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Thread: Tip for shovel bargain
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12-26-2017, 08:11 PM #1
Tip for shovel bargain
I was in a local Murdoch's store and spotted a "Lifeline Aluminum Utility Shovel" for $11.99. (Online price listed as $16.99 - http://www.murdochs.com/shop/lifelin...tility-shovel/)
Hands-on, this thing is indistinguishable from a mountaineering store Avie shovel. Materials and build at least as good as my BCA. It is slightly larger than the BCA, and 540 gm vs 500. Lifeline is the orange, BCA yellow
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12-26-2017, 08:13 PM #2
funny i just found a lifeline in the back of my dad's van
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12-26-2017, 08:16 PM #3
I bought one of those a few years ago to keep in the car and managed to break it on one of the first times I was hacking through a plow berm. In no way would I recommend one of these to be used as an avalanche rescue shovel.
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12-26-2017, 08:18 PM #4
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12-26-2017, 08:23 PM #5
yeah i was shocked how light it was compared to my shovel. i wouldn't want someone's life to depend on it.
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12-26-2017, 09:25 PM #6
When called out to recover a subject in a spring (wet snow) avy, we use stainless steel garden spades. Please do not cheap out on your companion rescue gear. BCA tempered aluminum shovel or similar. Grams be damned.
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12-26-2017, 10:03 PM #7
Is this the shovel Tanner built his kickers with?
“I have a responsibility to not be intimidated and bullied by low life losers who abuse what little power is granted to them as ski patrollers.”
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12-26-2017, 10:16 PM #8
rip
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12-27-2017, 08:22 AM #9
No problem - I'll just carry your shovel and you carry mine.
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12-27-2017, 08:34 AM #10
I doubt it. Those soft Al shovels have been around for 2-3 years at Costco ($20 2-pack) and other non-ski retailers. They have a history of bending or breaking in use. Contrast your BCA or any other proper avy shovel with blade made of high quality Al alloy and properly heat treated after welding the collar.
ETA pic of failure during routine use. It appears to me that the Al is the improper spec and/or manufacturer failed to properly heat treat the blade after welding.
ETA2 NWHiker Sergio's pic of failed Lifeline shovel. He said it worked okay in soft snow but failed when shoveling hard crust.
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12-27-2017, 09:35 AM #11
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12-27-2017, 09:47 AM #12
So, are these not even worth having in the car to dig out of the snow?
I've carried my BCA with me for over a decade, in the car and in my pack. I've used it a bunch for digging out a car and in iced out berms. I dug a shelf just below the Mammoth Crest through an ice layer to transition to skis. I've never had to use it in a rescue but it is still in great shape aside for some scraped paint. It cost me $40 when I bought it. It has been a great investment. I see no need to save a few bucks. I'd rather spend and have the shovel when I need it.
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12-27-2017, 01:30 PM #13
The Brooks Range rep at the OR show put one of their shovels facedown on the floor and had my 200lbs friend stand/bounce on it without bending/breaking anything. I don't think the $12 can do that.
When life gives you haters, make haterade.
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12-27-2017, 02:02 PM #14Registered User
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Aluminum tends to work harden when used hard, eventually precipitating cracks. Digging out a car from icy berms could set you up for failure at the worst possible time in the bc. I carry my old, clunky, Voile ski shovel in the car for digging out, and leave my G3 shovel in the bc pack.
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12-27-2017, 02:41 PM #15
Very true, and good cause to get new avy shovels now and then -- especially if they are used alot for avy rescue practice, digging out cars, digging snow caves, etc. -- and inspecting for small hairline cracks near the collar. But note that the Lifeline shovels OP posts about are failing when new, not due to fatigue cracks, but likely due to bad material spec and/or bad or no heat treat after welding.
Last edited by OldSteve; 12-27-2017 at 09:59 PM.
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12-27-2017, 03:00 PM #16
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12-27-2017, 03:04 PM #17
Just looked and see no fractures. Still, worth shopping for a new shovel, as I replaced my probe and beacon recently.
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12-27-2017, 09:56 PM #18
Wow! I couldn't "see" the difference between the Lifeline and BCA aluminum, but obviously it is major. I did buy it only as an extra car shovel. Thanks for schoolin' me!
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12-28-2017, 12:35 PM #19Registered User
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FWIW I misspoke in my last post. When I said aluminum "work hardens", I meant "fatigues". Both are important when it comes to aluminum alloys though.
Work hardening happens when metal is bent enough that it permanently changes shape (plastic deformation). Like if you bend a paper clip once, it does not break. But bend it 20 times and it will break, because it has work-hardened and become more brittle. Most alu alloys are quite succeptible to this. So if you bend your shovel, probably don't try and straighten it (more times bent = more chance of cracking). And if you bend it significantly, near where the handle inserts, think about scrapping it (for bc use anyhow).
OTOH, fatigue happens when metal is bent only so that it springs back to its original shape (elastic deformation). Most metals have a fatigue limit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_limit
From that article: "Ferrous alloys and titanium alloys have a distinct limit, an amplitude below which there appears to be no number of cycles that will cause failure. Other structural metals such as aluminium and copper do not have a distinct limit and will eventually fail even from small stress amplitudes."
So the latter is what I was referring to: excess hard usage (e.g. digging car out of icy berm, slamming into pavement etc.) will invisibly fatigue the aluminum in your shovel, setting it up for failure (cracks and eventually breakage) before its time - which could of course be serious, in the bc.
Nerd out.
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12-28-2017, 01:43 PM #20
The better illustration of work hardening with a paper clip: Bend a paper clip, then try to bend it back straight and a bulge will persist at the apex of initial bend. That is an example of work hardening. The area of the initial bend work hardens, thus when you bend it back a small bulge persists because the apex of the initially bent area is harder than the surrounding area.
There can be a relationship between work hardening and fatigue cracking. That is, an area that gets cycled can work harden and the embrittled area is more prone to developing a fatigue crack. Most Al alloys are quite prone to work hardening, and it sometimes takes only a single cycle to manifest in a failure. After Al work hardens, trying to bend it back can result in immediate failure. The key with designing things of thin section Al alloy is to make them stout enough such that they do not bend past an acceptable yield point.
Anyway, this discussion is purely academic on this thread because the failures were happening to new shovels due to shear loading beyond the limit of the material, and not due to fatigue. FWIW, I have seen evidence of work hardening on heavily used proper avy shovels.
Yup, and that's why Al alloy bicycle frames eventually fail with use. Contrast frames made of Ti alloy or steel alloy tubing with considerable elongation properties (e.g., 4130 cro moly), which can withstand indefinite distortion cycling without fatiguing. Some call that property "resilience."
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12-28-2017, 01:47 PM #21
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01-01-2018, 07:14 PM #22guy who skis
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I snapped one of these building a snow fort for my kid over the holiday. Nthing don't use it in rescue situations, but fine to keep in your car for use in a pinch.
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01-02-2018, 12:32 AM #23Registered User
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It's really helpful. Thanks for sharing.
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