New aftermarket rope cleaner for Grove cranes simplifies and speeds up maintenance

• Manitowoc launched a new aftermarket rope cleaner for Grove all-terrain cranes at bauma 2025.

• The rope cleaner system fits inside a briefcase and includes all necessary straps and shackles for easy maintenance.

• Benefits include extended rope life, greater lifting efficiency, and reduced expenditure on consumable parts.

• The cleaning and greasing procedure takes as little as 90 minutes, significantly reducing planned downtime.

• The kit includes a metal sleeve lubrication system and a Portable Grease Transfer System, designed for ropes between 16-24 mm in diameter.

• The system automates cleaning and lubrication by feeding the wire rope through an aluminum housing equipped with inserts that are easily clamped around it.

• The inserts and scrapers are currently available to suit 16, 17, 19, 22, and 24 mm rope diameters. Further diameters can be made available upon request.

• It delivers significant savings in downtime and technician hours, plus greater efficiency in crane operation.

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Proving that good things come in small packages, one of Manitowoc’s most important product launches at bauma 2025 – the rope cleaner – literally fits inside a briefcase. The system is supplied in a sturdy hardcover case. It comes complete with all necessary straps and shackles, providing customers with a simple, fast, and effective solution for regular wire rope maintenance on all Grove all-terrain cranes. Using the rope cleaner offers several benefits, including an extended working life for the rope, as well as greater lifting efficiency and reduced expenditure on consumable parts.

“Our innovative aftermarket solution can extend the working life of the rope by reducing friction and adding effective corrosion protection that penetrates all the way to the core,” explains Patrick Stelter, Grove’s parts and service product & marketing manager. “The whole cleaning and greasing procedure can be carried out in as little as 90 minutes, which is not only much quicker but far less tedious than traditional methods that use a wire brush or compressed air. It frees up the technician’s time that would otherwise be spent manually cleaning rope, and delivers significant reductions in planned downtime, so owners will benefit from a noticeable increase in operating time too.”

Stress-tested in Manitowoc’s own Product Verification Center (PVC), the kit comprises a rope lubrication system in the form of a metal sleeve that quickly clamps around the rope and is supplied alongside a Portable Grease Transfer System featuring a hydraulic hose with grease pump. 

Once the technician has chosen and fitted the correctly sized inserts into the sleeve, the lubrication system is attached to the hoist rope and secured with the shackles before the separate cleaner device is clamped below. Available to suit five diameters of rope between 16-24 mm, the compact cleaner is constructed from a tough material and precisely designed to allow the strands to pass through with just the right amount of resistance required to remove dirt without causing detrimental abrasion.

With one hose connected to the Portable Grease Transfer System and another to the crane’s air pressure system, the technician can then adjust the levels to deliver the required quantity of grease. The hoist is lowered, removing dirt and grime from the rope before fresh lubricant is automatically added to maintain it in optimum condition. The procedure is then repeated on the rope below the boom head, using the hook block as an anchor and deflection point to maintain tension on the rope as it is raised upwards.