Description:

Excro Rope Socket Tester

Part no:

296-0000-042

Overall Length: 24.25” Relaxed – 25.98”

Pressuried
Assembled Weight: 23.6Kg w/ 1x set of Brass
Wedges
29.7 Kg w/ 6x set of Brass
Wedges

Manual Drawing
Prepared Checked Approved Date
Revision Revision
C D C. Brown L.Thame G. Brown 2

www.hunting-intl.com | well.intervention@hunting-intl.com
 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

Hunting Contacts

Hunting Energy Services (Well Intervention) Ltd has offices at several locations around the
world. If you have any problems, queries or require spare parts, please contact a
representative located nearest to you. Alternatively if you have Internet access you can e-
mail us or visit our web site.

Please quote the Part No and the Serial No in all correspondence as this will help
expedite your query.

Internet
E-mail: well.intervention@hunting-intl.com
Web: www.hunting-intl.com

United Kingdom
Hunting Energy Services (Well Intervention) Ltd
Badentoy Avenue
Badentoy Industrial Park
Portlethen
Aberdeen
AB12 4YB
Scotland
Tel: +44(0) 1224 787000
Fax: +44(0) 1224 787106

United States of America

1018 Rankin Road
Houston
Texas
77073
Tel: +1 281 821 5577
Fax: +1 281 839 6500

Singapore
Hunting Energy Services (Well Intervention) Pte Ltd
22 Pioneer Crescent
#05-07 West Park BizCentral
Singapore 628556
Tel: +65 6863 0668
Fax: +65 6863 9196

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

Disclaimer

This Technical Manual covers the general usage and maintenance of this equipment. This
equipment operates under high pressure. As such a great deal of care must be taken to
ensure the safety of those operating this equipment as well of those in its vicinity. It is
critical that an adequate maintenance regime is kept and that personnel fully understand
the purpose and the operation of this equipment before taking it out into the field.

The procedures described herewith are not intended as a replacement to local laws or
regulations, nor your companies’ policies and procedures. If in any doubt contact your
local authority, company superior or a Hunting Energy Services (Well Intervention)
representative.

Failure to perform routine service checks could invalidate

manufacturer warranty

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

Contents

Disclaimer ......................................................................................................................3

1.0 Health and safety............................................................................................ 5

1.1 General ................................................................................................................5
1.2 Precautions ..........................................................................................................5
1.3 PPE......................................................................................................................5

2.0 Description...................................................................................................... 6

3.0 Operation ........................................................................................................ 7

4.0 Maintenance.................................................................................................... 8
4.1 Routine maintenance ...........................................................................................8
4.2 Six Monthly ..........................................................................................................9
4.3 Annually ...............................................................................................................9

5.0 Disassembly and Re-assembly ................................................................... 10

5.1 Disassembly.......................................................................................................10
5.2 Assembly ...........................................................................................................11

6.0 Transportation .............................................................................................. 14

7.0 Accessories .................................................................................................. 14

8.0 Disposal ........................................................................................................ 14

9.0 Assembly Drawing(s) ................................................................................... 15

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

1.0 Health and safety

1.1 General
Personnel using this manual to perform maintenance should have basic
training in the following disciplines:

• Manual handling
• MSDS and COSHH
• Use or workshop equipment
• Use of hand-tools (PUWER)

Other basic courses may be required depending on regulations in the

location/region that the equipment is being used.
Safety is everyone’s’ responsibility, anyone can stop an operation should they
deem an act unsafe no matter what their position is within an organisation.
By following this document, using hand tools correctly, and following working
practices the risk of injury will be reduced to negligible.

1.2 Precautions
A competently deemed person must be in attendance when performing
maintenance on pressure control equipment. To be deemed competent the
individual should have received training on the subject followed by being
observed performing the tasks to the required standard over a time period.
Personnel competence criteria are defined by the technician’s employer.
Hand tools that have not been maintained can lead to accidents; therefore all
equipment must be inspected before use.

1.3 PPE
Basic personal protective equipment must be worn at all times during the
maintenance procedures. There may be the need to use more specific items
when using specialised tools, these rules must be followed to reduce risk of
injury. Basic items deemed by Hunting for maintenance personnel are as
follows:

• Safety footwear
• Safety glasses
• Hand protection
• Long sleeved coverall

Some workshop regulations deem that hard hats / bump caps and hearing
protection must be worn in maintenance shops. These will be defined by the
policy owner. If working in the field, all of the above items may need to be worn
at all times. Once again, this is defined by the company / clients policies.

