Can anyone provide feedback on how well these work?
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Can anyone provide feedback on how well these work?
I've found that smaller zip ties work great, especially with the tightening tool....I haven't seen that gadget around here yet tho...
Thanks Jon. The tool was actually designed for a different purpose, but aquatic eco-systems sell them for banding shipping bags. I agree, the zip ties do a good job too.
Those are for elastrating mammals like calves, lambs, and I bought one hoping it would work for the bags. Nope - I was so disappointed. Did not work at all. I needed a method of getting the rubber band on because of my arthritic fingers.
So, now I just put two knots in the bags and pull them tight, pulling after each knot. I have not had any leaks. Karen
Thanks Karen. I found a post on another forum from someone using them. According to them two of the bands need to be used, and pressed against each other to hold. I have also seen different bands available for the tool. The different bands have a flat profile and may work well with just one. I'll give them a try and post the results here.
Dan
Yes please do. One of the problems I had was getting the bag inserted thru the bands. Plus the tool takes hand strength of which I no longer have.
I already had the tool because I had a goat dairy. the bands didn't work well on fish bags.
Thanks Liz. I think the rounded bands can indeed present problems. I did find someone who uses the tool with regular rubber bands. They wrap the rubber bands onto the tool, then use the tool to apply the rubber bands onto the bag. They say that it works better than trying to apply the rubber band to a bag with their hand. I will be receiving mine in about a week so I will see how it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by LizStreithorst
That sounds like it would work better. I have had my best results by knotting the bag. Perhaps I'm rubber band challenged.
I tried using the tool with a normal rubber band and it was a challenge too, like you Liz just knotting the bag twice is the easiest, less struggle, less hand and finger strain and best of all FREE.Quote:
Originally Posted by LizStreithorst
Think about it - geesh double bag, sometimes triple bag and count the knots.
lol, yep knots are free. My interest is in the workings of the jaw design. Because it is based on compound fulcrum and lever, the grip strength need not be a static factor, in other words it can be changed with a little tinkering (easier to open - even under the increased load of beefier bands) and with the addition of a catch mechanism it can be loaded, opened and locked into position (making it faster and easier to get on a bag. :) I'm thinking this will turn out in my favor, won't know till I try. :cool: Plus, I'm originally from Missouri, that show-me place....
Thanks everyone for the feedback.
Speaking of knots I have received Breather Bags that were tightly sealed with tape and breather Bags that were sealed with a knot.
I detest receiving the taped ones. I have yet been able to open one where the results was kind to the fish. The taped ones have enough pressure built up in them that when slitting to open, the water and fish come gushing out with force. Gotta be rough on those fish. I have tried cutting under the tape etc. but that was impossible as the tape adheres wonderfully to the bag.
Now the knotted one, untied easily and I was able to gently enable the fish to flow out into the floating container in a much kinder action.
Is there a secret to opening these things when they are taped shut??
Please let us know how it works for you and HOW you made it work for you. Knots work well, but they seem so amaturish. My hands aren't as strong as they once were but they're strong enough to work an elastrator.
(Not that y'all want to know, but I found soon on that castrating with a scalpel blade and pulling the nuts out by hand was easier on the male kid. It just took some guts at first)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Danburns
lol. Oh, I don't know, I have been getting bags of fish tied with a knot for - well, I'll just say decades.... Good enough back then and still good today. It's what is inside the bag that really matters!Quote:
Originally Posted by LizStreithorst
In using the tool, which would you say makes it unsatisfactory, strength required to open, range of motion required to open, or equally the same?
range of motion required to open AND get the top of the bag through the band opening that is on the tool being held open without dropping the bag of water and fish that is twisted and ready to be closed. And did not close tight enough to close the bag as is needed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Danburns
Thank you. In other words, there is a lot to address,,,, :)
The only problem I had was that the round green band didn't close the bag tightly. The rubber band thing might work if they were strong enough to stretch enough to survive opening the tool. With rubber bands you will need more hand strength than is needed with the green bands. I don't think that it will work but if it does I want to know.
Thanks Liz. I should have one in this week or early next and I can start toying with it. While it may work well for it's intended purpose, it sounds like a good deal of redesign is in order for bagging fish. That is not a obstacle, very doable in fact, but I'm starting to think that it may not be worth going down that road. Pretty small market when you think about it, so likely a small return on the greater effort of perfecting the design, building and patenting. Scales in my mind are tipping squarely towards 'no'. Still, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it. :)
lol. If you were able to make it work you would only have one buyer...me. It sure would be nice, though.
:) Getting it to work doesn't look to be a big problem, I have found others on the internet that claim it works for them. But getting it to work for everyone is where the hurdles pop up. I have a friend who is an exceptional machinist that could build from design. But the price point on a finished working unit that would function well and be user friendly in operation pushes the boundaries of risk/reward. The tool as is can be had for less than $25, compared to over $100 for a better mousetrap. Doesn't pass the sniff test. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by LizStreithorst
Tried two of the round profile bands that came with the tool. Works fine.
Attachment 186
Even when held upside down without the support of a second outer bag. Obviously just a test, do not try this at home with your own bag, no stunt dummies were injured in the making of this series of photos. This is also not a recommendation to ship in only one bag. :)
Attachment 187
I am searching around for a flat profile band that should work well with just one applied. I have also seen different styles (different manufacturers) offered. While I did not have difficulty working this tool, I wonder if there are some available that are easier to grip?
You obviously have the strength and dexterity to manipulate the tool. That is the two things I do not have. Now, question - do prefer this method to the old fashioned hands only manipulation of the bag and tool?
That is why I am wondering if there are other styles that may be easier to operate. :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by ziouxpioux
For me, this is quicker and easier than rubber bands. And more importantly, I think these band are easier for the recipient to remove than rubber bands or knots. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ziouxpioux
I doubt the style differs much from brand to brand. Perhaps you can invent a better "mouse trap".
Here is a sample of what is out there. Warning to some this might seem to graphic so look at your own risk.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&....0.exkY8k27pdw
In viewing the pictures I see several different styles. I was thinking that perhaps some are easier to use than others.Quote:
Originally Posted by ziouxpioux
In discussing this with my machinist friend, we feel that to make something specific for banding bags and be very easy to operate would require building an automatic counter-top model. We penciled out a design that anyone who could hold a bag could make it work (also in the design is an optional oxygen injection system), eliminating the strength and dexterity needed for operating a hand-held model. The cost of which would push into several hundred dollars, not a big enough market at that price to make it worth constructing.Quote:
Originally Posted by ziouxpioux
The problem tho boils down with the ones already in production - they require one hand squeezing to make it operate while the other hand manipulates the bag of water and fish.
Wouldn't ya know it, after planning on how to build the better one, it still boils down to knotting the bags to be the cheapest and least complicated method, and probably fastest. LOL.
LOL, individual perception is difficult to compare. We are all wonderfully different, you knot yours , and now I not knot mine. :)
There is nothing wrong with knotting bags, works fine and has for decades. Free! Some of the best fish I ever got came in just such a bag. As far as receiving a knotted bag, well that can raise an issue for some people too. We have freedom of choice to enjoy.
Hope this helps someone other than myself, that was the intent.
and it was worthy of discussion. Job well done :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Danburns