Compass Oil, What Type?
CAatSalty
I have an old good quality (1983) Ritchie Compass that is dry. It has a fill
port but I don't know what type of oil to fill it with. When I asked the
salesman at WEST marine what type of oil that I could refill it with, he looked
at me like I had two heads.
Does anyone know what type of oil that I can refill this with? PS, I am not
doing any serious navigation with this compass, just local stuff and I have a
LORAN.
Please E-mail me.
Thanks in advance.
Charlie A.
Twin Boat
Fill it With Mineral Oil. I picked some up at the Drug Store. It Worked For me
Steve Danaher
There is some special compass oil, but the real problem is geting the
air bubble out. The best way, if my memory is correct, is to cool the
compass in a freezer, and then add the oil. However, I have frogotten
the details.
IF your compass lost the oil, you probably have a leak. It will most
likely need some repairs.
---Steve D. in CA
R Goddard
I used baby oil or mineral oil. Works for me. Very slow leak when I
forget to cover it at the dock. Sun shining thru the cabin window heats up
the oil and forces it out. Cool the compass and replacement oil before
filling.
--
bob
D&B Marine
http://www.tqci.net/~dbmarine
CAatSalty <caat...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19980305002...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
Alex Hirsekorn
On 5 Mar 1998 00:20:19 GMT, caat...@aol.com (CAatSalty) wrote:
>I have an old good quality (1983) Ritchie Compass that is dry. It has a fill
>port but I don't know what type of oil to fill it with. When I asked the
>salesman at WEST marine what type of oil that I could refill it with, he looked
>at me like I had two heads.
>
>Does anyone know what type of oil that I can refill this with? PS, I am not
>doing any serious navigation with this compass, just local stuff and I have a
>LORAN.
>
>Please E-mail me.
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Charlie A.
You really should contact the manufacturer but the fluid originally
used was, most likely, some sort of alcohol or a highly refined
version of kerosene.
good luck.
remove ? to reply
I also had a Ritchie compass that the fluid turned dark green in. I
drained the old stuff ( had algae in it, I guess ) and used mineral
spirits to rinse it out with. Then I put mineral oil in. I could
never get all the air bubbles out, no matter what I did. It worked
just fine, but after 2 months I couldn't stand seeing the bubbles and
bought a new compass. PS: I bought the mineral oil at the local
drugstore and used a syringe to fill it with.
Mark75H
Having filled compasses with "compass oil" from the manufacturer, I am certain
it is not alcohol based, kerosene based, nor baby oil. Any of the cheap
suggestions might work on a cheap compass, but on a really good one I'd take it
to a shop or send it back to the manufacturer for service. Sam
~You really should contact the manufacturer but the fluid originally
~used was, most likely, some sort of alcohol or a highly refined
~version of kerosene.
~
~good luck.
~
Martin
Are you sure it had oil in it ? some have alcohol
CAatSalty wrote:
> I have an old good quality (1983) Ritchie Compass that is dry.
>
over...@erols.com
CAatSalty wrote:
>
> I have an old good quality (1983) Ritchie Compass that is dry. It has a fill
> port but I don't know what type of oil to fill it with. When I asked the
> salesman at WEST marine what type of oil that I could refill it with, he looked
> at me like I had two heads.
>
> Does anyone know what type of oil that I can refill this with? PS, I am not
> doing any serious navigation with this compass, just local stuff and I have a
> LORAN.
>
> Please E-mail me.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Charlie A.
E&B Marine lists Ritchie Compass Oil in their catalog.
Model 289118, Ritchie Part No. SH-0091. It goes for $7.99
--
Overboard Boating
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We were told in our Power Squadron class last year that baby oil could
be used. I would do some checking around first though before trying it.
I don't see why it wouldn't be OK myself however.
Louise Coulson
On 5 Mar 1998 00:04:45 -0500, "R Goddard" <dbma...@tqci.net> wrote:
>> I have an old good quality (1983) Ritchie Compass that is dry. It has a
>fill
>> port but I don't know what type of oil to fill it with.
I had an opportunity to visit the Ritchie factory recently and saw the
filler mechanisms. They use a very light mineral oil, and they do
sell it thru their distributors.
Louise
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Martin
Alcohol is not a cheap solution, good quality compasses do sometimes use
alcohol.
I heard someone on the radio from Sestrel (I think) saying they'd had
one returned
for repair, that appeared to be full of gin. (shaken not stirred)
Martin
Alcohol is not a cheap solution, good quality compasses do sometimes use alcohol.
