Halfway thru a stringjob when...
 

...The Power goes out!

Happened to me last night. I was stringing a couple racquets for a client when about halfway thru the crosses on the last racquet, out goes the power.

Luckily it was only out for a couple minutes and I was able to finish. But here's my question, If it had stayed out for a length of time, is it OK to leave the racquet on the machine? (Mine is a Silen Patner Opus CP) What's the time limit where you should cut it out and start over? (BTW, I was on my last set of string for this client too).

I do have a crank as a backup, but there's no way I'd attempt to switch from on machine to another.

Your thoughts??

I have an APC battery backup for my Star 5, more for the regulated power to the Star 5 and less for the battery back-up. I did one time have a racquet half done when I lost power and was able to finish it with the battery backup with no problem. I had to use a flashlight to get it done and tying off with a flashlight was no fun, but I got it done. My APC will last about an 40 minutes on battery, more then enough time to get a racquet done.

You spend a couple of thousand dollars on the stringer, why not spend $200 to $300 on a APC?

^^^That doesn't really answer his question, does it?

Before I left the racket on the machine for any length of time I would use the crank backup. I think as long as you double pull on a crank and it is adjusted properly you will be fine. The amount of time you can leave a racket half strung would depend main on the string you are using and the tension you are pulling. If it was a cheap synthetic I would wait and see when the power came back on. If it is more than 20 minutes or so I would cut it out and start over. If it were gut at high tension I would get out the crank in a couple of minutes.

In reality I doubt anyone could tell the difference if you waited a couple of hours. If it was mine I would not worry about it. If it were a customers I would.

Sorry,

I was giving him an alternative to avoid that situation. Next time I won't bother....

I guess if you had to switch machines, you would have to hold the the string. I would suggest using floating clamps, but if you were using floating clamps to begin with, you probably don't have a electronic machine. The alternative is to use staring clamps. Though you would need to tension inorder for them to hold the tension.

The best thing to do is wait for the power to come back or have a UPS like Tray999 suggested.

I thought your response was appropriate given the situation. While it didn't specifically address his question, it did give a reasonable alternative for the future. Don't let others keep you from sharing your opinion. I'd never thought of having a battery backup until now.

Thanks dak for your kind words.

You get 40 mins on your UPS, but how many VA (Volt Amps) is it rated? I'm thinking 1000VA might be overkill.

I have the APC Smart UPS C 1500VA, it has Load Capacity 1.50 kVA/900W. It is overkill I know, but a great UPS!

I have a SmartUPS 2000, but I don't know if the batteries are still good. I'll check it out.

Clearly the most important thing to do when that happens is to get out your cell phone and call the power company and complain because you can't finish stringing your racquet and they suck. ;)


A UPS is a great solution though. Glad I'm not the only one who finds them useful for things other than IT equipment. lol

You spend a couple thousand dollars on the stringer, $300 on an APC, why not spend $20 on a headlamp.

Or just plug the lamp into the UPS. If the lamp has a low wattage CFL or LED bulb in it, it'll have almost no impact on the battery life.

I use a $15 floor lamp I got from Ikea with a 25w CFL bulb. It's plugged into the same power strip as my machine. SO plugging it into the UPS is a no brainer.

Anyone have any input on how long it is okay to leave a partially strung racquet in the stringer? This situation has happened to me a couple times (not power related, but because some situation comes up where I'm needed elsewhere).

I wouldn't recommend more than a couple minutes, though I've heard of people leaving racquets with only mains overnight (which makes me cringe).

Stringing stresses the frame, so it's best to finish a string job as quickly as reasonably possible.

When I was a member of the USRSA back in the late 80s / early 90s and the RDC just came out the USRSA strung a racket with the mains only and finished the crosses the next day just to see if the DT came out the same. It did the same racket finished in one continuous string and the one with only the mains strung overnight measured the same.

But I do think you should finish it once started.

It's not so much about the stringbed...it's about stressing the frame for an extended amount of time.

It's interesting that the DTs came out the same for the experiment you mentioned.

Come to think of it I don't think it was Jaycee I think it was John Elliot. Not really sure but I think the guy on G&G tennis site did a blog on it. You're right two completely different machines providing the same DT is extraordinary. I would consider it 99% luck, 99% experience, and 102% practice (hummm yes that is 300%.) I am sure there was a lot of practice done before the symposium and you have to count that for something.