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

2.0 Description
The Hunting Energy Services (Well Intervention) ExCro Rope Socket Tester
was a project developed in conjunction with the Expro Group.

Expro recognised the need to manufacture a pull tester that could allow
braided line / rope sockets to be tested without exposing personnel to the
current risks, secondly the pull tester has the added advantage of allowing a
true breaking strain of slickline to be established other than conventional
methods of torsion testing - For a compact tool to do the task in hand. Hunting
& Expro working together enabled the following tool to have the optimum
functionality, and also be economical for manufacture.

The ExCro Rope Socket Tester is a means of safely testing the integrity of the
wire & the rope socket.

Features include: -

• Easy to use
• Multiple wire sizes and wire types (i.e. slickline / braided, API 9A / alloy,
0.108”, 0.125”, 0.160”, 0.188”, 0.218” & 0.312”)
• Accepts multiple rope socket sizes (i.e. 1.5”, 1.875” and 2.5” Rope
Sockets)
• The piston area is a 1:1 ratio. (i.e. the amount of pounds per square inch
“pressure” applied is the amount of pounds “force” acting on the rope
socket).
• Light-weight, compact & easy to handle.
• Charted record of breaking strain for slickline
• Charted test of maximum pull on braided (60% of breaking strain)
• Eliminates “On-line” pull testing (braided line)
• Eliminates exposure to personnel of high wire tensions / potential wire
parting from rope socket
• Beds in rope socket

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3.0 Operation
1. Following the Assembly instructions, detailed in section 5.0, connect a
hydraulic pump c/w with pressure chart recorder to ¼” NPT port on the
End Sub.
2. A 1/8” NPT Bleed Port has been supplied to bleed air from the system,
before testing commences.
3. To test Wire integrity, gradually apply increasing pressure. (Note: - Never
exceed 10,000 psi)
4. As pressure is increased, look at the marked grooves on the Main Body
(Note: - ‘Beginning of Piston Stroke’ and ‘End of Piston Stroke’) to ensure
that the Piston is moving. If the piston continues to move the full length of
the Window without an increase in pressure, abort the test. This indicates
that the wire is either slipping from the Rope Socket or the Wire Clamp.
5. A quick check on the mark on the wire above the Wire Clamp will show
which has moved.
6. If no slippage is visible, continue to apply pressure until the wire breaks or
if using braided line, when 60% of the breaking strain is achieved.
7. Confirm wire breakage was within the wire manufacturers recommended
specifications. (Note: - Pressure applied equals load, i.e. 1,000 psi =
1,000 lbs force)
8. Following successful Slickline wire test cut the wire 10 ft above the clamp
& re-fit the Rope Socket to the wire.

Slickline (Minimum Breaking Load)

APA19A U.H.T. 316 SS SUPA 75 GD31MO
Diameter
0.108 2109 Lbs 2730 Lbs 1920 Lbs 2030 Lbs 2150 Lbs
0.125 2837 Lbs 3665 Lbs 2500 Lbs 2560 Lbs 2770 Lbs
0.160 4580 Lbs 6005 Lbs 4000 Lbs 4250 Lbs 4460 Lbs

Braided Line
Galvanised 316 SS
Diameter Conventional Dyform Conventional Dyform
3/16” 4960 lbs 6170 Lbs 3990 Lbs 4940 Lbs
7/32” 6610 Lbs 8370 Lbs 5400 Lbs 6500 Lbs
5/16” 13490 Lbs 17550 Lbs 11000 Lbs 13560 Lbs

Braided Line
SUPA 75
Diameter Conventional Dyform
3/16” 4320 Lbs 4960 Lbs
7/32” 5842 Lbs 5990 Lbs
5/16” 11880 Lbs 13380 Lbs

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

4.0 Maintenance
With a suitable solvent, clean and inspect all parts for damage or advanced
wear and replace any component that looks like it could possibly be a cause of
failure. Do not attempt to repair components.
Many companies have established preventive maintenance programs that
require re-certification of the equipment on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual
basis. Prior to re-certification the Rope Socket Tester, it should be completely
disassembled, visually inspected for signs of wear and/or corrosion and
replace all excessively worn or corroded parts.

4.1 Routine maintenance

• Completely disassemble all components and clean thoroughly before
inspecting for wear, corrosion or damage

• O-ring groove and NPT ports must be inspected thoroughly

BEFORE EVERY JOB

• Certification should be checked to confirm equipment compliance with
operational needs

• Confirm all components pieces are tightened correctly

• Ensure O-rings are in good condition

AFTER EVERY JOB

• Disassemble, clean and inspect all components

• Reassemble as per the assembly instructions

Many companies have established preventive maintenance programs that

require re-certification of the equipment on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual
basis. These policies / procedures can only supersede Hunting recommended
maintenance if they are more intensive.

