CAN I FREE UP MY ANENOMETER?

[Savanna]

Hi All,
Having in ignorance lubricated my Raymarine anemometer with CRC (), I now find that the residue has gone sticky and is inhibiting the cups from turning at light wind speeds. I know this as the same anemometers on the boats adjacent to mine are all turning, whilst mine appears to be stuck until the wind speed increases.
I have since learnt that the anemometer should never be lubricated, and I'm hoping that there may be somebody out there who can suggest a way of cleaning the CRC residue out of the instrument. Perhaps a degreasing spray??
All suggestions gratefully received, and thank you in advance.

[Nicholson58]

Take it down and carefully take it apart. It can be totally disassembled. If you have wrecked the plastic bits you can replace the vane. You may find parts less than at WE$T marine at Wolf's in Benton Harbor. Staff is very helpful. Home Page Call, huge inventory not listed on the site.

[colemj]

Liberally spray contact cleaner in it until it is dripping. Then do it again. This should help to remove the CRC stuff (you did not say which one you used) and the residual contact cleaner will evaporate quickly. I doubt there is any damage to the plastic stuff and most likely the CRC did not make its way into the actual bearings - just gummed up the outside works.

Mark

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Savanna

Hi All,
Having in ignorance lubricated my Raymarine anemometer with CRC (), I now find that the residue has gone sticky and is inhibiting the cups from turning at light wind speeds. I know this as the same anemometers on the boats adjacent to mine are all turning, whilst mine appears to be stuck until the wind speed increases.
I have since learnt that the anemometer should never be lubricated, and I'm hoping that there may be somebody out there who can suggest a way of cleaning the CRC residue out of the instrument. Perhaps a degreasing spray??
All suggestions gratefully received, and thank you in advance.

Try a little (very little) brake cleaner on a small part of the anemometer to see if it affects it in any noticeable way. If not, try cleaning it with the brake cleaner. Similarly you could try carburettor cleaner but realise both can be aggressive.

[Savanna]

Hi Wotname, Colemj and Nicholson58,
Many thanks indeed for your responses to my query and being prepared to share your experiences and expertise. I hadn't realised that the anemometer unit could be taken apart, so I'll climb the mast and check that out first. If that doesn't get me anywhere I'll try the brake cleaner.

[Jim Cate]

FWIW,

Our Horizon masthead unit is now over 20 years old. The bearings are likely pretty well worn, and at times it starts to drag and not start up easily. Sound familiar?

Contrary to what you learned, we have quite successfully lubricated that anemometer using Inox, one of the ubiquitous spray lubes found everywhere down here down under. The treatment lasts a year or so, and no gumming has been observed.

As far as cleaning your gummed up unit, alcohol might well work, will not harm anything in the anemometer and is inexpensive and readily available.

Cheers,

Jim

[colemj]

Yes, a few rums and you won't care about that thing anymore…

Jim probably meant alcohol for the instrument and not you, though. And he probably didn't mean rum…

Mark

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by colemj

Yes, a few rums and you won't care about that thing anymore…

Jim probably meant alcohol for the instrument and not you, though. And he probably didn't mean rum…

Mark

Hmmm... yes, pretty sloppy of me!

Here in Oz "meths" (methylated spirits, or in Yank talk, denatured alcohol) which is ethyl alcohol with a few percent of methyl added for your gustatory pleasure is commonly available, even in supermarkets. It would work well, as would isopropyl.

Rum has too damn much sugar in it and would likely gum things up worse... and besides, you might get splinters of glass or plastic in your tongue.

Cheers,

Jim

[Pete the Cat]

The techs at Raymarine recommend WD 40.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Pete the Cat

The techs at Raymarine recommend WD 40.

Trust me, like government experts, their techs are wrong on this. WD40 is NOT a lubricant. It is a solvent with heavy gooey, glue-like grease. As the solvent leaves, the viscosity increases and the residue gets sticky. I learned this first when I raced bicycles. I took 20 minutes off my 5-hour ride the day I switched to 40 wt. oil. Later, I used WD40 to coat engine parts to prevent rust until I was ready to build the engine. By then, the crank was coated in a cosmoline like tar.

Totally clean it and use nothing or some dry lube like teflon or silicone. Make sure the propellant does not damage the plastic.