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Wire Rope Maintenance: Reduce Costs, Increase Safety

Application:

There are three distinctively different times during a wire rope's life that you can apply a preservative lubricant: when the wire rope is manufactured, when it is made part of another assembly (sling, guy, etc.), or when it is maintained in the field.

When a wire rope is manufactured a lubricant is applied at stranding and closing. 90% of wire rope manufactured is fabricated with an asphalt / petrolatum compound. Wire rope manufacturers will manufacture wire ropes with other preservative lubricants specified by a customer. The total additional cost for a wire rope specified with a particular preservative lubricant will be outweighed by the increased performance.

Many sling shops and wire rope distributors have begun offering the service of applying premium preservative-lubricants to their customers' wire rope. This service provides a new or used wire rope with added life expectancy reducing the costs associated with constant wire rope replacement.

Lubrication of wire rope in the field is relatively easy providing the proper preservative-lubricant and technique are used. The first step is inspection of the wire rope for signs of corrosion or lack of lubricant. When it has been determined the wire rope needs to be re-lubricated the valleys of the wire rope must be cleaned with a wire brush or Universal Cable Cleaner to allow the preservative lubricant to penetrate into the inner wires. A preservative lubricant may now be applied provided the wire rope is free of moisture.

The method of application depends upon the preservative lubricant. The most efficient and economical means to do field lubrication is by utilizing a wire rope lubricator, continuous bath, or a method that continuously applies the preservative lubricant while the rope is in operation. Other methods of application include spraying, dripping, pouring, swabbing, and painting. The amount of preservative lubricant applied to the rope should be approximately 1.5% the rope's weight, although this number differs according to product and application. The manufacturer of your preservative-lubricant should be able to answer all of your questions regarding their products you utilize including how much to apply and how their formulations perform.

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Camesa, Inc · 1615 Spur 529 · P.O. Box 1048 · Rosenberg, Texas 77471 Phone: (281) 342-4494 · Fax: (281) 342-0531