Auto poles help...

[amumonamission]

I have just set my auto poles up at home. I have the standard auto poles with the triple hooks and at the moment I have a vinyl white and a vinyl grey background on there. My problem is that the backdrops will not role down! I have watched a number of tutorials and I'm sure I have it all set up correctly but the roles are so stiff that they won't roll. What could I have done wrong?

 

[Bayrunner]

If you can't turn the rolls at all, sounds like you have the brakes set too tight. Release the key on the idle end ( other end from the chain), assuming the expans you have are decent ones with a brake in the first place. The problem here is that the balance point between friction and free running gets narrower the heavier the background is. With paper it is fairly simple to find a point at which the roll will stay in position without having to adjust the brake.

This system was designed for paper backgrounds, and whilst many have been pleased with how it has worked for them, there is little doubt that the working life of expans is seriously compromised by using heavier backgrounds on it.

 

[amumonamission]

Yes they are genuine manfrotto expans.

I feel like a complete numpty now! How did I not notice that!?

I pleased to say that that resolved my problem and they are rolling up and down nice and smoothly.

Thanks very much for that

 

[TG.]

This system was designed for paper backgrounds.

I'm sure i read somewhere you can get rollers for the vinyl backgrounds to fit on autopoles.

 

[amumonamission]

The person I bought it from used it for Vinyl backgrounds so I am assuming that it is compatible?

 

[Bayrunner]

The person I bought it from used it for Vinyl backgrounds so I am assuming that it is compatible?

They are compatible as long as they fit inside the tube, agreed.... However, you then have the issues of the friction of the expan inside the metal tube and the added weight of the background. They were designed to work inside the cardboard cores of paper rolls where there is more friction and less load. The Manfrotto expans have for some time now been labelled 'B/P' for Background paper, and that is what they are recommended for.

In your case with Autopoles you then have the issue of the weight of the background at height without a firm fixing. Remember that the maximum load will be when you are actually raising the backgrounds, and the Autopoles relies on expansion to stay in place.

I am currently being consulted by a solicitor acting for a client who was apparently injured when a set up similar to yours collapsed during a shoot: Manfrotto publish weight limits for their equipment- exceed them at your peril. Most other manufacturers do not publish such data, and will rely on the common sense of the end user.

 

[amumonamission]

They are compatible as long as they fit inside the tube, agreed.... However, you then have the issues of the friction of the expan inside the metal tube and the added weight of the background. They were designed to work inside the cardboard cores of paper rolls where there is more friction and less load. The Manfrotto expans have for some time now been labelled 'B/P' for Background paper, and that is what they are recommended for.

In your case with Autopoles you then have the issue of the weight of the background at height without a firm fixing. Remember that the maximum load will be when you are actually raising the backgrounds, and the Autopoles relies on expansion to stay in place.

I am currently being consulted by a solicitor acting for a client who was apparently injured when a set up similar to yours collapsed during a shoot: Manfrotto publish weight limits for their equipment- exceed them at your peril. Most other manufacturers do not publish such data, and will rely on the common sense of the end user.

Yeah I wouldn't want any thing like that happening. I might for the moment just use the grey one on it's own and take the white down. If I ever wanted to use both in a shoot then will just make sure the other half is in to help me put it back up again. Hopefully the weight of one vinyl shouldn't be too bad? I've always intended on using the paper rolls anyway so it's not too much of a big deal.

 

[TG.]

The way i understand it is the poles themselves are ok with the weight, it's the plastic expan rollers that go inside the rolls that are the problem for vinyl, however as previously mentioned, i think their are stronger metal expan rollers which can be purchased for vinyl, i'm just not sure where.

 

[amumonamission]

I have emailed manfrotto. Hopefully they will be able to say one way or the other whether it is safe and if not what to use to make it safe.

 

[TG.]

i think their are stronger metal expan rollers which can be purchased for vinyl, i'm just not sure where.

It could be HERE it maybe worth dropping them an email