Losing tension too fast

bbulla

Rookie
Hi,

I'm stringing with some Prince Premiere Touch I bought about 2 years ago. It's the last few sets in the batch, and I seem to be losing tension very fast. For example, it is a DT of 38 on my ERT300 right off of the machine, and about 12 hours later (with about 1 hour of playing) it is a DT of 30.

Normally this string works well for me. Could it have gone 'bad'??
 

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
Answer would normally be "strings do not go bad if stored properly."
1.How were they stored? Should be temperate-low temps out of the sun, with no violent swings in temp like a car trunk.
2. Did you change stringers or stringing machine?
3. Did you play in an area with different ambient temperature?, e.g. strung at colder temp, played indoors at 70's.

If you like this string, switch to something a little thicker. Or get a fresh batch of strings.
 

NE1for10is?

Semi-Pro
I think it's fairly normal to loose a lot of tension after the first few hits with any string, then it will probably settle and stay more or less at that looser tension until the next stringing.
 

bbulla

Rookie
Answer would normally be "strings do not go bad if stored properly."
1.How were they stored? Should be temperate-low temps out of the sun, with no violent swings in temp like a car trunk.
2. Did you change stringers or stringing machine?
3. Did you play in an area with different ambient temperature?, e.g. strung at colder temp, played indoors at 70's.

If you like this string, switch to something a little thicker. Or get a fresh batch of strings.


Hi,

They are all stored in the same place, indoors and out of the sun. Same machine, and more or less the same playing conditions.

I've cleaned all my clamps, checked my machine setup, etc. and all seems good. I did more of a pre-stretch than the previous two times I've noticed this, but I'm still loosing tension very fast. It's already a 15L guage, so not sure I'll find it any thicker!

My other racquet has a fresh set of BiPhase in it, and it seems to be fine. I think it might just be the string.
 

1HBHfanatic

Legend
When stored strings go bad, from my experience, they dry out!
frayes quickly while stringing and snaps on tension pull

String Charts show 8-25% (lowest ive seen, highest i remember), tension loss is reported as normal on all strings within the first 24hrs (no hitting),, gradual decline after..
 

Wes

Hall of Fame
Hi,

I'm stringing with some Prince Premiere Touch I bought about 2 years ago. It's the last few sets in the batch, and I seem to be losing tension very fast. For example, it is a DT of 38 on my ERT300 right off of the machine, and about 12 hours later (with about 1 hour of playing) it is a DT of 30.

Normally this string works well for me. Could it have gone 'bad'??

The piece of the puzzle, that you've left out, is what were these figures before?
You've only cited the DT values (off the stringer & 12hrs. after) for using this string now.
What were the values when using this string (at the exact same tension) when using it 1 year ago? 2 years ago?
How are we to know that the DT didn't go from 38 to 30 when using this string 1 year ago... or even 2 years ago?
 

AndI

Rookie
Decrease from DT=38 to DT=30 within 12 hours is way too high. Normally, it should be down to 37 or 36 in 12 hours, depending on the strings. I can think only about 3 possible reasons:

1) Racquet was stored for several hours in a very hot environment (e.g., in a locked car left in the sun or in a car trunk). When strings heat up, the strings material becomes softer, this makes it easier for them to creep [this is a technical term for mechanical deformation of plastics]. Consequently, strings elongate and lose tension significantly.
2) The string is unusually "stretchy" and must be pre-stretched before or during stringing. If not pre-stretched, such material would creep quickly and significantly within the first few hours. Cheaper strings are more likely to show such behavior. Slower pulling speed on a constant pull machine could largely compensate for it. One can also use the prestretching function on the machine [pull at a higher tension, release, pull at the target tension].
3) String was somehow defective from the factory (not very likely, but theoretically possible).

Also, I do not feel like adding this to the list of possibilities, but DT strongly depends on the position on the racquet and increases from center towards the frame. It is highly unlikely that you would overlook this, but I will mention it anyways: it is important to place the ERT-300 exactly in the center of the racquet each time you measure, to get comparable results in two measurements.

Finally, even less likely possibility... if the string is natural gut and it got wet, it is more likely to rapidly loose tension under softening effect of moisture on the gut.
 
Last edited:

bbulla

Rookie
Hi,

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

Why the DT is dropping so fast is still a bit of a mystery, but I lean towards an issue with the string. Using a comparable string to the Prince Premiere Touch in the same racquet is producing a stable DT of 37, so I think it has something to do with the Prince string. It is over 2 years old, and when I first started using it I never had this issue.

Yes, I always take my DT reading in the same spot on the stringbed, and there are no massive temperature or moisture issues to consider here.

I'll experiment a bit more with what I have left of the Prince string, but I think it may be time to get a new batch of string.

Thanks!
 
Just FYI,

I string lots of 16x19 racquets with various 1.3mm Poly. Mostly Cyclone or Hyper-G. I use RT to track DT and DT Loss.

Almost without fail, at tensions above 56lb,

DT "x" measured off the stringer.
DT is "x-1.5" to "x-1.9" measured after resting the racquet for 24 hours.
DT is "x-2.5" to "x-2.9" measured after 1 Hour of Matchplay hitting.

If I saw a DT drop of more than 2 after the resting period I would think I did something wrong during the stringing process - probably a slipping clamp during the first few Main string pulls, or didn't cinch my Tie Off knots quick enough.
 
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