Rope Data

ROPE FIBER SELECTION

Property	Nylon	Polyester	Polypropylene	Polyethylene	Manila	Cotton
Strength	1	2	3	4	5	6
Wet vs Dry Strength	85%	100%	100%	100%	115%	115%
Shock Load Ability	1	3	2	4	5	6
Floats or Sinks in water	Sinks	Sinks	Floats	Floats	Sinks	Sinks
Elongation at break Approx.	20-34%	15-20%	15-20%	10-15%	10-15%	5-10%
Water Absorption	6%	Zero	Zero	Zero	100%	100%
Melting Point	480°F	500°F	330°F	275°F	does not melt chars at 350°F	does not melt chars at 300°F
Abrasion Resistance	2	1	4	5	3	6
Sunlight Degradation	Good	Excellent	Poor	Fair	Good	Good
Rot Degradation	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Poor	Poor
Acids Resistance	Poor	Good	Good	Good	Poor	Poor
Alkalis Resistance	Good	Poor	Good	Good	Poor	Poor
Oil & Gas Resistance	Good	Good	Good	Good	Poor	Poor
Electrical Resistance	Poor	Good	Good	Good	Poor	Poor
Flexing Endurance	1	2	3	6	4	5
Specific Gravity	1.14	1.38	0.90	0.95	1.38	1.54
Storage Requirements	Wet or Dry	Wet or Dry	Wet or Dry	Wet or Dry	Dry Only	Dry Only

The chart is from:

Irwin Miller
1446 Devereaux Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19149
215-289-4227

Nylon

Solid Braid Nylon

Dia (in.)	Working Load (Lbs.)	Breaking Strength (Lbs.)
1/8	69	460
5/32	83	550
3/16	113	750
1/4	169	1125
5/16	330	2200
3/8	450	3000
1/2	714	4200

3-Strand Twist Nylon

Dia (in.)	Working Load (Lbs.)	Breaking Strength (Lbs.)
1/4	124	1490
5/16	192	2300
3/8	278	3340
7/16	410	4500
1/2	525	5750
5/8	935	9350
3/4	1420	12800
7/8	2000	18000
1	2520	22600

Braid-on-Braid Nylon/Nylon

Dia (in.)	Working Load (Lbs.)	Breaking Strength (Lbs.)
1/4	345	2300
5/16	510	3400
3/8	735	4900
7/16	1122	6600
1/2	1445	8500
5/8	2736	15200
3/4	3438	19100
7/8	5660	28300
1	6720	33600

Polyester

Twisted Polyester/Polyethylene

Dia (in.)	Working Load (Lbs.)	Breaking Strength (Lbs.)
3/8	244	2440
7/16	350	3160
1/2	440	3780
9/16	610	4600
5/8	720	5600
3/4	1080	7650
7/8	1540	10400
1	1870	12600

Braid-on-Braid Polyester/Polyester

Dia (in.)	Working Load (Lbs.)	Breaking Strength (Lbs.)
1/4	390	2680
5/16	585	4020
3/8	780	5200
7/16	1241	7700
1/2	1598	10100
9/16	2232	13000
5/8	2754	16000
3/4	3438	20000
7/8	5560	28500
1	7260	36300

There are many grades of polypropylene rope. The tables represent a higher strength grade. Use Caution! Working loads and breaking strengths for your rope may be as low as half of those shown in the table.

Hollow Braid Polypropylene

Dia (in.)	Working Load (Lbs.)	Breaking Strength (Lbs.)
1/8	33	220
3/16	105	700
1/4	185	1250
5/16	230	1550
3/8	330	2200
1/2	714	4200
5/8	1080	6000
3/4	1600	8800

Twisted Polypropylene

Dia (in.)	Working Load (Lbs.)	Breaking Strength (Lbs.)
1/4	113	1130
5/16	171	1710
3/8	244	2440
7/16	352	3160
1/2	420	3780
9/16	575	4600
5/8	700	5600
3/4	1090	7650
7/8	1490	10400
1	1800	12600