Dear OMs-
I have a problem with the cables of my crankup towers. I live about 500 feet
west of the western shore of Manila Bay in Bataan province in The
Philippines. In Feb 99 I installed a U.S. Tower MA-40 tubular crankup tower.
Then in Jun 00 I installed a U.S. Tower TX-455 crankup tower. In Apr 02 I
installed a U. S. Tower TX-472 crankup tower. About one year ago I had the
TX-455 tower cranked down to do my regular maintenance on the cables which
is every 6 months to spray on Prelube 6 sold by Champion Tadio Products. I
noticed that the cables that were above about the 35 foot level were covered
with what looked like dirt, salt and maybe corrosion (there were occasional
spots of light brown color) and mostly on the southeast side of the cables.
The opposite sides were relatively clean. The color other than the light
brown spots or areas was gray. Recently when I had my TX-472 tower cranked
down I noticed that it also exhibited the same coloration on the cables. I
used only Prelube 6 and with a clean cloth wiped off an area of a cable
where it was most dirty looking. After only a few wipes I examined the cable
under a magnifying lens and noticed that the cable appeared in good
condition with no corrosion and no broken strands and only a few tiny grains
of what appeared to be sand remaining on the cable. Since November of last
year until only a couple of weeks ago we have had no precipitation. That is
the normal dry season. A week ago the rains began in earnest and until today
it has rained steadily. So I cranked the TX-472 down to inspect the cables.
I had hoped that the steady rain for a week might have washed the dirt, etc.
off the cables. There was no change at all. The rain did not wash any of the
dirt off the cables.
About 5 kilometers to the south of me is a petro-chemical complex called
Bataan Refinery Corporation. Occasionally I can smell some polution. Since
my cables do not appear to be corroded (rusty) I believe the light brown
color spots and the gray color is caused by some polluting gases from the
plant. And the steel wire is not rusting at all.
It is very difficult to reach each portion of cable on the TX-472 when it is
cranked down and the 4 sections are nested. The TX-455 with 3 sections is
not as much of a problem to try and clean the cables. But even if I clean
the cables by wiping with Prelube 6 and a cloth, the Prelube 6 leaves a
slightly sticky surface and I suspect that the dirt, etc. will just collect
again.
Do any of you with crankup towers have any advice on how to clean and
protect my cables?
Many thanks for any suggestions-Chuck Kresge DU3NXE du3nxe@mozcom.com
|