10
MAINTENANCE AND LUBRICATION
HG561 FABRICATED SLIDE GATE
Maintenance
General Information
Occasional adjustment and
lubrication of Hydro Gate slide gate
components will be required. The
frequency will depend upon how
often the gate is used, location,
and operating conditions. Periodic
inspection, adjusting, and cleaning
are recommended as conditions at
the site permit.
Lift and Stem Maintenance
Maintenance of the threaded
operating portion of the gate stem
is critical and should be performed
as frequently as the operating
environment requires.
IMPORTANT: Failure to maintain
stem thread lubrication causes
operating difficulties and
premature failure of the lift nut
and stem threads.
Recommended inspection
frequency and procedures are
listed on the maintenance
schedule:
• Initial inspection at the time of
installation and again at the date
of commissioning.
A “cycle” of gate operation is
operation of the gate slide from
closed to open to closed position.
At each inspection, verify the
following items:
• Inspect the stem threads and
lift nut threads for wear and verify
the trueness and dimension of the
thread form. See wear checking
procedure.
• Check the amount and condition
(diary and day) of lubricant
remaining and add if necessary.
• Relubricate if necessary –
threads should be cleaned and
relubricated with fresh lubricant.
More severe conditions or
operating modes require a slightly
different schedule of inspection
and service. For example:
Modulating gates with electric
motor operators may make position
changes several times a day but
seldom go full stroke. There is a
portion of the stem that gets a
lot of use. These stems should
be inspected at least weekly. The
lubricant on the stem threads
should be monitored closely.
As the lubricant is depleted and
becomes contaminated, it should
be cleaned and replenished.
When excess dried grease or other
foreign material is carried into the
threads of the lift nut, extremely
hard operation will result. If serious
binding occurs, the only way to
correct it is to remove the threaded
stem from the lift nut and clean
the thread interior. If this foreign
material is not cleaned from the
interior threads of the lift nut,
heavy pulls on the handcrank or
seizure will result.
Stem threads may be cleaned with
solvent, rags, and brushes. Run
the gate open. While in the process
of opening (running the stem out
above the lift nut), clean off the
old grease. Inspect the threads
for roughness. If the threads
are rough, they may be filed and
polished. Be careful to keep filings
and grit out of the lift nut. Rough
stem threads accelerate the wear
of the lift nut threads.
Relubricate stem threads by
brushing or smearing grease
onto/into the threads as the
gate is closing (the stem is going
into the lift). This puts fresh
lubricant into the lift nut and
carries out the old contaminated
grease. It is recommended that
the contaminated grease be
cleaned from the stem as it exits
underneath the lift where the
stem is accessible from below.
Replenish grease on the underside
stem.
The recommended stem thread
lubricant is Schaeffer’s 238 ultra-
supreme.
Recommended for potable water
is a vegetable-based lubricant,
Shaeffer’s (XXXXXX).
Lifts may be furnished with a
stem lubricator Zerk Fitting which
is located in the “stem cover
adapter” to facilitate lubrication
of stem threads with pressure
greasing equipment. To be
effective, lubricant should be
injected while the stem is moving
through the lift.
Manual crank lifts have sealed
thrust bearing and do not require
lubrication.
Exercise of infrequently operated
lifts and gates is recommended.
A Semi-annual (every 6 months)
exercise will ensure the gate
is operable when needed and
the lubrication condition will be
maintained.
