In some instances not lubricating bearings is the right thing to do. For
example, in our environment which is sometimes windy/dusty and becoming more
so due to extreme drought, I was cautioned to not lubricate the bearings in
the roller wheels distributed along each side of my automatic raise/lower
garage doors. Ditto for my 14 x 14 ft roll-up equipment parking barn doors
and the various laterally opening doors of my hay barn as well. To do so
invites the collection of abrasive grit and short MTBF lifetimes. Other
than the dirt/grit issue of bearings that are not sealed I know of no reason
to not lubricate bearings that can be lubricated. I am also not a
mechanical engineer but have a good friend who has a MS in mech eng from
UCLA and 35 years hands-on experience. I will pose this issue to him and
report back, Sealed bearings would be nice as the total revolutions
accumulated over the life of a rotor system is small compared to many other
standard applications.
A DIY bearing weather cover with custom molded silicone rubber seals would
keep out water and debris. Mold release spray or even a thin layer of
lubricating grease will keep silicone rubber from adhering where you want it
to slip. A good thick bead of silicone rubber between a DIY bearing cover
and a fixed plate (greased or sprayed with mold release) will make a
silicone rubber seal to keep put water and debris. I haven't done this to
antenna tower thrust bearings but have done so in other applications and it
worked well and lasted a ling time (several years.)
Patrick AF5CK
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Thomson
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2013 9:47 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Response from Rohn re: TB3 and TB4 thrust bearings.
A friend of mine asked Rohn about the tb3 and tb4 bearings. I had a
pair of TB-4 bearings on my old tower setup. I now use peer brand
bearings on the USt HDX-689..with locking collars.
Jim VE7RF
.......................................................................................................
Hi,
I have a question about the TB3 and TB4 thrust bearings. The bearings
are shipped dry but there is no instruction regarding lubrication. Should
these bearings be lubricated, either grease or oil or left unlubricated, or
it
is left to the owners discretion? What is Rohn's instruction here?
Thanks,
XXXX
XXXX
It is up to the user whether they want to use lubricant or not. We do
not feel that it is necessary. We have some that have been installed at
our location for a number of years without lubricant, with no issues.
Thanks,
Tim Rohn
309-566-3037
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