[PSUBS-MAILIST] motor oil compensator

Alan via Personal_Submersibles personal_submersibles at psubs.org
Wed Mar 25 19:58:01 EDT 2020


Rick,
they were using IV bags on James Cameron's sub.
I am not sure what they were compensating with them, but they have
attachment points for hoses which are handy.
Alan 

> On 25/03/2020, at 9:08 PM, Rick Patton via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
> 
> I am oil compensating but haven't done the motors yet. I have talked to a couple people who haven't added bladders for the hot oil to go and said that they haven't had a problem but I have all ready drilled and tapped 2 holes in each thruster so gonna do it. I saw some that did what you did James but couldn't see how the short run of hose would allow any expansion so I found some small plastic bags like the ones that hospitals use to drip saline and other stuff into your blood system. I liked these as they are a lot smaller and were meant for a Halloween gag so gonna have a short hose that goes to each bag which will be wire tied to each thruster. 
> Rick
> 
>> On Wed, Mar 25, 2020 at 11:38 AM Alan via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>> James,
>> that method with the hose wrapped around has come under criticism previously.
>> Fortunately you have a kink in the hose which initiates a collapse of the hose to 
>> provide some equalisation. We calculated that the hose may take over 100psi 
>> external pressure before it collapsed to provide equalisation. So at depth water
>> would push past the seals before there was any compensation.
>> I don't know whether you are still getting trapped air in the system coming out
>> or whether expansion & contraction when out of the water is sucking air in.
>> But for air to get in, oil would have to get out. Maybe oil expands out through the
>> seals when you transit & it heats up, & then causes a vacuum when you take the sub
>> out of the water & the motors cool down, thus sucking air in.
>> Perhaps you could run the motors out of the water for a while untill they feel 
>> hot, & see if any oil comes out. Another thought is that if you are using WD40
>> or similar, perhaps it is pushing past the seals with the hot cold variation over
>> each day, & evaporating away so that there's not much evidence of a leak.
>> Alan
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 26/03/2020, at 1:35 AM, James Frankland via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi All,
>>> This is a really interesting topic for me.  I have been meaning to ask this for a while but been a bit busy with other stuff.
>>> I need to modify my motors again somehow.  I have a simple tube coming from the top of the motor with a valve that i can shut, so i can seal the motor and close it off.
>>> 
>>> No matter what i do, i always seem to end up with a small amount of air in the tube.
>>> 
>>> This picture is the only one i can find.
>>> 
>>> The tube comes out the top, around to a valve secured underneath.  Thats it.  There is no hole on the underside any more.
>>> 
>>> I fill it, it seems fine.  The next day there are a few bubbles, which i would expect from just sticking to things.  So i clear that.  However, after either a dive or some time, a small amount of air gets in the tube.
>>> 
>>> There appears to be no leaks and no seawater in the motor.
>>> 
>>> What am i doing wrong?  Its such a nuisance and worry to me.
>>> 
>>> I have heard that some people put the prop shaft seals in backwards?  I didnt do that, they are just standard.
>>> 
>>> I suspect im getting pressure differences and its sucking air past the seal.  Maybe some sort of 5 psi pressure system is required, as per cliffs method?  Any more info on that?
>>> 
>>> Thanks, 
>>> James
>>> 
>>> <image.png>
>>> 
>>>> On Wed, 25 Mar 2020 at 08:43, Alan via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>>>> Brian,
>>>> not sure of your depth but if you are going to 300ft, the air will be compressed to
>>>> 1/12th the volume, so the oil overflow reservoir is going to be problematic because
>>>> It's large volume could mean the seawater would come a long way up the tube on
>>>> the seaward side. Also using it as an overflow would create the problem of "how do 
>>>> I get the oil back in the motor" & " how do I monitor it".
>>>> I have had rubber perish in WD40 so I would watch that if you are considering using
>>>> a rubber compensator.
>>>> Have a look at the PDF I referenced as that has several options.
>>>> Alan
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On 25/03/2020, at 5:40 PM, Brian Cox via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Alan, 
>>>>>                So do you see any issues with the way I have my compensator set up?   I've been trying to see a scenario where it wouldn't work, but I don't see one.  One reason I like it is because there in no over or under pressure in the system.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Brian
