my chicken loop from popping off my depower hook?!

sp4cem0nkey - 26-10-2009 at 03:39 PM

Hey all!
I am loving my PL Synergy 8m, but I've had so many problems with the depower setup that I'm considering upgrading to the Navigator soon!

My current problem is with the spinning hook on my PL seat harness. No matter how I use the donkey dick, I keep having trouble with my chicken loop coming unhooked! It looks like the rotating hook setup on the spreader bar contributes to this, but I've even had it happen on a different spreader bar where the hook doesn't rotate.

Can I get some tip or suggestions on how to keep this from happening?

Kamikuza - 26-10-2009 at 06:29 PM

Put the donkey dick onto the spreader bar itself?

My Airush bar came with a nice long one, which worked fine till I lost it. The replacement is shorter and my flab or clothing tends to push it down the chicken loop away from the spreader bar and I end up unhooking unintentionally. I put it on my spreader bar and it's much better. Bit for difficult to unlock it though ...

tridude - 26-10-2009 at 07:29 PM

swing by home depot or lowes, buy some tubing and extend your current rig....................

BeamerBob - 27-10-2009 at 03:34 AM

I had the same problem with my PL 07 bar. My problem was that the DD kept sliding towards the spreader bar. When it got close it was able to flip or something and could just fall right out. I fixed it by running the DD through the suicide leash ring inside the chicken loop. It stays perfectly in place now.

sp4cem0nkey - 27-10-2009 at 08:51 AM

Thanks guys,

I'm first going to try attaching the DD to my spreader bar hook like Kamikuza suggested.
Maybe its cuz I'm new to depower, but I've had more problems with this Zero 7 bar and safety setup than I anticipated.
The other thing that keeps pissing me off is the primary safety getting triggered at the slightest touch. This seems to happen mostly when the depower rope is slack and I bump the safety top hat. When does the Navigator bar come out? I'm anxious to replace the Zero 7...

f0rgiv3n - 27-10-2009 at 10:10 AM

I had the same thoughts with attachign the DD to the spreader bar the other day. I was telling my brother "yeah, what sux tho with this new bar is if the chicken loop fails i'm screwed" "why don't you attach this to your spreader bar?"... I stood there.... thinking... "oh.... well... huh, GENIUS!"

zero gee - 27-10-2009 at 10:59 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BeamerBob
I had the same problem with my PL 07 bar. My problem was that the DD kept sliding towards the spreader bar. When it got close it was able to flip or something and could just fall right out. I fixed it by running the DD through the suicide leash ring inside the chicken loop. It stays perfectly in place now.


This is what I thought was happening too. I pushed the DD all the way up. Wrapped a bit of electrical tape around the loop just below the DD then wrapped a couple of small cable ties on to the tape to stop the DD from sliding down. The electrical tape keeps the ties from sliding down.

I did it this way because I noticed that other bars with similar DD setup have stitched a bit of webbing onto the loop just below the DD to keep it from sliding down.

zero gee - 27-10-2009 at 11:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by sp4cem0nkey

The other thing that keeps pissing me off is the primary safety getting triggered at the slightest touch. This seems to happen mostly when the depower rope is slack and I bump the safety top hat.


Did you flip the top hat upside down? Doing this greatly reduces the likelyhood of an accidental release especially if you are aware that it could happen.

arkay - 27-10-2009 at 11:16 AM

use a zip tie in addition!


sp4cem0nkey - 27-10-2009 at 12:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by zero gee
Did you flip the top hat upside down? Doing this greatly reduces the likelyhood of an accidental release especially if you are aware that it could happen.


I'll give that a try!

zero gee - 27-10-2009 at 01:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by sp4cem0nkey
Quote:
Originally posted by zero gee
Did you flip the top hat upside down? Doing this greatly reduces the likelyhood of an accidental release especially if you are aware that it could happen.


I'll give that a try!


Just to clarify, you'll want the "brim" of the hat against the chicken loop. So the "hat" is right side up. :puzzled: :yes:

tobytobsen - 27-10-2009 at 02:09 PM

I have a DD for the Spreader from naish - Its super stiff and real hard to open and close :o) Got it with my VII from the guy i bought it from, so I dont know where you could buy it from.

sp4cem0nkey - 27-10-2009 at 07:29 PM

The problem isn't so much with the stiffness or the length of the DD. (*smirk*)
When the hook rotates upside down, the chicken loop would slide off of it and hang completely off the DD. From then, it is just a matter of time before it pops off. Not sure why PL decided to go with a rotating hook on the spreader bar instead of a spinner on the depower setup.

zero gee - 27-10-2009 at 08:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by sp4cem0nkey
The problem isn't so much with the stiffness or the length of the DD. (*smirk*)
When the hook rotates upside down, the chicken loop would slide off of it and hang completely off the DD. From then, it is just a matter of time before it pops off. Not sure why PL decided to go with a rotating hook on the spreader bar instead of a spinner on the depower setup.


Perhaps the problem lays in the shape of the rotating hook. it's closed and not open like a conventional hook??. Maybe this puts a different load on the DD as it rotates than if the hook was open???. Maybe putting the DD on the hook is the solution???? If the DD is too short it will pop open though.

If the suggestions giving here don't work with your type of spreaderbar they definately will with a fixed hook spreaderbar. Even better with a fixed hook kite specific spreaderbar (a deeper hook with a slight hour glass shape captures the loop better than a windsurfing hook).

Kamikuza - 27-10-2009 at 08:49 PM

Oh you're using a spinning spreader bar? That complicates things I guess ... there'd be no way you could put it on the hook itself then?