API Treestand Owners 

Howdy Folks,

since API has went under ? many of you are wondering about the chains and shrink wrap for future use of your stands

well here is a bit of info that will help many whom own the API treestands

the chain is actually made for a combine and can easily be purchased at most any tractor supply
i bought a 100 foot roll of the chain for less than $100

The original chain used for these stands was agricultural roller chain 2040.  you could check with a local tractor dealership.
FYI: TRACTOR SUPPLY CO has them!! The implement chain model A2040 are an off the shelf replacement at $12.95 each. You will need two and will have to cut them to length.

myself and 3 friends wanted longer chains to use on occasion when climbing larger tree's
by using a longer chain you can climb larger diameter tree's that normally you would have to pass up and some of the best stand locations required you to be able to climb them

as to the shrink wrap that comes originally on the API stands ?

the factory stuff was pretty much useless since it would wear to a frazzle with only a few climbings of rough/hardwood tree's

there IS a much better solution to covering the chains that will last for many years of hard use and it's easily done
best of all it is cheaper than buying the shrink wrap which only wears out !

Here's what you do to fix the chains by covering them :

go to your local hardware store and buy 12 feet of clear vinyl tubing as the chains used are only 5 ft. 6 inches long
the size you need is .625 I.D.(5/8 ths) by .750 O.D.(3/4 ths)
use 6 feet for each chain of your stand , one for the climber section and one for the seat section

next take the chains out of your stand and lay them to the side for the moment
you will then remove the plastic bushings in the ends of the stand where the chain goes in the tubing, this plastic bushing is NOT used any longer which you can throw away
next take a small hand file and debur the inside edges of the aluminum tubing , by doing so you are only removing very small amounts of metal from the inner square edges to smooth them up a bit
this prolongs the use of the tubing on the chains when done correctly

next get the chains that you previously laid to the side and then remove the factory heat shrink from them
it is advisable to save each end section(ends with holes) of the shrink wrap from the chain which makes it easier to know where to place the holes needed in the tubing your fixing to place on the chain
this is easily done by just cutting a slit along the length of the wrap and then simply peeling it off to save the hole positions

next step is a bit tricky but well worth the time

place a large pan of water on the kitchen stove and heat it to a boiling state
note: (do the following step after removing the water from the stove using no heat)

the pan needs to be large enough to take one of the 6 foot sections of the clear vinyl tubing and make a coil of it and still be able to submerge it into the hot water to let it heat up by soaking it for a few minutes

by doing this you are making the vinyl tubing soft and flexible which helps when getting it over the chain as it is a tight fit

next while the vinyl tubing is heating up in the hot water , you will need a small section of wire to be used for pulling the chain through the tubing, it only needs to be a foot or so longer than your tubing

i used a single strand of 12-2 copper wire which is easily available

next take one end of this wire and tie it off to something that will not move
now take the clear vinyl tubing from the hot water and feed the other end of the wire through it until it comes out the other end and then tie that wire end to one end of the chain

with the section of tubing over the wire which it tied off to something stable all you have to do is pull on the clear tubing to get it to slide over the chain covering it , the more chain you get covered with the tubing the harder it is to pull so this is why it is a big benefit to heat the tubing prior to doing this

once you have the tubing completely covering the chain you simply untie the wire from the end of the chain you had it tied to and your almost
done

do the other section of the chain the same way to get the vinyl tubing over it as well

now that you have the chains covered with the tubing let them cool off as they will become stiffer and shrink a bit(back to the original stiffness of the tubing prior to heating)

now the next step is to drill holes in the vinyl tubing between the proper links to allow the pins to go through
this is where the old sections of shrink wrap come in handy, you can align the old wrap with the ends of the chain as it is easily seen through the clear tubing as to how it was covering the links of the chain previously
after aligning up the old wrap with the chain ends simply mark the locations for the holes to be drilled in the vinyl tubing

note: be sure to drill the holes to where the load will be held against a cross pin in the chain links

using a 7/16ths(.437) drill bit , drill the holes in the tubing and
after drilling these holes trim off the excess tubing you have that extends beyond the length of the chain
then place the chains into the stand making sure the pins go in correctly through the holes you just drilled(you may have to do a small amount of deburing on the tubing where the drill left vinyl shavings)
below is a picture as sometimes a pic is worth a thousand words.....hehe

YOUR DONE !

you will find that the vinyl covered chains fit well in the square tubing of the stand and will last for many years to come

myself and several others have been using this Vinyl tubing now for two years and it is still as good as new , just like it was when i put it on
another benefit to doing this is that it is a bit stiffer than the old shrink wrap and it makes it much easier to climb with(especially when climbing irregular shaped trees)
the vinyl tubing holds much better than the old shrink wrap ever did also which is a big plus
this tubing even makes it easier to place the stand onto the tree due to the chain being stiffer and making it easier to reach around the tree base to get ahold of

another great benefit to using the Vinyl tubing is that it also quietens the stand while carrying it

NO more rattling chains while walking with the stand on your back

also if wanted you can paint the tubing to camo it a bit if needed as I have painted several after placing the Vinyl tubing on, the paint seems to stick very well and only wears off where the chain meets the tree whilst climbing

you can paint the clear tubing with a quality spray paint such as Krylon and it will adhere well to the Vinyl tubing and last for a long time

i have a couple of stands with the tubing painted on them and they have held up well in the last 2 years of hard use,
if the tubing becomes scuffed a bit just touch it up with a bit more spray paint

about the only place mine has shown any major wear off with the paint is the part of the tubing that meets the tree while climbing and i most always climb hardwood trees which are much rougher barked than pines are

Be Safe and Have Fun ! 

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