>>>>> 
>>>>>   
>>>>> 
>>>>> --- personal_submersibles at psubs.org wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> From: Alan via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>>>>> To: Personal Submersibles General Discussion <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] motor oil compensator
>>>>> Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 17:28:21 +1300
>>>>> 
>>>>> Brian,
>>>>> I wouldn't read a lot in to that experiment as far as heating goes, as when
>>>>> the motor is under load it will be drawing a lot more amps & develop a
>>>>> lot more heat.
>>>>> But people run the Minnkotas with air compensation & get away with it.
>>>>> Alan
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 25/03/2020, at 2:09 PM, Brian Cox via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>  Alan,  
>>>>>                    In my case my motor pod contains about 8 gallons of WD40   .  I ran the motors the other day , all day long for about 10 hours straight .  The temp outside was around 60 F  so it sort of simulated our water temperature here.   I was surprised to discover that the expansion of the oil was not as much as I thought it would be , it was about 1/2 gallon.  It reached a point where it stopped expanding, so I guess it reached a point of equilibrium with respect to the temperature.    One problem I have is in the summer the oil actually expands more than when the motor is running just sitting there heating up from the ambient temperature.    I think in the summer I'm going to disconnect the hose and put it into a bucket when sitting.  
>>>>> 
>>>>> Brian
>>>>> 
>>>>>  
>>>>> 
>>>>> --- personal_submersibles at psubs.org wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> From: Alan via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>>>>> To: Personal Submersibles General Discussion <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] motor oil compensator
>>>>> Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 13:25:53 +1300
>>>>> 
>>>>> Brian,
>>>>> there is this military de-classified 1972 document on pressure compensating.
>>>>> https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/894795.pdf
>>>>> I printed it out & had it bound.
>>>>> I found that the rotation of the motor was throwing the oil out of the motor
>>>>> housing & up in to the compensating tube. If you dived there would be added
>>>>> pressure to keep the oil in the motor housing, but this wouldn't happen transiting
>>>>> on the surface. As the oil also keeps the Motor cool, there may be a danger of
>>>>> the motor overheating in this instance.
>>>>> As you will find in the linked manual, a minimum of 5psi over pressure is the norm.
>>>>> I am going to use the same system as Cliff, with the relieving regulator dialled
>>>>> up to 5psi to give an overpressure. However my system has oil in it so I get it's 
>>>>> cooling advantages & eliminate large air volume changes.
>>>>> Alan
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 25/03/2020, at 11:19 AM, Brian Cox via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Seawater gets compressed up the hose, so never goes above the highest point of the hose.  When oil heats up it spills into trap and cannot escape to the sea. 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Brian
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> --- personal_submersibles at psubs.org wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> From: Øystein Skarholm via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>>>>> To: Personal Submersibles General Discussion <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] motor oil compensator
>>>>> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2020 22:21:15 +0100
>>>>> 
>>>>> You should avoid contact between the seawater and the oil. The oil will contaminate quickly and it will no longer be dielectric. 
>>>>> Just the hose from the motor to the tee is enough to compensate. You do not have to have a large volume of oil. Fill the hose with oil and cap it off, done. or make a neat yet more sophisticated solution. 
>>>>> Make the end lid of the motor as a flange assembly and instead of a lid, use a rubber diaphragm. This will then act as a compensator. You can even install a light spring pushing down on the diaphragm  if you want a slight internal overpressure. 
>>>>> <image.png>
>>>>> 
>>>>> tir. 24. mar. 2020 kl. 21:28 skrev Brian Cox via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>:
>>>>> Here is a drawing for my oil compensator
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Personal_Submersibles mailing list
>>>>> Personal_Submersibles at psubs.org
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>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> -- 
>>>>> Vennlig hilsen
>>>>> Øystein Skarholm
>>>>> 91369599
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