Counter Weight System

[mattmatt]

were coming up to are Maintenance of are flying system . what grease would people suggest is best to lube up all moving Parts

 

Many Thanks

[david.elsbury]

I think you need to ask the people who put it in for some training?

[neilalexrose]

were coming up to are Maintenance of are flying system . what grease would people suggest is best to lube up all moving Parts

 

Many Thanks

 

For better piece of mind (and better for the risk assessment and insurance), get the flying system serviced by a company that knows what they are doing. Unusual rigging is probably your best bet (as I think Hall stage aren’t around any more.) I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t an annual service contract in place already. If there isn’t, it would be worth getting one put in place.

 

Neil

[gareth]

Even if you do the maintenance yourself, you're still going to have to have an annual inspection done as part of your insurance requirements. Most venues seem to favour getting a company to do both things at the same time.

[dje]

Really guys? I know we always do the whole "safety first" / get a competent person etc... But they're just asking what lubricant to use, not for instructions on how to refit the entire system. Is it really an unreasonable request? I respect the need for a proactively restrained approach to rigging advice, but at what point does this forum stop giving advice and just say "speak to your integrator"??

 

OP - to answer your question... For moving parts of your fly system I would use a lithium based grease such as Castrol LMX. Apply on a rag and remove excess.

 

Even if you do the maintenance yourself, you're still going to have to have an annual inspection done as part of your insurance requirements. Most venues seem to favour getting a company to do both things at the same time.

 

They do?

 

That's news to me. I inspect an awful lot of counterweight systems annually - maybe 100+ - between 2 major suppliers - and we don't lubricate anything.

Edited January 8, 2021 by dje

[dje]

Sorry I feel I should quantify last night's point a little better. I was tired.

 

Legal requirement for inspection of a fly system is 12 monthly. Most theatres will have inspections twice annually due to the abundance of lifting accessories which need 6 monthly inspections (however some theatres carry these out in-house) but the second inspection may not incorporate the fly system. Either way, I would always absolutely encourage theatres to carry out routine maintenance of their fly systems above and beyond the scope of the inspections.

 

 

Lubrication of the fly system is absolutely something which I would expect theatres to be able to perform in house. Counterweight systems require a fair amount of lubrication and especially over a large system it's not realistic to think that you're going to be able to spot every dry part within the scope of a 12-monthly periodic inspection; or that some parts which seem to be adequately lubricated when you inspect it, won't be dry a month later (still 11 months before the next inspection!). Even with a service contract, I would not expect lubricating the system to fall within the scope of such a contract. It would be extremely expensive to run a theatre where grease was only applied to the fly system by an engineer from the rigging company!!

 

It's absolutely right that we exercise caution around lifting machinery and do not attempt to undertake repairs on anything that we're not sure of. However, lubrication is not a repair. It is maintenance - and custodians of lifting equipment are expected to carry out first line maintenance (things like cleaning and lubrication) as part of their duties as the users. Equally hire companies who own chain hoists may well outsource their inspections to a third party, but they would still be expected to keep them well oiled so as to ensure good running and prevent premature wear.

 

Furthermore, from experience of carrying out a lot of counterweight system inspections myself, I would say that inspectors won't be expected to carry out maintenance for you. Most of the time I will make an advisory note about something which needs lubricating (ie, it doesn't fail it's inspection, but there's an expectation that the custodian of the equipment will follow up on advisory notes)... if we have time on site I may well do it myself as a bit of client care but there's no expectation for that to happen. I will generally expected the flyman (flyperson?) to do it on a maintenance day (presumably exactly like the OP here is referring to).

 

For general system lubrication you should use a lithium based grease - Castrol LMX is a popular one. Perhaps with Brexit constraints you want to buy British, Brit Lube Premium EP is a good one for lifting gear - https://brit-lube.co.uk/products/premium-ep-grease-range . You should always ensure any grease used on load bearing components is labelled as 'EP' (extreme pressure). Apply it from a rag and remove excess.

[gareth]

Even if you do the maintenance yourself, you're still going to have to have an annual inspection done as part of your insurance requirements. Most venues seem to favour getting a company to do both things at the same time.

 

They do?

 

That's news to me. I inspect an awful lot of counterweight systems annually - maybe 100+ - between 2 major suppliers - and we don't lubricate anything.

 

They do, yes. I didn't say anything about lubrication - I was talking about annual maintenance, as might be carried out during summer 'dark time'.

[dje]

 

They do, yes. I didn't say anything about lubrication - I was talking about annual maintenance, as might be carried out during summer 'dark time'.

 

Yes sorry I did my second post because with the first I'd misinterpreted your point.

 

I took it to mean that you were suggesting the inspectors would do the maintenance at the same time as inspecting it. Clearly you actually meant that the theatre would just get the inspectors and engineers in at the same time.

 

I still think, though, that in-house maintenance of the fly system should be encouraged.

[gareth]

Maintaining in-house is great, as long as you've got the resources to do it - staff hours, and skills. The second of those is definitely do-able, but available staff time is often at a premium in many venues except the largest ones. Core staffing levels have, on the whole, been pared right back to the bare minimum, which tends to mean that when a venue is dark staff need to take leave or any time-off-in-lieu that they've built up. That's when contracting out becomes more desirable.

[dje]

Yeah I mean going back to the original point I guess if the OP does have time to do maintenance then that is why we should be trying to help recommend a suitable lubricant rather than just recommending that they get somebody else to do it.

 

Especially when theatres have lots of time and not much money, like now.

[ontoprigger]

we find these products useful when we service flysystems

 

 

https://eshop.wurth.co.uk/Product-categories/Adhesive-lubricant-HHS-Lube/31083008060305.cyid/3108.cgid/en/GB/GBP/?CampaignName=SR001&CatalogCategoryRef=31083008060305%40WuerthGroup-Wuerth-3108&SelectedFilterAttribut=%255B%255D

 

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