If in doubt contact your local Hunting office for clarification

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

4.2 Six Monthly

• Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI) of all parts

4.3 Annually
• Disassemble and inspect as per the routine maintenance procedure

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

5.0 Disassembly and Re-assembly

The procedure for disassembly and re-assembly of an ExCro Rope Socket
Tester is described fully in this section. It is important that these procedures
are followed for correct operation of this equipment. For the item numbers
listed in the disassembly / re-assembly processes, refer to the relevant
assembly drawing. Note: Failure to follow the procedures in this section may
result in equipment failure or damage.

5.1 Disassembly

NOTE: - Failure to follow the procedures in this section may result in

equipment failure or damage.

Note: - For a breakdown of item numbers refer to Hunting assembly drawing

296-0000-042

1. Back-off Set Screw (18) from Main Body (14).

2. Back-off 3 Hex Soc Cap Screws (20) from Wire Clamp (8) at least 4 full
turns.
3. Remove other 3 Hex Soc Cap Screws (20) from Wire Clamp (8).
4. Slip Wire Clamp (8) up, then off the wire, and set aside.
5. Remove Linch Pin (17) from Retaining Pin (10) and remove Retaining
Pin fully. Put Linch Pin back into Retaining Pin and place aside.
6. Slide off End Sub (12) from Main Body (14) & remove Piston (11) from
End Sub. Note: - Use 5/8” fastener installed into piston face to help with
disassembly.
7. Remove Rope Socket cartridge from Main Body (14).
8. Remove End Stop (9) from Rope Socket Stop (15) & take out Rope
Socket w/ wire.
9. Remove O-Ring (16) from Piston (11).

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

5.2 Assembly

With a suitable solvent, Clean and inspect all parts for damage or advanced
wear, and replace any component that looks like it could possibly be a cause
of failure. Do not attempt to repair components.

Note: - For a breakdown of item numbers refer to Hunting assembly drawing

296-0000-042

1. Fit O-Ring (16) to Piston (11).

2. Push Piston (11) fully into End Sub (12). Note: - Ensure the hydraulic
fitting is open to atmosphere
3. Install Rope Socket c/w Wire through Rope Socket Stop (15).
4. Insert End Stop (9) into Rope Socket Stop (15) ensuring holes are
aligned.

5. Place Main Body (14) in bench vice & slide over End Sub (12).

6. Insert made-up Rope Socket cartridge into opposite end of Main Body
(14) until all holes are aligned.

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

7. Place Retaining Pin (10) through aligned holes & then put Linch Pin (17)
through the bottom end of the Retaining Pin (10), ensuring it is locked
over.

8. Install Wedge (2-7) halves (to suit specific wire diameter) within Wire
Clamp (8).

9. Fit 3 Hex Soc Cap Screws (20) to one side of Wire Clamp (8). Note: - Do
not fully tighten up screws.

10. Slip Wire Clamp (8) over wire & sit on top of Main Body (14).

11. Fit remaining 3 Hex Soc Cap Screws (20) to the other side of Wire
Clamp (8). Note: - Do not fully tighten up screws.

12. Pull wire to ensure Rope Socket Stop is seated firmly on the Rope
Socket Stop (15).

13. Whilst maintaining pull on wire, tighten all Hex Soc Cap Screws (20) &
torque to at least 65lbf. In.

14. Fit Set Screws (18) into Main Body (14) & tighten.

15. Fasten 1/8” NPT Plug (1) into 1/8” NPT housing on End Sub (12).

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

16. Mark wire with paint or tape in line with upper face of Wire Clamp. (This
is to help indicate any clamp slippage during pressure testing).
17. Test wire in compliance with operational procedure in section 2.

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

6.0 Transportation
The ExCro Rope Socket Tester should be stored:
• Fully assembled

• With protective grease/coating

The components should be stored in the PCE transportation unit on the

shaped rack (if available).

7.0 Accessories
For accessories that do not have part numbers stated, contact Hunting Sales
department for details:

• Grease

• Grease anti-seize

8.0 Disposal
Hunting does not have a working life limit for its Rope Socket Tester. Good
maintenance and correct adherence to procedures will increase the longevity
of the equipment.

Many companies have a working life policy for this type of equipment. This will
supersede the above statement.

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 Technical Manual / 296-0000-042 .

9.0 Assembly Drawing(s)

Refer to drawing part number:

[296-0000-042]

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