Traveler Track Hand Line takes a TON of force to pull

Primo109

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My theater has a single track center part traveler hung on an ADC Besteel 170 track and I'm having a lot of trouble getting it to close. I recently replaced the homemade overlap carriers that my predecessor made (which didn't overlap very well) with the actual Model 2602s, and ever since I swapped those out, the curtain closes super easy, but requires a HUGE amount of force to pull back open open. The first time I tried it, I didn't keep pulling because I was afraid I was caught on something, but after confirming it was free, I tried again and it was still ridiculously hard to pull. I haven't closed it since because I don't want to keep putting that amount of force on the handline, track, and live-end pulley, but we are going to need to use the traveler soon for our fall play.

Any ideas as to what could be making the curtain so hard to close? I followed the instructions and graphic drawings from ADC to a tee when I re-ran the handline through everything and have triple checked it, but there still seems to be something I'm missing. Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
Double check the length of Op-line as it runs back along the track. Make sure it isn't off, under or pinched by an Idler. Also check your double end pulley and single end pulley to make sure they didn't come out of the grooves in their sheaves.
 
What’s the size and construction of the drape on the track?
 
@Primo109 , I don't know if your system uses/requires them, but are the backpan s installed correctly? They change the way the curtain stacks as it is opened.
 
My theater has a single track center part traveler hung on an ADC Besteel 170 track and I'm having a lot of trouble getting it to close. I recently replaced the homemade overlap carriers that my predecessor made (which didn't overlap very well) with the actual Model 2602s, and ever since I swapped those out, the curtain closes super easy, but requires a HUGE amount of force to pull back open open. The first time I tried it, I didn't keep pulling because I was afraid I was caught on something, but after confirming it was free, I tried again and it was still ridiculously hard to pull. I haven't closed it since because I don't want to keep putting that amount of force on the handline, track, and live-end pulley, but we are going to need to use the traveler soon for our fall play.

Any ideas as to what could be making the curtain so hard to close? I followed the instructions and graphic drawings from ADC to a tee when I re-ran the handline through everything and have triple checked it, but there still seems to be something I'm missing. Thanks in advance for any advice!
@Primo109 Is it lined and is it trimmed slightly above your deck Vs. dragging?
 
I was going to vote for the backpack theory. If these are on the wrong sides of the carriers the curtain will only move in one direction. As I once learned in the middle of the night at what was supposed to be the very end of strike. However, I think this would cause the problem for closing, not opening.
 
I don’t think they make backpacks for the 170 track. Not listed on the ADC site.
 
That’s big for 170 track. It might be that the drape is just to heavy and it should be one a 280 track with mid grade carriers.
That makes sense; I've honestly always wondered if that was the case just based how small the 170 track looks in comparison. We have an extra 280 track, but no overlap carriers, so it would be possible to just swap the tracks. On a cursory look, the overlap carriers seem outrageously expensive, the cheapest I've found was $300 a piece. Is there a recommended place to look other than RoseBrand and BMI?
 
Are you still in the Boston area? if so I could always swing by and advise.
 
FWiW, I'd go with a rope jumping a pulley if it's difficult to pull in both directions but it might just be too heavy for this type of track and its carriers. Curious to know what you and egilson discover...
 
OK, OK, when opening the curtain, the carriers are bumping into each other as they "stack." The master carrier ends up pushing all other carriers. Always better to pull than to push, so maybe some carriers are fouling when stacked, or maybe you're just getting friction from play in the carriers.
 
We had a carrier completely seize up on us not too long ago, which caused a lot of tension on our Mid. We went through our carriers, and ended up replacing about a dozen of them.
 
Do you have neoprene carriers? If you do, you need #1726 rubber spacers between them. Otherwise the wheels can contact each other and lock up. I'd be more confident in this diagnosis if it didn't work better before you swapped the master carriers.
 

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