Anthony Nelson
Throughout our 3 decades in the industry we view lots of crane electronic water damage and mold that might have been easily avoided. Regrettably water and electronics just don’t mix.
Though we’re always grateful for that business we wanted to save our clients the headache, lower time, and price of this kind of damage by providing our ideas on some simple preventative maintenance steps.
This is a listing of probably the most common, easily avoided, issues we have seen.
1. Intensive POWER WASHING from the crane electronic components. Most electronic components are rated towards the European standard “IP16” for spray water proofing. Power Washing however is a lot more pressure than simple spray washing. Consider exactly what a power washer is going to do towards the deck on your lawn, versus exactly what a hose is going to do. When pressure cleaning your crane, avoid electronic components whenever possible.
2. Rain or snow ingress in to the cabin with an OPEN WINDOW. This could easily cause console damage.
3. Cable STRAIN RELIEFs usually provide immediate access to enclosures with lots of electric components. Reused or insufficiently tightened/wrong diameter strain reliefs offer an easy space for water to circulate through. Stress relief must only be utilized once. If your cable is replaced, we highly recommend replacing the stress relief also. Make sure fully tighten the stress relief lower without squashing it with the cap, and try to make certain you will find the right diameter stain relief for that cable you use.
4. A WORN rubber gasket. We advise gasket substitute included in a normal preventative maintenance plan.
5. Covers which are “CRANKED Lower.” Most rubber gaskets will really loose their sealing effect if tightened lower an excessive amount of or unevenly. This is extremely common in junction boxes.
