Had to replace my tower/wire rope a couple of years
ago. Ever since, have been using Whitmore's Wire
Rope Lubricant. Only place I can get to apply it is to
the coils of rope on the crank up winch. Have no way
to reach the higher lengths of the rope. However,
the greatest amount of rope is on the winch when
the tower is up the highest; and the most is out when
the tower is brought down. When the rusted cable
broke, it was in a rusted section that had been, for most
of the preceding 7 years wound on the winch reel, and
it was just about to reach the reel while I was relifting
the tower back up after brining it down after a pretty
strong wind finished blowing.
Noticed that when the wire broke because of heavy cable
rust, the rust was on the rope which was of the
layers on the winch. In other words, the rope exposed to
the sun/rain whatever out here on this island was not rusted;
it was the rope on the winch where the heavy rusting took
place.
Now I apply the wire rope lubricant frequenty to the coils on the
winch in hopes of delaying the rusting for a few years this
time.
During the entire time, that is about nine years since the first
set up of this cracnk up tubular tower, there has been another
coil of wire rope, on a winch on this same set up. This is the
one used to lower the entire affair to the near horizontal,
tilted over. The rope is a bit heavier gage. Now the interesting
part: there is no rust whatsoever on the wire on this winch!!
The outer layers have been exposed to the same solar UV/
rain, etc. as the other; only difference I can see is there
has never been tension on this rope. It is just sitting there,
idle, waiting for that time once again, who knows when,
I might decide to tilt the think over. I've also inspected the
lower layers on this tiltover winch, no rust down there either.
Why does the wire rope which elevates the crank-up rust
on the reel, while the tilt over cable seems rust free. It has
never been treated with the wire rope lubricant, either.
Could tension on this rope somehow change the outer
surface "state" in some way which would enhance the
probability of rope oxidation?
73, Jim, KH7M
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