Steve,
This is most interesting as I have a friend who is just now installing
a US Tower Crank up. In EI land we tend to lubricate our cables with
heavy grease and keep them lubricated. A friend who deals in towers here
(not US tower tells me that if people replaced cables every three years he
would be a rich man. The typical period is more like thirty years.) I
fall into this category but I try not to fully support my towers on the wire
ropes. I have three crank up towers thirty to forty years old. One of
them is designed to be stayed and its two forty foot long extending sections
rest on heavy steel bars when the tower is cranked up.
I suspect that if one lived in the American South West then the sand
that would lodge on a greased cable would be problematic. This is not the
problem in EI land. We are more concerned with rain and yes we get some
soft bugs on a recently greased cable but they tend to wash off and do not
appear to cause difficulty. I suspect that if one was next to the salt
water then grease would be even more beneficial but of course I do not know
this and I am outside my field of expertise. So please just take this as
personal experience and comment and not advice.
Thank you for your post.
73 Doug EI2CN
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
VE6WZ_Steve
Sent: 03 September 2012 16:44
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Crank-ups.....do NOT lubricate your cables from US
tower
Over the years on this list there has been a persistent thread suggesting it
is essential to lubricate your crank-up tower cables.
See the link below for a .pdf FAQ document from US tower wherein it is
stated twice NOT to lubricate the cables. Below I also cut-and-pasted the
relevant Q & A's. There may be those who will argue that lube is a must,
but I would suggest following the advice of those who build the
towers.....even if they don't build the cable.
As a US tower owner for 14 years, I have NEVER put lube on my cables and
they have remained in excellent condition. They have been replaced twice,
but NOT because of any noticeable wear, but only as a precaution as per the
manufacturers advice.
73, de steve ve6wz.
http://media.wix.com/ugd/80a87f_733e85ff06fb2ff07fce3bfef55c918a.pdf?dn=US%2
BTower%2BFAQ.pdf
QUESTION : Cable replacement and maintenance.
ANSWER : We recommend that you replace your cables every three years, with
regular inspection of
the cables. You need to look for any rust, broken strains and/or kinking. We
do not recommend
lubricating the cables as can cause a more serious damage to them.
QUESTION : Can the cables be lubricated?
ANSWER : We do not recommend lubricating the cables. The lubrication only
attracts dirt and debris
causing cuts and scarring into the cable resulting in a shortened cable life
span.
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