is this chain any good?

[plott hound]

so my 50' of chain arrived today.its made by atlas and is caterpillar OEM chain.i open up the package and theres shiny parts in the chain.the pins and 2 inner leafs are what appear to be bronze.i assume this is for self lubrication purposes.just hope i didnt do a stupid thing here trying to save some money.

[jerseybigfoot]

They should be steel with copper plating, the plating should scrape off, or you could check the pins with a small magnet.

[plott hound]

wheeeeeewww,passed the magnet test.was thinking "oh no,what the heck"

They should be steel with copper plating, the plating should scrape off, or you could check the pins with a small magnet.

[Slimpickin]

I would think if it's caterpillar oem it would be good stuff. They use parts that are built for commercial use.

Slim

[mudNmallards]

Its hard to tell from a picture and without a CAT part # (Former Cat engineer and they are now one of my clients) but what it "looks" like you have is a plated middle plate chain with plated pins too. Thats common all over the place especially when heavy loads or lateral stress is expected. ( thats actually one of the more high end chain types)

Now for the application ( this is what concerns me a little but I cannot tell accurately from the picture whether I'm seeing what I think I am or its just a "grease line" on the roller)

It "LOOKS LIKE" ( again visually only and I admit I cannot see it clearly in the picture) that chain is a split roller type. ( the rollers are not machined but folded with an end gap)

If thats correct then this would be a high strength low RPM LIFTING CHAIN ( like used on fork attachments) and not a drive chain. If thats correct and it is going to be used in a drive application then you have the wrong type of chain for the application and you may wind up with premature failure.

What I would suggest is to get the manufacturers part # or the CAT # for that chain and I can look it up and tell you for certain.

Agaain, no cause for alarm because I only see 1 or 2 links that look like they have the fold line but it could be grease, a shadow or any number of things so I could easily be incorrect- but if it is a split roller chain, thats really not what you want in a drive application ( torque loads and sprockets tend to malform those rollers and create excessive wear and failure)

[plott hound]

i do believe they are split rollers.will take a good look at them in the am.bought the chain on ebay for 5 bux a foot.

[plott hound]

yes they are split rollers.when i rebuilt my old machine it had split roller chain on it.was likely the original chain from day one.im gonna take a chance with this stuff.for all the hours i put on it in a year,it will last me quite some time.also i drive like a sunday driver,nice and slow.

[mudNmallards]

yes they are split rollers.when i rebuilt my old machine it had split roller chain on it.was likely the original chain from day one.im gonna take a chance with this stuff.for all the hours i put on it in a year,it will last me quite some time.also i drive like a sunday driver,nice and slow.

Yeah, it will absolutely work and work well ( as far as chain drives go)- they just dont have the long term strength and reliability of the stronger types. They also contribute more to ancillary component wear.

But, they are in use all over the world in drive applications because of their lower costs. Its normally a matter of personal value in a cost trade off.

[plott hound]

if not for the fact that i bought them and have them in hand,i would have chose a different path.good eye by the way.seeing those split rollers from a picture.i had to get my nose up against the chain to see that.

Yeah, it will absolutely work and work well ( as far as chain drives go)- they just dont have the long term strength and reliability of the stronger types. They also contribute more to ancillary component wear.

But, they are in use all over the world in drive applications because of their lower costs. Its normally a matter of personal value in a cost trade off.

[mudNmallards]

Its just personal experience. In the reliability world I live in there are just things I'm programmed to look for.

Personally I despise chain systems with a passion because they are filled with problems but they work ( and work relatively well) and are cheap compared to other systems so we just get the most we can out of them

[North Country Tough]

Its a great day,I learned something about chain that I didn't know thanks mudNmallards.

[mudNmallards]

very welcome. If I dont have anything else, I have tons of applications, reliability and failure data for just about every mechanical system and component known to man. If I dont know it, I have a huge network of peers and vendor engineers to usually find out the answer.

Its really sad when you are associated with failure. No client has ever called me when things were running great- its always when there is a crisis. Its kinda like a "typhoid" and "Mary" relationship. LOL