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Re: [TowerTalk] Tower maintenance person wanted - MN

To: Bob K6UJ <k6uj@pacbell.net>, <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tower maintenance person wanted - MN
From: Drax Felton <draxfelton@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 13 May 2016 20:04:34 +0000 (UTC)
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Could you post a procedure of how this is done?   Where to open it, drain hole, 
etc?






On Fri, May 13, 2016 at 12:50 PM -0700, "Bob K6UJ" <k6uj@pacbell.net> wrote:










I would like to add something to the list of maintenance items.  The 
reduction gear used
for the motorized winch on the US Towers is a worm drive unit.  The lube 
in these worm drive
gear boxes should be changed periodically.  Because of the sliding 
contact with the worm gears,
the lube becomes contaminated.  I had never thought of the gearbox and 
never changed the lube
on my US Tower HDX589 tower since I had it installed 12 years ago. It 
was giving a high pitched
squeal and the case was getting hot.  Anyway, I drained the old lube, 
(looked like dirty motor oil
when you change the oil in your car) and filled the box up again, ran it 
for awhile to flush out any
remaining crapola, drained it again, then put in fresh lube.  Hub City, 
says for our usage, they recommend
doing this every 5 years or sooner depending on how much we run the 
gearbox.   I plan to
change mine every two years now.  Its easy to do.

73,
Bob
K6UJ


On 5/13/16 11:44 AM, Alan Swinger wrote:
> Thanks all. - Alan
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Fred Hurd 
>> Sent: May 13, 2016 12:51 PM
>> To: K7LXC@aol.com
>> Cc: towertalk@contesting.com, awswinger@earthlink.net
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tower maintenance person wanted - MN
>>
>> Hello Awsinger - I totally agree with Steve (K7LXC) regrarding the need to 
>> replace cables on a  crank-up tower. I have used the same cables on my US 
>> Tower TX-472 crank-up for well over ten years and they are in great shape 
>> because I lubricate them twice a year with Pre-Lube 6 Preservative Cable 
>> Lubricant (which you can buy from Steve).
>> You do need to grease the motor drive system periodically to keep smooth 
>> operation especially during tower raising and also don’t forget the thrust 
>> bearing at the top of the tower. You don’t need to replace the cables unless 
>> upon close inspection you see one or more of the problems as indicated in 
>> Steve’s email.
>>
>> Best 73, Fred (W4PKU)
>>> On May 13, 2016, at 12:24 PM, K7LXC--- via TowerTalk  wrote:
>>>
>>>> I am also looking for someone who can change the cables on  my US Tower
>>> TX-472 MDPL in Charlottesville, VA sometime in the next few weeks.  Will pay
>>> a reasonable fee and tvl costs.
>>>
>>>     I guess the obvious question is why do you think  the cables need
>>> changing? In the crank-up chapter in my UP THE TOWER book, I  list 3 
>>> reasons why
>>> you would need to have them changed.
>>>
>>>     1.  Excessive broken strands. With 7x19 cables  such as the ones
>>> typically used in crank-ups, that would be 6 broken  strands.
>>>
>>>     2.  Serious rust. Cancerous rust - not surface  rust.
>>>
>>>     3.  Damage. That would be a kink or flattened  part of a cable.
>>>
>>>     In my over 25 years of tower work, I've only seen  one crank-up tower
>>> that I would have recommended on having a cable change.
>>>
>>>     Tower manufacturers are insurance driven  enterprises. US Tower says
>>> you need to change the cables and pulleys every 2  years. This is a 'weasel
>>> clause' - that is, if you don't do that and something  happens to your
>>> crank-up, UST can weasel out of any responsibility. They are  very risk 
>>> averse.
>>>
>>>     This is NOT an exception to the LXC Prime Directive  to "DO what the
>>> manufacturer says." That's because UST is NOT the  manufacturer of the wire
>>> rope cables.
>>>
>>>     I doubt that your cables are in such serious shape  that they need
>>> replacing and I just wince at things people do or money they  spend that 
>>> they
>>> don't have to.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Steve     K7LXC
>>> TOWER TECH -
>>> Professional tower services for amateurs
>>> US Tower factory authorized installer
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> TowerTalk mailing list
>>> TowerTalk@contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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