Rant: Stop overtightening governor tension sheaves on high rises

I keep seeing guys cranking down on these sheaves until they barely move. You are creating a problem for yourself and everyone else on the route. I replaced a governor rope last month on a 30 story building in downtown Seattle and had to cut the old one off because the sheave was so tight it had flattened the rope. That rope had maybe two years of life left in it tops. The tension should feel solid but the sheave should still spin easy by hand. Over tightening just wears out the bearings and puts unnecessary stress on the governor arm. Who here has had to replace a sheave assembly early because of this?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tara2mo ago

Had a guy torque a valve cover once so hard it cracked.

jesse9942mo ago

That's exactly the kind of thing that happens when people think tighter equals safer. A sheave that barely turns just grinds everything down way faster than it should.

angela_grant2mo ago

Totally agree, man. Over tightening stuff is just asking for trouble. People don't realize that a little bit of play or movement is often by design. You bind things up and you're just grinding metal against metal. It's a straight up shortcut to more problems down the road.