http://Adventure Express will be getting a new lift chain this year. http://t.co/Q3Yn2XY9Mw

link brings us straight back to here....

Yeah my fault I can't figure it out what I did wrong. From the KI Twitter page

Sorry for the mess up

Here's the link to the original post on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/434140377562349568/photo/1

Adventure Express will be getting a new lift chain this year.

Photo: Don Helbig/Kings Island via Twitter

Do coaster lift chains have a set lifetime that they have to be replaced after, or are they generally only replaced when there are signs of unusual wear or damage?

^ More than likely, they have a set lifetime. I would imagine metal fatigue is a pretty common issue with them. It's probably been replaced at least once before now; Don just decided to tweet about it.

For Both Hills? Or Just One?

Can I have a link of the old one?

Some rides were replaced at interval, but it was a big interval. Like my ride got it's chain if I remember almost 10 years or so before.

Most of the time though they get replaced if maint. sees a reason to change it, or something happens (see Iron Dragon)

Adventure Express already has 2 Chainz.

Seems fitting that a topic about a chain being replaced starts off with a broken link.

^^ba dump dump...chuuuuuu

They are disturbing the forbidden temple...

NOW THEY WILL PAY!

For the longest time, a couple seasons ago, that first lift hill used to make a loud popping sound and jerk the train as the train was catching the chain to be pulled up the lift hill. It used to scare the crap out of me. I didn't notice it as bad last season though. I thought maybe it had been fixed. I have no idea what was causing it. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?

Yeah..I always related it to the chain tensioner. There's an air..for lack of better words, the term escapes me at the moment, balloon, bladdar, etc. Is filled and attached on the return loop. On AE it really drops and shakes a bit keeping tension on the chain. Thats at least what I figured it was. That and combined with the train not matching the chain jog speed, is what I guess makes a nice jolt. Just my thoughts, other people may chime in a bit better.

Quick Edit: Talking about this section, edit again, wrong shot

To me though I kinda like that jolt, being a mine train ride it kinda..fits you know

I like the jolt. I think it adds to the theme of the ride.

For the longest time, a couple seasons ago, that first lift hill used to make a loud popping sound and jerk the train as the train was catching the chain to be pulled up the lift hill. It used to scare the crap out of me. I didn't notice it as bad last season though. I thought maybe it had been fixed. I have no idea what was causing it. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?

I remember it doing that back in '06 (which was the last time I went to the KI before this past year's Haunt), so I assume it was a problem for a while.

They are disturbing the forbidden temple...

NOW THEY WILL PAY!

eh- you just assuage them by tiki-dancing in your seat. works every time.

Sorry for the broken link. Thanks Malem for posting it the right way.

So what do you think they do with the old chains? Recycle? Refurbish? Paper weight?

I have always wanted a chain link or a wheel that's out of commission for my amusement park memorabilia collection.

So what do you think they do with the old chains? Recycle? Refurbish? Paper weight?

I have always wanted a chain link or a wheel that's out of commission for my amusement park memorabilia collection.

I would also like a link from this ride. However, more than anything else, I would love to locate the original commercial advertisement for AE. I remember it showcasing the ride as a terrifying new attraction

Sit in FOF probably haha

Thank God this is getting it I sort of hope its the first lift hill because that lift jerks you when you first start going up it and then your stuck with the back forward back forward feeling.

You'd love Kingda Ka.

Or not.

I used to work on car washes. This looks like D-88K chain, most tunnel washes use it. The biggest problem is the holes in the links are elongated from wear caused by the pins. Or vice versa. After the tensioners are at their limit, a few links are removed and this goes on until wear causes complete failure. Sometimes you can just change the pins, if you want to be cheap.

I'm sure this came from S&S since they still make the replacement parts for Arrow Coasters!

^ More than likely, they have a set lifetime. I would imagine metal fatigue is a pretty common issue with them. It's probably been replaced at least once before now; Don just decided to tweet about it.

Someone didnt read the expiration date on the chain for The Vortex in 2011!

I used to work on car washes. This looks like D-88K chain, most tunnel washes use it. The biggest problem is the holes in the links are elongated from wear caused by the pins. Or vice versa. After the tensioners are at their limit, a few links are removed and this goes on until wear causes complete failure. Sometimes you can just change the pins, if you want to be cheap.

I can semi-vouch for this since I do some design work with industrial chains. I haven't done very much with it personally, so I don't know exactly what kind it is by sight, but D88K sounds like it could be about right.

Which, of course, means that Adventure Express' chains aren't necessarily from S&S. And that doesn't mean the chain is any less quality, either. Nor does it mean that the chain is any better quality. I actually would doubt that S&S manufactures their own chains personally, though I don't know that for a fact. Chain design and manufacturing are their own industry.

Also, that's actually very intriguing about the pins... The uses I've seen for these types of chains wouldn't allow removal of the links, so it's very interesting to me to hear how the service lives are extended like that. Wouldn't it be cheaper to remove the links like you mentioned than changing the pins out, though?

I used to work on car washes. This looks like D-88K chain, most tunnel washes use it. The biggest problem is the holes in the links are elongated from wear caused by the pins. Or vice versa. After the tensioners are at their limit, a few links are removed and this goes on until wear causes complete failure. Sometimes you can just change the pins, if you want to be cheap.

I can semi-vouch for this since I do some design work with industrial chains. I haven't done very much with it personally, so I don't know exactly what kind it is by sight, but D88K sounds like it could be about right.

Which, of course, means that Adventure Express' chains aren't necessarily from S&S. And that doesn't mean the chain is any less quality, either. Nor does it mean that the chain is any better quality. I actually would doubt that S&S manufactures their own chains personally, though I don't know that for a fact. Chain design and manufacturing are their own industry.

Also, that's actually very intriguing about the pins... The uses I've seen for these types of chains wouldn't allow removal of the links, so it's very interesting to me to hear how the service lives are extended like that. Wouldn't it be cheaper to remove the links like you mentioned than changing the pins out, though?

I would fathom to guess that you're right. Customized stuff comes from the manufacturer. Stuff like chains, nuts, bolts, paint, etc probably comes from a supply house. Plus it probably takes specific equipment to make chains, so it would make more sense for the manufacturer to order the chains in the first place.

Genuine GM parts come from many suppliers worldwide. GM cannot require use of its own parts in order to maintain warranty unless it provides those parts free of charge. It can, however, specify the requirements for aftermarket parts in order for those parts to comply as replacement parts. Fake replacement parts, usually cheap Chinese knock-offs, are a real problem in the automotive industry.

I'd suspect that chain manufacturing and sales in the amusement industry are similar to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)\Aftermarket automotive paradigm.