Products – Page 2 – Straps To Go

Locking spa (hot tub) cover buckles

Do the straps on your spa cover look like this? If so we have the solution. American Cord and Webbing’s SPA buckle is a great replacement for any old, broken spa cover buckles.

The SPA buckle is a locking, side release buckle designed for use with 1″ webbing (or other materials as shown). It is made from Acetal plastic to provide exceptional service life.

The female portion of the buckle is attached to the covering sides of your hot tub (or the deck) using two screws.

If your state or municipality requires spa covers that lock to protect youngsters, ACW’s SPA buckle is the answer.

Quick release sail ties

We will soon be producing quick release sail ties in a wide variety of colors. Unlike our other sail ties, these have a side release buckle, hence the “quick release”, grab loop and sewn tab so you can’t lose the male half of the buckle.

They are made using polypropylene webbing which does not adsorb water or bleed pigment. All sewing is done using A&E’s SunStop polyester thread which has advanced UV protection which helps maintain the strength of the stitching over time.

Just click the buckle closed, grab on to the loop and tab and it is easy to cinch up the sail tie. These should be available online in July, if you want some sooner give us a call at (253) 883-5800.

Plastic buckles- what are they made out of?

Are all plastic buckles the same? No they are not.

There are three main plastics that buckles and other hardware for webbing are manufactured from:
1. Acetal
2. Nylon
3. Polypropylene

All have their strengths and weaknesses and many products are available in more than one plastic so you can choose what will work best in your application. Strength, resistance to heat or ultra-violet light and cost all factor in to what is best. So in alphabetical order lets dive in.

Acetal

Advantages:

Excellent resistance to immersion in water
Excellent resistance to chemicals and solvents
Fatigue resistant
Retains mechanical properties up to 250° F.

Disadvantages:

Poor resistance to acids
Subject to UV degradation

Nylon

Advantages:

Fatigue resistance
Good chemical resistance to oils and greases
Abrasion resistant
Tough and impact resistant
Heat stabilized versions are available which meet various NFPA standards (special order with minimum quantities)

Disadvantages:

High moisture pick-up with related dimensional instability
Attacked by oxidizing agents
Attacked by strong acids

Polypropylene

Advantages:

Excellent moisture resistance
Good impact strength

Disadvantages:

Degraded by UV
Attacked by chlorinated solvents and aromatics
Flammable

Putting the factors together Acetal provides the best performance of the three materials (other than for very specialized high temperature applications). So why do some vendors offer polypropylene buckles and hardware? Price. Polypropylene is around 15% less expensive and if price is the driving factor, it can’t be beat. You are trading off durability but in some applications that is not needed.

When you browse our selection of buckles and hardware we tell you what each piece is made from. That applies not only to plastic but also to metal products. In the case of stainless steel, we try to identify the class of material the piece is made out of so you can tell if it is type 316 which will not even stain or type 304 where you will see some rust stains over time.

If you have any questions give us a call, (253) 883-5800 and we will try to answer your questions.

Straps to Go at the Seattle Boat Show

Tomorrow is the start of the 9 day Seattle Boat Show. We will be in booth number 2122 on the Concourse Level (upstairs). In our booth you will find a wide selection of side release buckle straps with polypropylene webbing, sail ties in both polypropylene and polyester webbing, jack lines, ratchet straps and belts.

If you want to special order something, we can take care of that at the show. Don’t think we just make straps for boaters, if it is made with webbing (and is NOT designed for overhead lifting or life safety) chances are we can make it. There is no minimum order so even if you just need one of something, come by and chat.

After the Seattle Boat Show, our next event is the Yakima Sportsmen’s Show in February. We will be in booth 419 from February 19th through the 21st.

Polypropylene Webbing Breaking Strength

How do you determine the breaking strength of polypropylene webbing? It depends. There is no industry standard way defining breaking strength. One manufacturer might test 10 samples and take the lowest strength. Another might take the average and a third might take the highest. Being a commercial grade product that is not designed for use in life safety or overhead lifting no government agency is telling the manufacturers what to do.

The industry has two basic models of polypropylene webbing, lightweight and heavyweight. American Cord and Webbing (ACW) has their 549 material that ranges from 0.040″ to 0.060″ in thickness and in a 1″ width has a minimum breaking strength of 360 pounds. ACW’s heavyweight material has a thickness range of 0.055″ to 0.075″ and a minimum breaking strength of 560 pounds.

I have seen lightweight 1″ material listed as having a 600 or even 700 pound breaking strength. Is one better or different from the other, probably not.

Brand Thickness Breaking Strength
ACW .040-.060 360 pounds
S .040 500 pounds
TS ? 700 pounds
ECW .040 550 pounds

What makes piece of webbing strong is the amount of material (polypropylene in this case) it contains and how it is constructed. Thickness tells you something about the amount of material for a given width.

So how do you figure out what to use? First the webbing is usually not the weak point in a strap assembly. Stitching or buckles can be much weaker. A 1″ side release buckle will have a breaking strength of around 200 pounds, much lower than ACW’s 360 pound breaking strength for the webbing. If you have a critical application the only way to be sure is to make some assemblies and test them. If all you are doing is strapping up some sleeping bags, strength is not an issue.

With polypropylene webbing chafe and ultra-violet (UV) exposure are two issues which will weaken your strap. Materials like polyester offer much better abrasion and UV resistance along with a higher initial strength. If you are repeatedly loading a strap consider nylon whose ability to stretch might help dampen the load.

My article How Strong Is Your Strap covers sewing pattern choices. Searching the internet you can find other information that will be helpful but at the end of the day, build a prototype and test.