Chain maintenance, Chain slack – Great Plains 3S-4010HDF Operator Manual User Manual
Page 67
Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc.
Maintenance and Lubrication
63
03/28/2012
196-522M
Chain Maintenance
Inspect and lubricate chains regularly. The slack of new
chains tends to increase during the first few hours of
operation due to seating.
Chain Slack
Check slack within the first 8 hours of operation and
tighten idlers as necessary.
Refer to Figure 74, which, for clarity, greatly exaggerates
slack, and omits the idlers.
1.
Measure the span
for allowable slack:
Locate the longest span of each chain (usually the
span which does not run through the idlers).
2.
Determine the ideal slack:
Long chains (over 36in/91cm):
1
⁄
4
in per foot
Vertical short chains:
1
⁄
4
in per foot (2.1cm/m)
Horizontal short chains:
1
⁄
2
in per foot (4.2cm/m).
3.
Measure the current slack
:
Acting at a right angle to the chain span at the center
of the span, deflect the chain in both directions. The
slack is the distance of the movement.
4.
Adjust the idlers for ideal slack.
Whenever mounting a chain, make sure the clip at the
removable link is oriented to minimize snags.
Refer to Figure 75 (arrow shows chain direction)
Install clip with open end facing away from direction of
chain travel (shown by gray or striped arrows in chain
routing diagrams).
FigureSpacer
Figure 74
Measuring Chain Slack
27264
2
1
FigureSpacer
Figure 75
Chain Clip Orientation
26482