Understanding The Basics Of Crane Boom Maintenance For Beginners
Maintaining and caring for the hydraulic boom of your industrial crane is important, but is often overlooked amidst demanding production schedules and project deadlines. If you are fairly new to dealing with cranes and similar construction equipment, you may not completely understand the importance of keeping your crane's boom lubricated and cared for. Here's a look at what you should know about maintaining the boom on your crane and why it matters.
Tips for Proper Hydraulic Boom Maintenance
When it comes to keeping your crane in service, the hydraulic boom is more important than you'd think. It needs to be lubricated on a regular basis to ensure that all of the joints, gears and sensitive components can move freely.
Proper maintenance starts with taking the crane out of service. You'll need a couple of hours to ensure that you have the time needed to fully inspect the boom and lubricate all of the components. If you have more than one crane on the job site, you may find it more convenient to rotate your equipment so that only one is down at a time.
Once you take the crane out of service, it shouldn't be put back to work until the lubrication and a complete safety inspection are done. Every moving joint on the boom should be lubricated with grease. The top side positions of the boom in particular should be heavily greased so that they don't bind up.
You'll also want to be sure to lubricate things like the slide pieces, the side bars, the guide rollers and other tracks and moving components in those areas. They should all be lubricated weekly, or more often if your cranes see high demand on the job site.
What If You Don't Maintain It?
Failing to maintain your crane with proper lubrication techniques can leave all of the moving joints at risk of binding, dragging or locking up completely. This can lead to several days of downtime while you wait to replace bearings and gears that are damaged. As a result, it's important that you have a solid plan in place to ensure that your cranes receive routine lubrication and inspection.
With cranes playing such a vital role on the construction site, it's important that you keep yours functioning at its peak levels. To do this, all of the moving parts and gears must be properly lubricated at all times. If you're not confident in which areas you need to address, you can work with a crane maintenance and service provider to not only handle your safety inspections, but also your routine lubrications. Don't let your limited crane management experience cost you days of productivity when these tips can help you keep things running like clockwork. For more advice, check out sites like http://winslowcrane.com.
