Care and Maintenance of Elevator Ropes

Before ropes are installed the sheave grooves should be checked for wear. Worn grooves cause rope damage. This precaution is especially important when worn ropes are being replaced as the grooves may have become worn by the old ropes to a size which is too small to adequately accommodate the new rope. All the ropes on an installation should be equally tensioned, BSUK recommends tensioning between ropes of ± 10%. Unequal tensions result in unequal wear, slipping and premature rope failure. In a new installation, all foreign matter, stone, dust, cement etc should be removed before the ropes are installed.

Lubrication is critical in achieving optimum rope performance, it reduces friction between component parts of the rope, slows the onset of fatigue and helps prevent ’rouging’, however, too little and rope life can be reduced, too much and slip may develop. All BSUK lift ropes are lubricated during manufacture to ensure they contain the correct type and quantity of lubricant for the application. The quantity of lubricant for traction drive ropes is carefully controlled to prevent slip.
Depending on the conditions under which the rope is operating however the lubricant applied during manufacture may not last the life of the rope. Periodic lubrication may therefore be necessary however care should be taken to ensure that the coefficient of friction is not reduced below the value at which slip will occur. Excessive amounts of lubricant should be avoided. Before re-lubricating the rope should be cleaned to remove any debris and contaminated lubricant. After re-lubricating BSUK recommends that rope tensions are checked and adjusted where necessary.