Up The Mast With A Dyson

[MasterofHera]

You may have been following my problems regarding my Proctor Mast. Just to recap we needed to replace the wiring and add radar. With help from the forum, the mast foot was successfully removed, but the old electrics were stuck fast. Poly beads would have been a solution for any rattling inside the mast, in the past, but now they were a problem as somewhere between base and head, the whole lot had seized up.
I was stuck.....till SWIMBO came up with a solution......."stick the Dyson up it"......so today we did. We extended the length of suction with copper pipe, plastic pipe and any other f***** (flexible) pipe we could find.
It worked, the mast is clear and the new navigation lights go on tomorrow.
It poses a question for our engineers "What caused the poly beads to jam up and did they then cling to both the old radio and mast light cables?"

 

[smileygirl]

sounds like the plasticiser in either the poly beads or the wiring insulation has leached out over time. This can result in a sticky goo that bonds various plastics together. All plastics have plasticiser it works as a lubricant within the material as it flexes. Plasticiser coming to the surface used to be more common in older materials especially PVC and polythene.

 

[VicMallows]

I think you were very lucky to be able to suck them out as you did. Another 5 or 10 years and I bet you'd have had no chance!

I think I'll put up with the halyard ratling for now.

Vic

 

[roger]

PVC insulation and Polystyrene

The plasticiser in PVC can migrate quite quickly. Its a problem for those who put mains cable through cavity walls which they then fill with polystyrene bead thermal insulation. I think the problem would be aggravated by the high temperatures masts can reach in the sun.
I had some very plasticised floppy PVC fittings in a polystyrene tray at work once. IT only took a year or so for the tray to get quite floppy.

 

[MasterofHera]

Re: PVC insulation and Polystyrene

We had contemplated drain rods with the screw "thingy" on the end as a last resort.