[billozz]

hi guys,
at the risk of repeating a much asked question, we are having terrible trouble with the poles we have purchased.
we have the type with the locking collar not the type that you twist to lock, anyway they keep twisting when we have them at the shorter length ....for downstairs windows....does anyone use these and not have that problem??
or does anyone use the twist to lock type and how do they perform.
thanks
Bill

[DASERVICES]

  Bill,

  What make is it, is it the same collar as Gardners poles.

  Doug

[billozz]

doug,
yes thats where we bought them from

[spotless2000]

See this on Gardiner's Website

http://www.gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/acatalog/shop.html

click on How to get started with a pole system  then How to set up and maintain your system then Product Maintenance FAQ's then Pole Maintenance 

It describes how to adjust the clamps.

It may help!

Steve

[neil100]

Tighten the locking nut a turn or two on the clamp that is allowing the pole to twist.

Nel.

[billozz]

neil,spotless,
thanks for the replies,we do tighten the locking nut....quite a lot, in fact, we now have a ring spanner with us all the time just for that reason, but the actual pole wears and so they still twist, we have had the problem aver since we got the system, even with new collars it only helps for a week or so.
the main reason for the post was to ask if anyone else has the problem and to ask if they managed to solve it. we have even tried drilling holes in the poles and pushing wire through to lock them both in place....didnt really work, so we now use the spanner to loosen and tighten the nut everytime we extend or shorten the pole...i just wondered if anyone had a better answer...or if they use a different type of pole, and have better results.



incidentally moderators....i am not receiving my automatic alert when this post is replied to

[ronaldo]

I have to say chaps i bought an 18ft alluminium pole of Peter Fogwill about 7 months back, and it was only £35.00, it has the twist grips for up and down and its well light and still going strong.
On the downside though because its alloy you end up with real bad black hands, but the pole itself for allday use is good.

[spotless2000]

Bill

I have just started geting this problem on my 2x3' pole when in the closed position - This pole is approx 8 months old and used every day on ground floor windows.  The continued pressure has worn a ring around the section of pole near the brush (reducing the diameter slightly)! - I have to extend the pole by about an inch so that the clamp is not on the worn section).  I was thinking today that I may have shorten the pole by an inch, or put a piece of tape over the worn section to act as a stop.

Do you get the problem in the same position or along the whole section and does it occur on more than one section?

I think wear has to be expected as time goes on but I don't think you should have experienced this from the beginning

Have you been in touch with the supplier?

Steve

[billozz]

spotless,
that is exactly the problem we are having, the pole wears and thats what causes the twisting, hence the fact that we need the spanner to tighten the nut sufficiently, we recently bought a new collar and cut about an inch off the end of the pole and after about 2-3 days it started to twist again, gardiner have suggested we use 2 poles one for upper and one for lower, i assume thats what you do and it obviously doesnt work, to say nothing of the fact that you have to carry another pole with you.
its getting a bit ridiculous now and we are getting very frustarted with the system.

ronaldo,
we have had poles in the past with the twist grip.....not wfp just a long pole for doing awkward windows when we were trad......do you have any probs with the twist grip being hard to undo at times, we have considerd changing to this type of pole but we had that sort of problem with the pole we had before
thanks guys

[Jeff Brimble]

Bill you might try one of the newer modular fishing poles- no collars, locking mechanisms, virtually no maintaineance.

[Paul Coleman]

neil,spotless,
thanks for the replies,we do tighten the locking nut....quite a lot, in fact, we now have a ring spanner with us all the time just for that reason, but the actual pole wears and so they still twist, we have had the problem aver since we got the system, even with new collars it only helps for a week or so.
the main reason for the post was to ask if anyone else has the problem and to ask if they managed to solve it. we have even tried drilling holes in the poles and pushing wire through to lock them both in place....didnt really work, so we now use the spanner to loosen and tighten the nut everytime we extend or shorten the pole...i just wondered if anyone had a better answer...or if they use a different type of pole, and have better results.



incidentally moderators....i am not receiving my automatic alert when this post is replied to

I find the Omnipoles just fine.  Although there was a bit of "spin" after a while, cleaning them and using vaseline on the collars seems to overcome this.
As for the poles being locked open, sometimes I have over tightened and done this.  A bit of brute force seems to get it unlocked again.  I have used a bit of damp scrim for extra grip in such situations.

[Alex Gardiner]

Hi Spotless2000 and Billozz,

This is a common occurence on these poles when they become worn. A trick of the trade to prolong the life of a pole that is otherwise fine but has worn in one place is to buy some epoxy rapid resin,(eg araldite rapid) and apply a VERY thin smear to the worn scratched area. Allow to fully dry overnight and then carefully sand back the surface, in effect this replaces the worn gel coat on the pole. Lasts for months, only really useful where the wear is in one place.

Alex

[DASERVICES]

  Have not had this problem yet, poles 10 mnths old. I do however maintain
  the poles regularly by spraying bees wax on the poles.

  This helps protect the poles from the grit that gets in between, which wears
  the pole down.

  Doug

[ronaldo]

Hi Billozz, as of yet the locks have been fine and as i said its had about 7 months hard work on it and still going strong.

[stevekennedy]

neil,spotless,
thanks for the replies,we do tighten the locking nut....quite a lot, in fact, we now have a ring spanner with us all the time just for that reason, but the actual pole wears and so they still twist, we have had the problem aver since we got the system, even with new collars it only helps for a week or so.
the main reason for the post was to ask if anyone else has the problem and to ask if they managed to solve it. we have even tried drilling holes in the poles and pushing wire through to lock them both in place....didnt really work, so we now use the spanner to loosen and tighten the nut everytime we extend or shorten the pole...i just wondered if anyone had a better answer...or if they use a different type of pole, and have better results.

AN common problem is that the bolt between the nut and lever strips it's thread thus sticking and making it difficult to tighten/loosen. ALso, when you move the lever, the bolt turns with it wearing out the clamp and nut.

Solution: Buy new bolts and nuts. Use vaseline where the lever touches the clamp to make it slide. Put the whole lot together and you should see an improvement. If not then the clamp body itself could be worn and you will need a new clamp.

If the pole is worn near the top you have several options:

1)if it is on section 2 or higher then you can strip down the clamp assembly and cut off an inch or so of the pole. Drill a new hole for the clamp plug and re-assemble

2) if it is on section 1 then you usually can't strip it down as the brush head is ofetn glued onb to save wieght. Some poles will allow you to strip down, for those that don't, you can buy an "O" ring which is liek a jubilee clip onlt it is tightened by using pincers and not by turning a screw. Get one of these in the same diameter as the pole section and clamp it at the point of wear. This will stop the pole from being fully closed and will make it hold tight.

3) Your final option is a new pole section (LAST RESORT)

Hope this helps