I heard someone on the radio from Sestrel (I think) saying they'd had one returned
for repair, that appeared to be full of gin. (shaken not stirred)
Brian Grant
Martin wrote:
>
> Alcohol is not a cheap solution, good quality compasses do sometimes use alcohol.
> I heard someone on the radio from Sestrel (I think) saying they'd had one returned
> for repair, that appeared to be full of gin. (shaken not stirred)
>
boat? I suspect rotation of the card would have stirred the gin.
John Howell
It was standard practice in the merchant ships to refill compasses with gin if nothing else was available.....its alchohol...its clear....mildew doesn t grow in it....and it has damping properties....I think Sestrel would have seen this more than once!!!!!! Mind you...maybe the gin had better thermal expansion qualities than compass oil so they never went back to the factory!!!<gg>
John Chaka of Birdham......Sestrel currently filled with light oil..
In article <34FFFCCF...@consunet.nl>,
Martin <m.pat...@consunet.nl> wrote:
>Alcohol is not a cheap solution, good quality compasses do sometimes use alcohol.
>I heard someone on the radio from Sestrel (I think) saying they'd had one returned
>for repair, that appeared to be full of gin. (shaken not stirred)
>
Gould 0738
John Howell wrote:
>It was standard practice in the merchant ships to refill compasses with gin
>if nothing else was available.....its alchohol...its clear....mildew doesn t
>grow in it....and it has damping properties....I think Sestrel would have
>seen this more than once!!!!!! Mind you...maybe the gin had better thermal
>expansion qualities than compass oil so they never went back to the
>factory!!!<gg>
>
>John Chaka of Birdham......Sestrel currently filled with light oil.
Me, I'm not a compass. But If I were, and you filled me with Gin, the lubber
line would become a blubber line for a certain fact.
Brian Grant
This may account for some of the courses I've seen folks following :-)
R Goddard
Martin
A good quality compas should have an expansion chamber, to allow the fluid to
expand and contract. My Sestrel-Moore main steering compas has this. My old DF
Sestrel hand bearing compas does not. The former never needs topping up, the
latter always had bubbles in it within a few weeks of topping up. I have an old
second world war Spitfire aircraft compas that I bought in an ex-WD shop in the
fifties. This has never had to be topped up although it's over fifty years old.
Greg Smith
Actually, I think you want to chill the oil, not the compass. this will
reduce the volume of the oil per cc; put it in the fill hole all the
way to overflowing, then lightly screw the plug (one thread only). Keep
the fill plug at the high (up) until the oil warms to room temperature,
then tighten the plug all the way. turn it upright and you "should" not
have a bubble.
James W. Hebert
In article <6dp6l8$o76$1...@taliesin.netcom.net.uk>, John Howell
<jho...@netcomuk.co.uk> wrote:
> It was standard practice in the merchant ships to refill
> compasses with gin if nothing else was available.....
> its alchohol...its clear....mildew doesn t grow in it
> ....and it has damping properties
Author, actor, sailor Sterling Hayden writes (in his epic sea
novel, "Voyage"):
"Now the _Proctor_ was steering herself.
Heeling hard and going well--six and a half at least.
Whalen looked up. A wind driven cloud threw a bronze-blue
veil across the face of the moon. The ice on deck turned gray.
The binnacle's mellow eye glared from the trunk of the house.
He gave the compass a glance. She was going west by south...
He thought of the time, down in Halifax, when he and Hackett
were dorymates in the old _Imperator_. They were dead broke.
And thirsty. So they unscrewed the plug in the compass' bowl
and drank her dry between them. Then filled her up with piss.
The funny part of it was nobody knew the difference.
Three trips later it froze. So Carl, the skipper, cracked a
bottle and filled her full of rum. Then he passed the
jug to the boys. When it came Bat's turn, he filled his
mouth and, before he could swallow, laughed
so hard the spray shot clear across the cabin..."
--jim
Jim Hebert, K8SS | C O N T I N U O U S
Beverly Hills, Michigan | W A V E
ji...@w8hd.org | http://tango.w8hd.org
djat...@gmail.com
There are two kinds of compasses: the spirit compass (flat glass) and e globe type compass. Globe ones usually are filled with Isopar M that is a Exxon inert solvent. The density of both (alcool or Isopar) should be arround 0.8. When alcool filled the solution with distilled wather should be adjusted to result 0.8 of density.
djat...@gmail.com
In place of alcohol (methilated) you can use gin, vodka or seed spirits.