A pre-season checkup on the health of your ski lift wire rope will pay dividends in safety and dependability. It is assumed that the wire rope was carefully checked by a qualified wire rope engineer during the off season, and that indicated repairs were made. This is essential, but it is not enough.
The maintenance foreman should carefully inspect the entire wire rope by running it slowly past an inspection point. If possible, the inspection should be carried out before clamps are attached to the rope. Also, better examination of the rope can be conducted if the work is carried out before the application of any lubricant.
A visual check of the rope is usually sufficient at this time. Particular attention should be directed to determining if any section of the rope may have become damaged by falling trees, lightning, or other causes, since the last detailed inspection. If the rope operates freely, and no indication of damage is apparent, it is safe to assume the condition of the rope is essentially the same as reported in the wire rope engineer’s report. If additional damage is discovered, a wire rope engineer should be called to evaluate the seriousness of the situation. If necessary, repairs can be made to render the rope safe and serviceable. It is definitely to the manager’s benefit to have any repair work completed before the lift is put into regular operation.
Lubrication is the next step in preparing a rope for the skiing season. Maximum safe service life cannot be realized unless a ski lift rope is lubricated on a frequent, regular schedule. Field applied lubrication is necessary for two principal reasons:
- Control of corrosion and pitting of the wires.
- Supplement factory applied lubricant on the rope to permit wires and strands to move freely one against the other without undue impedance.
Commercial grade castor oil is recommended for Wickwire special ski lift ropes operating on lifts equipped with rubber or neoprene sheave liners. Castor oil is not destructive to the sheave liners. Also, the problem of lubricant falling on skiers is minimized. Castor oil may be applied to the wire rope by wiping the rope with a rag that has been dipped into the oil.
It should be mentioned that most oil companies manufacture excellent wire rope lubricants. These lubricants, including SAE50 motor oil, are excellent from a standpoint of protecting and lubricating the wire rope. Petroleum type lubricants will deteriorate rubber liners and to a lesser degree, neoprene liners. Also, a mixture of ground up sheave liner and oil may become a considerable problem from falling on skiers. It is certainly a manager’s prerogative to use petroleum type lubricants—especially if the lift is equipped with unlined wheels and sheaves. In any case, the lubricant should be applied to the rope lightly and at frequent intervals.
It is assumed that all sheaves in the system, including tail wheel and bull wheel, will be inspected. The malfunction of one sheave in the system can seriously affect wire rope life. Especially, the inspector should look for the following:
- Determine if sheaves are free turning and without wobble.
- Alignment must be checked to make sure rope enters and leaves sheave without scrubbing against the side of the groove.
- Inspect to see that the grooves are not pinching the rope.
- Check condition of rubber or neoprene liners. Replace if badly worn or if noticeable flat spots exist.
- If no liners are used, check condition of metal grooves. The groove must be smooth. Any rope imprinting in the groove, will have much the same effect on the wire rope as would running a file against the rope.
Regular maintenance pays off handsomely. A little pre-season time spent getting your ski lift rope off to a good start, will help greatly in increasing safety and dependability. In the long run, the result of care will be very apparent by the extension of the safe, serviceable, working life of the ski lift wire rope.
