Can we talk about those 'self-lubricating' crane cables?

I was totally skeptical when my supplier pushed these new cables with built-in lubricant pockets from SpoolTech. Figured it was just a gimmick to charge double. But after running one on our Liebherr at the Port of Savannah for 6 months, the wear marks are way less than any standard cable I've used in 15 years. Has anyone else tried these or found a downside I'm missing?

2 comments

2 Comments

richardk2610d ago

Forty years in this industry and I still can't figure out which end of the grease gun to point at a cable without making a mess of myself, so I was an easy sell on these things. We put a SpoolTech set on our dock crane about four months ago and I'll admit the wear is noticeably better than our old wire rope. Only downside so far is I caught one of the younger guys trying to poke the lubricant pockets with a screwdriver to see if it would squirt out. Told him if he wanted a toy that bad I could buy him a water pistol.

clark.faith10d ago

Whoa, hold up. A guy actually tried to poke the lubricant pockets with a screwdriver? That's wild, @richardk26. I've seen some dumb stuff on the job, but that's a new one. I can just picture him staring at the cable like it's a science project.