Viper Wire Rope Lubricator & Wire Rope Lubrication System

An incredible range – from only 6mm up to an enormous 165mm – the three Viper WRL units will do the job:

Viper Mini 6mm – 44mm
Viper Mid 6mm – 67mm
Viper Maxi 50mm – 165mm

Yes, there is a significant increase in Rope life due to the penetration of the lubricant to the core of the rope, as well as reduced friction on both the inner and outer strands.

Typically wire rope users are manually applying lubricant to the outer strands of the rope or using a low pressure applicator that only fills the wire rope valleys.

In marine environments such as ship deck winches, oil rig applications and wharf cranes the ropes typically corrode from the inside out. Also, in many highly loaded applications such as large cranes and mine winders the ropes suffer fatigue failure due to the friction created as the strands rub against each other as the rope travels over sheaves and onto the drum.

Due to the unique seal design and hence improved sealing arrangement, the Viper WRL maintains a positive pressure and will force lubricant into the core of the wire rope, sealing out moisture and protecting the strands against fretting, corrosion and fatigue failure.

Major wire rope manufacturers such as Bridon suggest that lubrication with a pressure lubricator may increase wire rope life by up to 300% compared to poorly lubricated wire ropes.

In comparison to manual lubrication the Viper WRL provides a significant reduction in labor and downtime. Once the Viper is set up and the wire rope speed versus lubricant flow has been adjusted, the operation is virtually automatic.

Lubrication can occur at speeds of up to 2,000 meters per hour.

The use of a high quality specialised wire rope lubricant such as Viper WRL VCG-0 also increases the interval between reapplication of lubricant compared to standard, commercial lubricants as it remains in place longer and is resistant to water washout, etc.

The most effective way to select the correct Seals and Scrapers is to reference the “Viper Seal & Scraper Selection Guide”.

The seals and scrapers are installed into the collar to achieve the most effective sealing of lubricant around the wire rope being lubricated. Seals are made in approximately 2mm to 3mm (1/16” to 1/8”) increments and are typically an interference fit on the rope.

Scrapers are supplied 2mm (5/64”) or 9% larger than the actual wire rope size to ensure the rope does not contact them during use.

For compact style ropes we recommend no more than 1mm interference between the seal and rope. If more of a coating effect is required than a seal the same size or up to 1mm larger than the rope is recommended.

Please Note: Lubrication Engineers recommend that wire ropes be physically measured prior to ordering seals and scrapers as ropes in service can stretch and actual sizes may vary.

It is estimated that a new set of Viper seals will lubricate between 12,000 and 15,000 metres of wire rope under normal operating conditions.

The Viper Wire Rope Lubricator can be used in any application where wire ropes can be drawn through the collar. Please refer to the applications listed below.

Crane Wire Ropes
- Static overhead cranes
- Mobile cranes
- Tower cranes
- Ship cranes
- Wharf Cranes

Marine Applications
- Ship deck winches
- Ship Cranes
- Mooring lines
- Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV’s) umbilical cables
- Dredge cables
- Anchor cables
- Tug Boat winches
- Dam sluice gate lubrication

Mining Applications
- Mine winder applications
- Stacker Reclaimer boom wires
- Bucket Wheel excavator boom wires

Industrial Applications
- Overhead cranes
- Conveyor cable lubrication
- Wire manufacturers (coating whilst in production)