What everyone needs!

In reply to GW7AAV:

Back to the lids off the milk shake and insulation tape.

Don’t be so mean Steve - go and by a new pole to fit your skid bungs!

Must say that a skid bung could be the thing for the bottom of my pole as it is a chore getting the bottle top and tape off when I need to dry the pole sections. Never can find the end of the tape. Anything for an easy life!

Gerald G4OIG

In reply to G4OIG:

Am I missing something here? - when my 7m pole gets a bit tired, I just replace it with a new one for the princely sum of £9 normally about every 18 months. For those who really must faff around with bungs etc, I find a cork or a “rubber” from a demijohn (home brew shop) fits the “standard” pole a treat.

Me too Steve. Although I have been known to make a new good pole out of two partly damaged poles. But that’s about the extent of my DIY skills.

Tom M1EYP

In reply to GW4EVX:
This is my solution to the bung problem.

Imgur

Imgur

I did this mod a couple of years ago and and its never come off yet.

John M0JDK

D’oh! I have had even more SOTA Pole problems today. I activated G/WB-021 in -4 deg C temperature and when I was ready to pack up, I found all the pole sections were frozen together in the extended position!! It was a devil of a job to free them, and in doing so I smashed the bottom cap again.
:frowning:

Oh well …

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G1INK:

Steve the problem is I usually break the bottom cap in the first two or three outings.

Why didn’t I think of the rubber stoppers from demijohns I must have hundreds? Duh!

Cheers

It has been very interesting reading all the comments on this thread but I feel I should clarify the original intention of my posting.
The pole skid bung was suggested as a simple, one-off solution to the lost bung problem.
All the other suggestions are of course excellent and also solve the problem but if you damage your pole beyond repair and have to buy a new one then you once again have to fabricate your invention. Similarly, replacing the lost bung with a demijohn bung means that it could also follow the same fate as the original!
You would have to be extremely careless to lose a pole skid bung as they are highly visible and designed to be used by anglers on muddy river banks in variable light conditions.
They also probably serve an even better purpose as a replacement for the bottom pole cap as they will stand a lot of wear and tear from contact with the ground.
Sorry to hear that Steve had size problems with his purchases!
I use an 8m pull apart ‘Activator’ pole and fortunately it is a perfect fit.
I prefer this type of pole and find it far superior to the usual telescopic ones, but I suppose it’s all down to personal taste!

Ron,GW4EVX

In reply to GW4EVX:

All the other suggestions are of course excellent and also solve the
problem but if you damage your pole beyond repair and have to buy a
new one then you once again have to fabricate your invention.

Ron

As far as I am aware, all new poles come with a “free” bung so you don’t have anything to fabricate!

Incidentally most original pole bugs are hollow inside and some of the “replacements” are not. In some cases this means that when the alternative is used it will push the sections up inside the pole so that they will no longer fit inside the outer section. Thus you need to be careful about selecting the type of replacement bung that you use.

73

Richard
G3CWI

In reply to G3CWI:

As far as I am aware, all new poles come with a “free” bung
so you don’t have anything to fabricate!

What I should have added Richard was ‘when you lose the bung again’!

Ron,GW4EVX

In reply to GW4EVX:

…again! Surely you would not be so careless.

In reply to GW4EVX:

Sorry to hear that Steve had size problems with his purchases!
I use an 8m pull apart ‘Activator’ pole and fortunately it is a
perfect fit.
I prefer this type of pole and find it far superior to the usual
telescopic ones, but I suppose it’s all down to personal taste!

Ron,GW4EVX

Hi Ron, I have about ten poles here in the shack, some new some slightly war worn with repairs and in size 6m/7m/10m but no 8m poles. I found the best way to keep poles from breaking is to not take them down. I have four in the garden holding up dipoles and they have lasted over two years without any breakages. Not bad for poles that cost a fiver each. I guess we need a heads up on when Aldi are getting those pull apart ones next time.

Steve

In reply to GW7AAV:

I guess we need a heads up on when Aldi are getting
those pull apart ones next time.

Hi Steve, Aldi have stocked them in August for the past two years, so a long time to wait!

Ron,GW4EVX