[TowerTalk] K0XG ROTATION SYSTEM ADVIC E

[cqtestk4xs at aol.com]

About a year ago I bought a Rohn 55 rotation system from K0XG.  After over a year I finally got granted a permit to put the tower up.  The tower is scheduled to go up in 3 or 4 weeks and I was checking the rotating rings and was in the process of using the grease gun on the fittings when I found several of the bearings in the rings were not rotating like the others.  Of the total of 12 bearings, 3 were not moving as they should.  9 were able to be rotated by hand, but the 3 were tight.  I used the grease gun on all the fittings including the three bulky ones.  I am now able to rotate the three by gripping with pliers with not much effort, but can not do it by hand.

Is this an issue?  I called Richard at K0XG systems but have no heard back from him yet.  

The three bearings do not appear to be damaged in any way and look just like the others that rotate freely.

My thinking on this is it may not be an issue.  With 1100 pounds of torque on each of the guys (5/16 EHS), plus the weight of the tower and antennas (another 1000 lbs) the sheer weight will "force" the sticky bearings to rotate.

Has anyone had an issue similar to this?  Anybody with advice, including how difficult is it to replace these bearings, brand, where to find them etc.?

Thanks in advance for the help, and with a little luck KH7XS should be back on the air by mid April.

Bill K4XS/KH7XS