GATO! (It has begun)

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

No problem. You should see the dumb-ass things I do on a 'bad' day! (some day I'll tell you about how I launched the garage door into the across-the-street guys drive-way).

Anyway ... Looking down on the two flexible hoses that are atop the cylinder, going into their respective nipples on the five-point manifold. It's the hose on the left (port) side.

M

[matthewnimmo]

Stupid question as my brain is numb today for whatever reason. Which tube is the discharge one that you are talking about David?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

1. 1/8" - 1/4" i.d. silicon hose at hobby shop
2. a) plug up the nipple atop the four-point manifold that normally makes up to the snorkel induction flexible hose and pinch the discharge hose atop the cylinder, between the motor-bulkhead manifold and the four-point manifold
b) grasp and apply inboard pressure to the forward and after bulkheads so they don't pop out underwater
c) turn the SD upside-down to flood the ballast tank
d) blow into the hose and look for air bubbles -- the location of the bubbles indicates a source of leaking.
e) fix

Creating a vacuum will only invite water into the SD through the leak source -- you won't find it that way.

M

[matthewnimmo]

Ok this makes sense.

1) were can i find that type of hose Lowes/homedepot?
2). So when i have it all hooked up im guessing i do the following
A) submerge wtc in a body of water like my tub
B) blow in the clear tub to see how the wtc reacts to pressure and see if i notice any airbunnles coming from somewhere
C) seal off the clear tub and run the LPB to creat a vacuum and see for what more airbubbles?

[trout]

Look here:

http://forum.sub-driver.com/showthread.php?2420-Moebius-(Revell)-Skipjack-Build/page24

[matthewnimmo]

Im not familiar with blowing into the wtc method. Hows that done?

[trout]

Matthew,
just as a thought, how does your o rings look on your bulkheads on either side of your ballast tank? Is there good contact or squish there? also the pipe that carries the power through the ballast tank, I ended up putting a small bead of RTV around it. On my Gato one of the bulkheads was not getting good contact and adjusting the screw tightness helped, but ultimately I needed to take it out and wrap Teflon tape around the channel the o-ring sits in.
i used blowing into the sub-driver to find bubbles. Hold the end caps on! Have you read how to do that?

[Subculture]

Fill up your bathtub with piping hot water. Submerge the WTC in the water, wear gloves or push it down with a stick to avoid discomfort from the hot water. After a short period, the hot water will heat the air inside the WTC, causing it to expand, and any leaks should soon reveal themselves as a stream of bubbles.

You can also blow into the cylinder with a pipe to get the same result. An old gas fitters trick is to use some soapy water around joints which saves having to fill the tub. Leaks show up as blowing bubbles.

[matthewnimmo]

... So im about ready to RTV my entire freaking rig including my remote just to be safe ... New development as im trying to trim the sub is now my aft compartment is getting water in it. Ive oiled all the rings etc not sure how water is getting in now both components. Im going to isolate just the WTC again and see if i can find my answer there

i did get a cheap $9 kiddie pool and that seems to work for my testing

[crazygary]

Sam sure looks like a happy camper there, Tom!!

Way to go, Dad!! Hah!

CG

[matthewnimmo]

So, keep my magnets but just grease the crap out of them or grease the crap out of whatever new connection type i chose?

[trout]

And a kiddie pool. For $25 at Walmart you can get this:

I needed to replace mine because the prop of the mean Skipjack tore a hole in it.
So I got this one for $58

and am now a hero to my son.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Get some silicon 'ignition lub' grease from an auto store. Smear that on the bare connectors exposed to water and the green-crud will all but go away.

M

[matthewnimmo]

Also, i plan on making my millionth trip to the hobby store it seems to pick up some new connectors and a micro servo for another project. The connectors im thinking of using are bullet connectors that will replace my failing magnet connectors for my lights. Essentially the two wire leads that connect to the forward bulkhead that supply current to all my leds seem to be failing ( the magnets that carry current and help fasten the sail to upper hull are just fine). Just seems to be those two connection points were my problems are. So, are bullet connections going to do the trick or should i think of something else?

[matthewnimmo]

So i tried using the bah tub for more testing but 52" sub doesnt want to fit so well. Itll sink to the point of half sail before hitting the sides of the tub. So. Added more weights to test the reduction of the listing and to test the pump to blow the tank. It was hard to tell if the sub was going to come back on its own in the tub due to hitting the walls; but i definetly could feel more buoyancy than before. It never quite got to the same freeboard as it did when i first put her in the tub

also, still noticed water in the battery component (but that maybe because i never quite got the snort valve above the water line to depressure rise the rest of the SD (just a guess). So i tested "just" the wtc in the water and didnt see water get into any chamber. I also noticed that the pump quickly gets the water out, so i have no idea on why it takes so long to resurface the sub