How to remove NCPS Clamp?

wotswattage

I bent the jaws of a big (1m) bolt cutters trying to cut a clamp chain before. Had no access to a con saw so ended up coughing up the release fee... If I left it any longer I'd have been paying for a second 24 hours.

The chain was lopped in through the wishbones so dismantling wasn't am option either.

I've seen hacksaws working on cheap clamps at universities, but NCPS ones are made of tougher stuff!

Falcon L

Either a cheap angle grinder and an inverter to connect it to your car battery or a rechargeable grinder. Keep it in the boot. It's a great investment.

pcardin

ac123 wrote: »

What did you use to cut the chain? How long did it take?

grinder. although chain was looped through suspension parts by lifting a car I could slide the clamp off the wheel. when it was flat on the ground I cut the corners where chain is welded to metal triangle shield. chain itself was nearly impossible to cut. it was enough to free chain and unloop from suspension. job was done exactly 12 min before charge for next 24hrs would kick in. Clamp release fee where I live is €120 so paying that amount will never be an option for me.

endacl

Mycroft H wrote: »

Not seen a chain that a 42" bolt cutters won't go through

mfceiling

I watched a lad cut a Dublin City Council clamp off.

A 110v makita reciprocating saw and 4 brand new steel blades later and the clamp was on it's way to Newry for a spin!!

goz83

pcardin wrote: »

That's if you are handy with tools and if clamper was an amateur. I am handy with tools but when my car was clamped the chain was put through any possible holes in suspension parts, it was even looped through shock absorber spring. I had no other option than to cut the chain.

It's not that they are amateurs, it's just that they usually couldn't be arsed to start wrapping and looping chains, because most gob****es people will just pay up.

ac123 wrote: »

Thanks.
So I know an angle grinder will cut it, but unfortunately I don't have one.
Has anybody actually cut one of these off using a bolt cutters or a hack saw?
Is it actually possible?

Bolt cutters would only work on cheap clamps. The big clampers use toughened steel chains to prevent exactly this. I have personally witnessed a large bolt cutters lose its bite on a clampers chain.

wotswattage wrote: »

I bent the jaws of a big (1m) bolt cutters trying to cut a clamp chain before. Had no access to a con saw so ended up coughing up the release fee... If I left it any longer I'd have been paying for a second 24 hours.

The chain was lopped in through the wishbones so dismantling wasn't am option either.

I've seen hacksaws working on cheap clamps at universities, but NCPS ones are made of tougher stuff!

No matter how much looping they do, there is always a way to get the chain/clamp off without damaging the clamp, or the vehicle.

Cookie_Monster

goz83 wrote: »

Bolt cutters would only work on cheap clamps. The big clampers use toughened steel chains to prevent exactly this. I have personally witnessed a large bolt cutters lose its bite on a clampers chain.

I always thought you should go for the clamp rather than the chain

like so

goz83

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I always thought you should go for the clamp rather than the chain

like so

And the same applies here too. Tougher clamps have been deployed by the big players in recent years. A bolt cutter will work on an Aldi price clamp, but not the tougher, thicker ones now used. The anchor points are also further from the edge than they used to be, to make it very difficult to get to.

Totally destroying a clamp, I would be against, no matter how much I hate the clampers. Cutting the lock, or even the end link of the chain is bad enough, but destroying the clamp itself is a step too far. It's the difference between a shove and a punch in a conflict.

conor2469

Question, I am unfamiliar with clamping companies and their authority. Do the private clamping companies have access to a database that allows them to obtain the name/address of the registered owner of a particular car reg plate? If someone cuts off a clamp and disposes of it, how does the clamping company pursue the car owner when all they have is a reg number?

endacl

conor2469 wrote: »

Question, I am unfamiliar with clamping companies and their authority. Do the private clamping companies have access to a database that allows them to obtain the name/address of the registered owner of a particular car reg plate? If someone cuts off a clamp and disposes of it, how does the clamping company pursue the car owner when all they have is a reg number?

They don't. To both questions.

ubs69

You can cut the chain with a hacksaw ,just hold the link with a vice grip and cut the link on the weld part , weakest part