The centre pin is the part of a component connector that carries the load, and it is the part that wears. Rather than replacing the whole connector when the pin is worn or lost, this kit supplies a matched pin and bush in an individual pack. That is the point of a connector-built sling in the first place: components are replaceable, and this is the smallest and cheapest replacement in the system.
Key Features
- Pin and bush supplied together: Both wear as a pair and both should be replaced together. The kit reflects that rather than selling them separately.
- Individually packed: Each size in its own pack, so the right parts stay together and cannot be mixed up in a stores drawer.
- Seven sizes: Matched to Cobra Plus Grade 10 component connectors for chain 6 mm through 22 mm.
- Genuine Cobra Plus part: The pin is a load-bearing Grade 10 component matched to the connector body. Nothing else is acceptable.
- Low cost: From £2.50 against the price of a replacement connector.
Technical Specifications
| Product Code |
Suits Chain Dia (mm) |
| PBCCX6 |
6 |
| PBCCX8 |
8 |
| PBCCX10 |
10 |
| PBCCX13 |
13 |
| PBCCX16 |
16 |
| PBCCX20 |
20 |
| PBCCX22 |
22 |
Select by the chain size marked on the component connector. The 20 mm and 22 mm kits are available to order.
Genuine Cobra Plus Replacement Part | Load-Bearing Component
Manufacturer's replacement centre pin and bush for Cobra Plus Grade 10 component connectors. The centre pin is a heat-treated Grade 10 load-bearing component and only the correct kit may be fitted. After replacing the pin, the assembly must be inspected and recertified by a competent person before returning to service. Under LOLER 1998, lifting accessories require thorough examination at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
Suitable Applications
Anyone maintaining a fleet of Grade 10 chain slings will need these. Centre pins wear at the bearing surfaces, get lost during reassembly, and occasionally bend if an assembly has been loaded badly. Holding a small stock in the sizes you use most means a connector can be repaired the same day rather than the whole sling being out of service while a replacement is sourced. Given the cost, it is worth keeping several of each common size.
How to Fit the Connector Kit
- Identify the connector size: The chain size is marked on the connector body. Order the matching kit.
- Check the connector body first: A new pin does not make a worn, distorted or cracked connector body serviceable. Inspect that before fitting.
- Replace pin and bush together: They wear as a pair. Fitting a new pin into a worn bush wastes the new pin.
- Assemble fully: Fit the two halves around the chain end link, insert the pin completely and secure it.
- Confirm full engagement: A partially engaged pin bears on a fraction of its length and will fail.
- Recertify before use: Any assembly rebuilt with replacement components must be proof tested and recertified by a competent person.
Warning: The centre pin is a load-bearing Grade 10 component. Never substitute a bolt, rod or pin from another connector, however well it appears to fit. Any assembly rebuilt with new components must be recertified before returning to service.
Safety Information
- Use only the correct kit for the connector size.
- Never substitute a bolt, rod or non-original pin.
- Replace pin and bush together.
- Confirm the connector body is serviceable before repairing it.
- The pin must be fully engaged and secured.
- Rebuilt assemblies must be proof tested and recertified before use.
- Thorough examination by a competent person required at intervals not exceeding 12 months under LOLER 1998.
Inspection and Maintenance
Once fitted, the pin becomes part of the routine check on the connector. At every use, confirm it is straight, fully engaged and secured. At thorough examination it should be removed and measured at the bearing surfaces, since wear there is where the connector loses capacity and it is invisible while assembled. A pin that has bent indicates the assembly has been loaded in a way it should not have been, which raises questions about the connector body and the components either side of it, so investigate rather than simply fitting a new one.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use a bolt of the same diameter?
No. The centre pin is heat-treated Grade 10 steel matched to the connector. A bolt of the same diameter has neither the material specification nor the shear strength, and fitting one voids the certification of the entire assembly.
Q: Why replace the bush as well?
Because they wear together. A new pin in a worn bush has excessive clearance, moves under load and wears rapidly. The kit supplies both because replacing only one is a false economy.
Q: Does the sling need recertifying afterwards?
Yes. Any alteration to a lifting accessory requires the assembly to be proof tested and recertified by a competent person before it returns to service. That applies to a pin replacement as much as to changing a hook.
Q: How often do these need replacing?
It depends entirely on use. A sling in daily service with the connector taking repeated load cycles will wear a pin far faster than one used occasionally. The pin should be measured at each thorough examination, and replaced at the manufacturer’s stated wear limit on the bearing surfaces.
Q: What is the difference between Grade 6 and Grade 8 shackles?
Grade 6 high tensile to BS EN 13889 is the common general-purpose
shackle. Grade 8 alloy carries considerably more at the same physical size, so a smaller and lighter shackle does the same work. They look similar once in a box, which is why the grade marking matters and why an unmarked shackle must be scrapped.
Q: What does the minimum breaking load of six times the W.L.L. mean?
That the shackle is designed to break at six times its marked working rating. That margin covers shock loading, wear, and the tolerances of manufacture — it is not spare capacity to be used. The Working Load Limit is the number you work to.
Q: Can I use a shackle that has been dropped?
Inspect it first, and if in doubt scrap it. A drop onto concrete can crack a shackle without leaving a visible mark, and cracks in alloy steel propagate under load. Shackles are cheap; the consequences are not.
Q: Why can I not use a bolt instead of the pin?
Because the pin is a rated component, heat treated and dimensioned to match the body. An ordinary bolt is not, and it is the commonest and most dangerous field substitution in rigging.
Q: How do I stop the pin unscrewing?
Use the safety nut and bolt version for anything left rigged, subject to vibration, or where a sling can move against the pin. A screw collar pin is for connections made and broken by hand within a shift, not left in place.
Q: Should shackles be galvanised?
Hot dipped galvanising is the norm for outdoor and marine work and adds years of life. Self colour is fine indoors. Never repaint a shackle: paint conceals cracks and destroys the grade marking.
