I use Epcon A7 and it's a nice grey color when cured. They're damn close in performance, ease of use etc etc. I've used (and use) both Jim Titt's bolts and the Wave Bolt. I posted this on RC.com a while back: Wavebolt got a bit "enthusiastic" claiming their design was far superior to anything else out there which I felt, as JohnL points out, is a bit disingenuous considering how long Jim's bolts have been out. If it is a hot day then keep the glue out of the sun and cool, we keep it in the fridge overnight and then use a cool bag until we are ready to go. I´ve got 45 bolts in on one nozzle (and two tubes) but you got to go fast! About 3 mins working time seems about the lower limit but jumaring in caves you need longer. One hiccup jumaring or abseiling and the nozzles finished though if your smart you squeeze a bit more through every now and then. Like the guys say, you need to be organised. We use (personally) vinylester for normal conditions in limestone and epoxyacrylate where the rock is a bit damp or porous such as the sandier limestones and sandstone.
#Hilti anchors for rock series#
The test series all pull the right numbers dampness doesn´t seem a concern though this is with glues for wetter conditions, the epoxyacrylates and the methylacrylates are usually rated for use underwater. We´ve been doing testing with the cavers who always have wet holes and washing out and then drying a bit with a rag seems to wotrk o.k.
If the holes are dirty and wet then wash them out, you get this a lot drilling tufa areas. In testing they give the strongest bolt but in reality they are not to be recommended since the quantities are rarely correct for the hole and the resin tends to run out of the hole. There are capsules which require spinning to harden (they use the friction of the particles in them to produce the heat to cure)and there are ones which merely need the bolt driving through to mix the components. There are dozens of glue in bolts on the market but make sure you go quality! Don't put something in the rock that isn't going to last at least a few decades. Don't make a mistake because you are racing to keep glue from setting in the nozzle - you don't want to put a bad bolt in just to save a few bucks. Take your time and have plenty of extra nozzels. Clean and smooth the excess and then grab a handful of dirt out of bag #4 and throw it at the bolt/glue to hide the bright red glue. Have a straw or something tucked into your shoe that you can shape the glue with so it's not shitty looking on the outside of the bolt.
#Hilti anchors for rock install#
When you install the bolt, pump it a bit and spin it to get all air pockets out.
Release the pressure off the gun, hold it upright so the nozzle is pointing up, wipe it, lower it slowly and reach into your bolt bag. I I used to carry a plastic bag of baby wipes on one side of my harness and a bag for dirty ones on the other. Even once you get it down, you'll want a rag. Getting a feel for the gun and the pressure is important or else you'll be either using too much or too little glue. Even better is to use compressed air from a can like the ones you'd use to clean a keyboard. You need to be fairly dialed into your system so as not to waste nozzle tips, but 12-15 min is plenty of time to drill a hole, clean it, install the bolt and move on.įor cleaning, a round wire brush with stiff bristles and a blow tube are essential. I used to mark where I wanted the bolts with a permanent marker and then drill and glue all at once.
There are some good tips above, but everyone has their own system.
Installing glue in bolts is not rocket science, but you should get a lesson from someone with some experience. Something like Powers AC100+Gold would be good, if you find something else and you´re not sure then mail me we have tested nearly everything on the market and the spec sheet will usually be enough. How fast all this is depends on the temperature when you are working and the speed of the glue itself, there are fast ones and slow ones.
#Hilti anchors for rock full#
Full cure is normally about 8 times gel time. Using the more normal types (polyester/vinylester/epoxyacrylate you can climb on the bolts after about 20mins depending on the temperature, roughly you check the time for the glue to go hard initially (the gel time) and multiply this by 4 to get the time for 80% of the final strength. I don´t know any manufacturers who recommend its use. The pure epoxies are much more expensive and have a few (more) health issues and are very slow curing. However they all get the standard with either vinylester or epoxyacrylate so these will do, the epoxyacrylates being the better of the two types. Technically (for Euro bolts to EN959) you are supposed to use the glue supplied or recommended by the manufacturer.