You wouldn't do this to a "real" bearing, but I've had success sanding
out the divots, or at least making them less bumpy. The balls are cheap
to replace and stainless steel ones are available from McMaster. The
original Rheo-lube Hy-Gain grease is not cheap from MFJ and available
only in large quantities from the UK, so I use Synco "Super-Lube" a TFE
fortified fully synthetic grease with good success. available on ebay,
amazon, grainger, etc. Synthetics generally have much large useful
temperature ranges than clay etc. fortified greases.
Grant KZ1W
On 7/21/2014 8:44 PM, Jon Pearl - W4ABC wrote:
Hi Dick,
As a follow-on to what you've said... not only will the bearings most
likely be rusted and pitted, but the upper and lower races will
probably be galled beyond use if the races are constructed in a
fashion similar to the rest of the Hy-Gain bell type rotator line.
Because the steel ball bearings are in intimate contact under load
with the much softer aluminum brake housing & bell casting races - and
due to the fact that the antenna, mast and rotator are continuously
rocked back and forth against the brake wedge in the wind, the
bearings tend to wear a series of short furrows in the aluminum around
the entire circumference where they rock.
73,
Jon Pearl - W4ABC
www.w4abc.com
On 7/21/2014 9:51 PM, Dick wrote:
In line with Mike's comment concerning the ball bearings; after being
in the
elements for 30 years, you most likely will find the ball bearings in
pretty
bad shape. A new set is not going to set you back an "arm and a
leg"; you
might well find they need replacing too. My personal experience in over
hauling rotors is to remove and replace anything that at all looks
like it
is worn. You want the rotor to be in tip top shape when you lug it
up to
the top of the tower and re-install it!!
Dick, K8ZTT
---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus
protection is active.
http://www.avast.com
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|