How to Stop Push-Pull cable corrosion

[geoffr]

Minaret -

This cable was bought earlier this year from our local Chandlery who ordered it from the supplier from a PN I gave them from Telefex. It's new. I have not cut it, just pushed it through the boat.

Rain is getting on it from a drain hole on the back deck .. no biggie as eventually it will be getting seawater on it from waves etc.

Originally Posted by minaret

So much wrong with that installation I don't know where to begin. Where's the end fittings? Looks like someone cut the cable to a custom length, and just chopped off the end fitting. End fixity will be super poor this way. And how in the hell is it getting rained on? Doesn't make sense...

That's also clearly an old style cable. No Teflon lining on the center cable. They haven't made new cable like that in over a decade. Where did it come from?

[minaret]

Originally Posted by geoffr

Minaret -

This cable was bought earlier this year from our local Chandlery who ordered it from the supplier from a PN I gave them from Telefex. It's new. I have not cut it, just pushed it through the boat.

Rain is getting on it from a drain hole on the back deck .. no biggie as eventually it will be getting seawater on it from waves etc.

Hmmm. It should look like this. Note that the new core has a teflon liner which slides in an HDPE cover liner. Much less resistance and smoother performance as well as much longer life and reduced backlash. When I say new, I mean this has been the standard for over a decade. Don't know where they found the piece of scrap they sold you.

You should also be using the correct end fitting retainer hardware, as well as the correct end fitting. Clamping the end of the control cable between two pieces of wood screwed together is insufficient.



Also be sure to never bend a control cable in to sharp a curve. I see this often in installations where it goes under a bulkhead or the like. I sometimes cable clamp a control cable to a sweeping elbow to help it make a corner without kinking/added resistance.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"The newer cables are Teflon lined ... And remember to never ever lube a control cable!"

I suspect the "never lube" instructions refer only to the new teflon lined cables, because the older ones sure do like to rust up and bind if they're never lubed.

I've been doing this since long before the "newer" style cables came out. Control cables have always come with instructions not to lube them. This is because A) it cannot properly be done in a cable without a zerk fitting (these are generally very large and on ships not boats) B) lube once and you must lube always, as it will dry out C) any lube but a fine oil will increase resistance, not reduce it, also contributing to backlash


If you have an older style control cable, it is of course OK to lubricate the moving parts on the end fittings, but never ever try to inject any sort of lubricant inside the cable jacket. You will create more problems than you solve. Just make sure it's a sound installation which stays dry,and replace with new when necessary. Control cables should NEVER be installed in a situation where they are getting wet. The ones with SS ends are better than brass and copper.

[hellosailor]

minaret-
I don't doubt you as to what's proper, I just know what I've seen working. I had an older car where one of the heater controls used a "wire in cable" push-pull cable to move a water circulation valve that was under the hood. Eventually road dirt got in and jammed them. The solution that owners found? WD-40 twice a year, would keep the cable from sticking and working for ten more years after the maker would have said "Oh, you have to replace the whole thing."
Done that for throttle cables (push-pull) on boats as well. Plain WD-40 if there was nothing better around, shoot it in until some rust ran out, work the cable, come back in six months. None that I recall had anything like a teflon liner or a zerc fitting, fwiw.

What's that Galileo said? "Nevertheless, it turns."

[capt jgw]

I'm not going to join the lube or not lube debate, but motorcycle shops sell a cable luber that clamps onto the end of cable and an aerosol can of purpose made cable lube. I doubt boat and bike cables are that much different.

[a64pilot]

The issue here I believe is these cables are essentially an SS wire running in a teflon sheath, however the cables that provide strength to the outside of the cable are carbon steel, usually sealed with an end to the cable, if I had to guess, I'd guess someone shortened this cable by cutting the end off exposing the regular steel.
If anyone is wanting to lube a cable I'd recommend something called Dri-slide, it's I think graphite suspended in a very thin carrier that evaporates leaving the graphite behind, it comes in a can with a long needle, the needle of course is meant to get deep into the cable.
Although lubing a teflon cable will likely quicken its demise as graphite is abrasive and teflon pretty soft I think.