The old timer who told me to never grease a crane cable

I had this guy Frank at a job site in Tampa last year, he said grease attracts grit and grinds the wires from the inside out. He pointed at a frayed cable on a Grove RT540E and said 'that's why it snapped.' Been conflicted ever since. Anyone else run into that kind of advice and decide whether to follow it or not?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_henderson529d ago

Heard that same kind of advice from a guy who used to work on old school logging gear. Said it's like the whole 'dry chain' thing with motorcycle chains, you don't want to lube if it's just gonna catch mud and grit. Idk, feels like there's a bigger pattern with a lot of old timers, they trust friction over grease because they've seen the slow damage from grinding dust. Maybe it's just me but I've noticed the same conflict shows up in other stuff too, like overprotecting a phone screen with a thick case that traps sand against it. End of the day, I'd probably go with grease on a clean cable but stick with Frank's rule if the site is sandy.

park.troy9d ago

Yeah, so basically just pick your poison: rust or sandpaper, real tough call there.