bonanza1
New member
I am running a 120 ft express with x458 chain,what is a normal life span in the chain/rollers, i am about 2 1/2 years old and about 135000 washes.
120 ft EXPRESS CHAIN\ROLLERS
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my2cents
Member
That is like asking what does a hen weigh. Pit and dirt conditions will determine life in most cases. If you have a dirty pit, I have seen rollers and chain get eaten up in a year to year and a half. If your pit is clean, there should be no problem getting 3 years or so out of the chain - maybe rollers as well. Also, you are averaging 54k cars per year. If you are express with gates, you are probably 3'6" spacing or so instaed of 7"6". That means you have greater weight of additional rollers making the trip down the conveyor and they do wear to some extent even with no load. Most manned tunnels with that type of volume can get away with 7'6" spacing. Long story short, more rollers means more wear. keep the pit clean always. Sounds like you are ok with the wear. You can also flip the chain and rotate pins for more wear.
bonanza1
New member
Thanks for the reply,we wash&clean out the pit weekley so no dirt or sand build up is there. and i am running a 3'6' spaceing,the chain still looks good but the rollers are getting sloppy with play.
Earl Weiss
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Depending on the rollers you may be able to replace the bushings and bolts hwere they attach to the chain. This would reduce sloppines.
Scottswashandlube
Member
" flip the chain" that's pretty funny....no dont flip the chain or try and replace bushings in the rollers.Your chain and rollers should last about 2-300,000 cars.The most important thing to do is to keep proper tension on the chain.Depending on volume you will probably have to pull at least 2 to 3 links out per year.
Yes excessive pit dirt can probably prematurely wear both chain and rollers, but I think proper tension and chemistry contribute most wear.If you use HF it will cut your chain life in half.
I would say your chain and rollers are a little over half their life span.When you do replace the chain and rollers make sure to replace both take up drum, bearings and sprocket.
Yes excessive pit dirt can probably prematurely wear both chain and rollers, but I think proper tension and chemistry contribute most wear.If you use HF it will cut your chain life in half.
I would say your chain and rollers are a little over half their life span.When you do replace the chain and rollers make sure to replace both take up drum, bearings and sprocket.
Earl Weiss
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OK, don't replace the bushings and when they get so sloppy they jam when cars are lined up call Scottswashandlube. I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you why you shouldn't do it.
Scottswashandlube
Member
Earl,
I believe the rollers are from Sonny's because of the X458 chain.The chain and rollers only come in 3'6" spacing, and the rollers dont have bushings.The chain is pretty heavy duty. This is why it is only available in the shorter spacing, too heavy to support a 7'2" spacing.
I don't think that bonzai is having a problem with the rollers, he was simply asking about the expected life.I use this chain and roller setup at my locations and I think I can give a pretty good indication of the life expectancy....just my opinion sorry if I offended
I believe the rollers are from Sonny's because of the X458 chain.The chain and rollers only come in 3'6" spacing, and the rollers dont have bushings.The chain is pretty heavy duty. This is why it is only available in the shorter spacing, too heavy to support a 7'2" spacing.
I don't think that bonzai is having a problem with the rollers, he was simply asking about the expected life.I use this chain and roller setup at my locations and I think I can give a pretty good indication of the life expectancy....just my opinion sorry if I offended
Earl Weiss
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Thanks for the more informative post.
Washmee
Fullservice Tunnel
I have to disagree with you on several points Scott in regards to the X458 chain you are using. X458 is available in any length you want because you can make up each section piece by piece. The links disassemble by hand and consist of two side bars, one interlink and two pins. I have a Peco conveyor that uses X458 and until recently I used a 7'6" roller spacing for 25 years with no problems. I just changed to a 5' roller spacing this fall and the results look positive so far. The big wear area on a chain using X458 are the carrier links that attach the rollers to the chain. The idler wheel axle which links the roller to the carrier link gets grooved and the carrier link gets elongated allowing play in the roller from side to side. Both of those parts are replaceable and cost quite a bit less than an entire new roller. I do agree with your point that reversing X458 is not needed. I got about 250k cars out of my chain last time I replaced it.
Flipping extends the life of the chain. We used to flip the chain between 150,000 to 175,000 cars and got 500,000+ vehicles with them at our washes. I was general manager of a chain of five washes that did from 150,000 to 220,000 washes annually. We didn't take chances with any of our equipment and did scheduled maintenance religiously. In the two years I was there we had only one chain break.
Washmee
Fullservice Tunnel
Here is what X458 looks like.
my2cents
Member
I hope Scott learns a thing or two here. I suggested the operator had 3'6" spacing only because he had an "Express" tunnel. Fact is you can indeed have virtually any roller spacing you want with X458. MacNeil, PECO,Belanger, Sonny's and others use X458 chain as typical options. Rollers can be rebuilt in many cases if they get too loose or sloppy. You just need to balance your time and energy with the cost of new. Also, operators have been "flipping" chains to get more life out of them for years.
