SKYLOTEC DEUS 3300 Instructions D'utilisation page 11

7. UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE FOUR INDEPENDENT BRAKES
IN SKYLOTEC DEUS 3000 SERIES CONTROLLED DESCENT DEVICES
Disk actuated drum brake
The control dial on
the SKYLOTEC
DEUS 3000 Series
controlled descent device
is used to set and control
descent speed using the
integral disk actuated drum
brake. The control dial
affects the braking force
applied by the disk actuated drum brake and the
hands-free figure eight brake. The control dial is
marked with "go" and "stop" indicators. Turning
the control dial clockwise slows and then stops
descent. Turning the control dial counterclockwise
initiates descent and then increases descent
speed. The control dial can be turned and descent
speed adjusted before or during descent. Once
set, the control dial will maintain its position,
which means that SKYLOTEC DEUS 3000 Series
controlled descent devices work hands-free in
both the "stop" and "go" modes. This drawing
shows how to use the control dial to control the
disk actuated drum brake. The control dial is
designed to require only two-finger turning – it is
not necessary or advised to over-tighten control
dial.
Centrifugal brake
The centrifugal brake located inside the control
dial of SKYLOTEC DEUS 3000 Series controlled
descent devices is always active and operates
without involvement by the user. Its role is to
guard against free-fall. When descent speed is
slow, the centrifugal brake is not engaged. As
descent speed increases, the centrifugal brake
gradually applies braking force to limit descent
speed. Within the load limits of SKYLOTEC DEUS
3300 controlled descent device, the centrifugal
brake is designed to limit descent speed to about
3 meters per second. The SKYLOTEC DEUS
3700 controlled descent device is designed to limit
descent speed to less than 2 meters per second.
Figure eight brake
The self-adjusting figure eight brake operates
automatically.
The functional parts of the figure eight brake are
the two Euler posts, the sliding cam and the anvil.
The sliding cam automatically applies tension to
the free end of the rope to activate the figure eight
brake based on the load applied to the device.
It is possible to manually reduce the amount of
braking done by the figure eight brake during
descent to increase descent speed. This can be
done in two ways:
Center the sliding cam
During descent, the side of the sliding cam
nearest the loaded side of the rope will protrude
slightly from the frame of the DEUS 3000 Series
controlled descent device. Pressing on the
protruding end of the sliding cam will reduce
the tension applied by the sliding cam to the
free end of the rope. This decreases braking
done by the figure eight, which then increases
descent speed. Releasing the sliding cam will
automatically resume normal descent. In the
drawing below, figure A shows how to center
the sliding cam when using "escape" rigging.
Drawing B shows how to center the sliding cam
when using "rescue" rigging.
A B
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