Stainless steel costs several times what alloy steel does, and in the right environment it is worth every penny. Offshore, marine, coastal, chemical process and washdown environments destroy plated steel connectors from the inside out: the gate seizes, the collar corrodes solid, and a connector that cannot be operated is a connector that gets forced or abandoned. This INOX karabiner resists all of that, with 25 kN breaking strength, a generous 22.5 mm gate and a quarter turn locking mechanism.
Key Features
- Stainless steel construction: The reason to buy it. Resists salt, moisture and chemical attack that would seize a plated steel connector within months.
- Quarter turn locking: Locks with a quarter turn rather than several turns of a screw collar. Faster to operate and, importantly, less thread for corrosion and grit to work into.
- 25 kN breaking strength: Matching the alloy steel versions, well above the EN 362 minimum.
- 22.5 mm gate opening: The larger gate size, easier to clip onto substantial anchor points.
- BS EN 362 Class B: Certified basic connector for fall protection.
- Long service life in harsh conditions: Where a plated connector might last a season, stainless will run for years.
Technical Specifications
| Property |
Value |
| Product Code |
FA 50 106 22 |
| Material |
Stainless steel (INOX) |
| Breaking Strength |
25 kN |
| Gate Opening |
22.5 mm |
| Operating Type |
Quarter turn locking |
| Conformity |
BS EN 362 Class B |
| PPE Category |
Category III |
BS EN 362 Class B | Stainless Steel | 25 kN | Category III PPE
Conforms to BS EN 362 Class B for fall protection connectors. Stainless steel construction for use in corrosive environments. Category III personal protective equipment under Regulation (EU) 2016/425, supplied with a Declaration of Conformity. Requires inspection by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 12 months and immediate withdrawal after arresting a fall.
Suitable Applications
Specify stainless wherever corrosion is the limiting factor on equipment life. That means offshore platforms and vessels, coastal and harbour work, water and wastewater treatment, chemical and food processing plant where washdown is routine, swimming pools and leisure facilities, and any permanently installed system exposed to weather. It is also the sensible choice for equipment left in place between visits, where a seized connector would mean the system cannot be used when it is next needed. For general inland site work, alloy steel does the same job at a fraction of the cost.
More About This Product
Connectors are bought on price more often than any other component in a fall protection system, and they are the component where that is least sensible. A karabiner is the single point through which the entire system passes, and the difference between a good one and a poor one is measured in how the gate behaves after two years on site rather than in how it performs new.
The practical differences show up in use. A gate that is stiff with a glove on gets clipped carelessly. A connector too small for the anchor gets forced. One too large rolls out. None of these is a rating problem, and none of them appears on a spec sheet.
Gate Types, Roll-Out and Choosing by Anchor
Gate mechanism determines how a connector is used in practice. A screwgate is secure and slow, needing a deliberate twist to lock — and it is the one most often left unlocked, because locking it is a separate action nobody sees you skip. A twist-lock or triple-action gate locks automatically, which removes that failure mode entirely at the cost of being fiddlier with heavy gloves.
Roll-out is the failure mode that surprises people. A correctly rated connector can twist and come out of an anchor point that is too wide, too flat or awkwardly shaped, under load, without anything breaking. It is a geometry problem, not a strength problem, and no amount of extra rating prevents it. Where the anchor is a wide flat plate or a large eye, a connector with a captive-eye or a purpose-shaped body is the answer.
Gate opening is the dimension to check before buying a fleet. A connector that will not fit the anchor points on your site is useless whatever its rating, and the discovery is normally made on the day by someone who then improvises.
How to Use the Quarter Turn Karabiner
- Operate the quarter turn fully: Rotate the locking sleeve through its full quarter turn until it seats. A partially turned mechanism is not locked.
- Confirm it has locked: Try to open the gate without releasing the mechanism. It should not move.
- Load along the major axis: This is Class B, not Class M, so it is not rated for cross loading.
- Never load the gate.
- Rinse after saltwater exposure: Stainless resists corrosion but salt deposits in the mechanism still cause stiffness. Rinse with clean fresh water.
- Do not mix with plated steel in permanent installations: Dissimilar metals in contact accelerate corrosion of the less noble one.
Warning: Category III PPE for trained, competent persons only. Class B only, load along the major axis. Confirm the quarter turn mechanism has fully engaged before applying load. Withdraw immediately after arresting a fall or any significant impact.
Safety Information
- For use only by trained and competent persons within a safe system of work.
- Class B only. Load along the major axis. Not rated for cross loading.
- Confirm the quarter turn mechanism is fully engaged before every use.
- Rinse with fresh water after exposure to salt water or chemicals.
- Avoid direct contact with dissimilar metals in permanent installations.
- Withdraw immediately after arresting a fall.
- Inspection by a competent person required at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
- Do not modify, drill, machine or paint.
Inspection and Maintenance
Stainless resists corrosion but is not immune to it, and the failure to watch for is crevice corrosion in the gate mechanism where deposits sit undisturbed. Rinse with clean fresh water after saltwater or chemical exposure, and operate the mechanism through its full travel while doing so. Check the quarter turn engages and releases positively every time, since a mechanism that has become vague or sticky is on its way to failing. Inspect the body for pitting, which is how stainless corrodes when it does, along with the usual checks for distortion, wear grooves and legible marking. Where equipment is permanently installed and rarely handled, the mechanism is the thing most likely to have deteriorated between inspections.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is stainless worth six times the price of alloy steel?
In a corrosive environment, easily. A plated steel connector offshore or in a washdown area can seize within a season, and a connector that will not operate is either forced, which damages it, or replaced. In a dry inland workshop, no, stainless is money spent for nothing.
Q: What is quarter turn locking?
Instead of winding a threaded collar several turns, the sleeve locks with a single quarter rotation. It is faster to operate and has far less thread for grit and salt to work into, which is why it pairs well with stainless in harsh environments.
Q: Can stainless still corrode?
Yes, though far more slowly. The usual form is pitting or crevice corrosion in places where deposits sit undisturbed, such as inside the gate mechanism. Rinsing with fresh water after saltwater exposure prevents most of it. Also avoid permanent contact with plated steel components, which accelerates corrosion of the plated part.
Q: Which stainless connector for a permanently installed system?
This one for general connection, or the FA 50 210 11 INOX anchorage hook where a larger 110 mm gate opening is needed to fit over structural members. Both are stainless and suited to being left in place.
