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Can too much oil hurt wire rope slings?
- Thread starter Cannonmn
- Start date
- Replies 31
- Views 4,532
Rob F.
Diamond
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2012
- Location
- California, Central Coast
Wires need lubrication so the slip against each other, not rub and abrade each other causing breakage. Oil is good. The crimp should hold . Are you sure it is zinc?
Larry Dickman
Titanium
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2014
- Location
- Temecula, Ca
My philosophy when it comes to rigging and lifting equipment, "If in doubt, toss it out"
Good policy when u can afford it. In this case, it looks like none of the items have been used. Not a scratch on the fittings nor is there a single strand of wire broken or flattened in any of the pieces. Many of them had cloth shipping tags attached.
john.k
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2012
- Location
- Brisbane Qld Australia
Secret with wire rope slings is to use thimbles in the loops which will stop the rope flattening and the core coming out between the strands,..............IMHO,fabric slings are so cheap now,I dont bother with wire rope except on winches.....fabric or chains for me.
Rob F.
Diamond
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2012
- Location
- California, Central Coast
That is strength of one type of cable, the 9/16 cable on my crane is more like 9500 lbs
Oiling wire rope is good. It's best applied when the rope is bent over a radius, which makes the wires open up to get the oil all the way to the core.
I'd caution against using used engine oil though. Lots of used oil has acids and other undesirable chemicals that could actually damage the sling.
I'd caution against using used engine oil though. Lots of used oil has acids and other undesirable chemicals that could actually damage the sling.
john.k
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2012
- Location
- Brisbane Qld Australia
If you saturate slings with oil,you will get it all over your hands and clothes using the slings.In any case ,my opinion of wire rope slings is that they are useful as emergency tow ropes,and for permanent rigging,near useless for general lifting as they cant be shortened to even up a load.
Thx, oil is new, bought a case of straight SAE 30 long ago, for shop use, and still had most of it.
Agree, we normally use nylon for lighter items, “official” lifting chains or polyester straps for heavier. Here’s a recent lift where 4 bolts with hourglass-shaped ends were the only approved lifting locations, and 2” nylon straps wouldn’t fit, so thin poly straps were used within the SWL limits marked on the attached orange tags.
If they don't have lift rating tags permanently attached they are not lifting slings.
number 2
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2009
- Location
- Western Australia
IME motor oil absorbs/ mixes with water
And will be an OSHA violation to use them for lifting. I see tags on some of them. The tag with the MFG rating is the governing number. If the tag gets lost or illegible the item is scrap.
A
john.k
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2012
- Location
- Brisbane Qld Australia
All this reminds me of the "snap" safety inspection BP pulled on us at the refinery.....had a container full of slings straps wire etc..........all had nicks ,cuts,white fur etc......as the safety inspector points out each fault....."Thats only used for towing".....got a bit monotonous after a while......Came to big wire sling ,like 1" dia wire,with a knot tied in it to shorten the sling......"Whats this then".......I says "Tie up a supertanker?"....he started laughing and couldnt stop..........fancy being lectured by BP.....about not taking shortcuts.
Tyrone Shoelaces
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2006
- Location
- Manchester, England
Officially you wouldn't be able to use them over here unless they all had a valid test certificate that corresponded to each individual sling.
Regards Tyrone.
Regards Tyrone.
Oldwrench
Titanium
- Joined
- May 21, 2009
- Location
- Wyoming, USA
No. Oil and water are immiscible. Even "water soluble" coolant isn't really soluble, its oil droplets are in suspension in the water. If you believe your motor oil absorbs or mixes with water you might want to reread the label...
Detergent motor oil does absorb some water, however the OP bought straight 30w,
and I Usually see it as non detergent on the shelves.
As far as OSHA, recall the Op has stated their company is immune from OSHA.
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