Drucegrove Equator User manual

Page 1
DRUCEGROVE Ltd, Unit 12 Abbey Mead Industrial Park,
Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1HU
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.drucegrove.com
Rope Tensioning System
Equator
®
CONTENTS PAGE
The Importance of Equalising the Rope Tension 2
Preparation 3
How to remove and refit hook bolts 3
How to check rope tension 5
USER MANUAL V3

Page 2
DRUCEGROVE Ltd, Unit 12 Abbey Mead Industrial Park,
Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1HU
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.drucegrove.com
Rope Tensioning System
Equator
®
THE IMPORTANCE OF EQUALISING THE ROPE TENSION
The importance of equal tension in lift hoist ropes is well known to Maintenance Engineers
and Lift Installers. Unequal tension creates vibration and rope slip, which leads to premature
and excessive wear of ropes and sheave grooves.
To help prevent this, it is important to ensure rope tensions are equal on all hoist ropes
supporting the lift car and counterweight.
So how do we know when the hoist rope tensions are equal?
A coarse method of checking for equal rope tension can be achieved by observing the adjust-
ment of springs at rope terminations or by ‘rule of thumb’. These are, at best, approximate
methods and cannot be relied upon.
The Equator Rope Tensioning System from Drucegrove is a quick and easy method to
accurately adjust and equalise rope tensions It uses two identical injection moulded gauges
to compare and ensure the tensions in lift hoist ropes are equalised.
The Equator system is fast to implement and the rope tensions measured are accurate
because the two gauges are initially site calibrated on the same rope.
The ranges of lift ropes that can be checked are from 6mm (¼") to 20mm (¾").

Page 3
DRUCEGROVE Ltd, Unit 12 Abbey Mead Industrial Park,
Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1HU
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.drucegrove.com
Rope Tensioning System
Equator
®
PREPARATION
Check that both gauges are fitted with the correct Hook Bolts/Spring Assemblies and Rope
Locators for the rope diameter to be adjusted.
The rope locators are marked for the range of suitable rope sizes. The hook bolts cover the
same ranges of rope sizes.
HOW TO REMOVE AND REFIT THE HOOK BOLTS
Remove the End Caps by sliding them toward the
hook bolts, then away from the gauge body.
The hook bolts must have their open end facing
outwards.
Remove the non-adjustable hook bolt and
replace with the one suitable for the rope to be ad-
justed. Refit the end cap.
Remove the assembly containing the adjustable
hook bolt, spring and pointer lever peg, by
pulling the assembly outwards.
Hold the pointer in the mid-scale position.
Place the replacement hook bolt spring and peg
assembly halfway into the gauge body.
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Page 4
DRUCEGROVE Ltd, Unit 12 Abbey Mead Industrial Park,
Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1HU
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.drucegrove.com
Rope Tensioning System
Equator
®
Equator
®
Move the pointer towards the bottom of the scale
(A) and push the spring assembly fully into the
body (B).
Check that the pointer lever is correctly located into
the pointer lever peg attached to the adjustable
hook bolt, by attempting to move the pointer
towards the top end of its scale (C).
This should not be possible when the lever is
correctly located. Repeat the procedure if necessary.
Ensure that the hook bolt has the open end facing
outwards and refit end cap.
Remove the rope locator by pulling it downwards.
Refit correct rope locator.
Check that the end caps are correctly fitted by
pushing firmly in the upward direction.
Repeat the procedure on the second gauge.
THE TWO EQUATOR ROPE TENSION GUAGES
ARE NOW READY FOR USE.
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B
C
A

Page 5
DRUCEGROVE Ltd, Unit 12 Abbey Mead Industrial Park,
Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1HU
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.drucegrove.com
Rope Tensioning System
Equator
®
HOW TO CHECK ROPE TENSION
First, ensure that all safety procedures are observed before continuing. Position the lift
car so that both the car and counterweight ropes can be accessed without the need to
move the lift. Then working from the car top:
Fit one rope tension gauge onto a car rope at a
comfortable working height (preferably the rope that
has the highest tension).
Using the adjustment tool provided…
Bring the pointer into the mid-scale position on the
rope tension gauge. The rope should now be slightly
deflected.
Position the second gauge onto the same rope and
adjust using the tool provided to obtain the same
pointer reading as on the first (reference) gauge.
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3

Page 6
DRUCEGROVE Ltd, Unit 12 Abbey Mead Industrial Park,
Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1HU
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.drucegrove.com
Rope Tensioning System
Equator
®
DO NOT MAKE ANY FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS TO EITHER GAUGE.
Move the second gauge onto a second rope.
Adjust the second rope at the lift car rope termination
to obtain the same gauge pointer position as on the
first (reference) rope tension gauge still attached to
the first rope.
Please note: -
The pointer position on the reference gauge will
change during this operation. This is normal.
Remove the gauge from the first rope and place it
onto the third rope.
Adjust the third rope at the lift rope termination to
obtain the same gauge pointer position as on the
second (now reference) gauge.
Remove the gauge from the second rope and place it
on the fourth rope.
Adjust the fourth rope at the lift rope termination to obtain the same gauge pointer position
as on the third (now reference) gauge.
Repeat until all car ropes have been checked,
alternating the reference gauge.
Repeat steps 1 –10 for the Counterweight ropes.
Run the lift one complete trip and recheck all rope tensions using one gauge only.
If necessary, repeat steps 1 –10.
ROPE TENSION ADJUSTMENT IS NOW COMPLETE.
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DRUCEGROVE Ltd, Unit 12 Abbey Mead Industrial Park,
Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1HU
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.drucegrove.com