[TowerTalk] Tower maintenance person wanted - MN

[Les Kalmus]

Bob,

What did you re-lube it with?

Les W2LK


On 5/13/2016 3:50 PM, Bob K6UJ 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 <fred.hurd at cox.net>
>>> Sent: May 13, 2016 12:51 PM
>>> To: K7LXC at aol.com
>>> Cc: towertalk at contesting.com, awswinger at 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 
>>>> <towertalk at contesting.com> 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
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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