450: Is Quick chain counter compatible with another windlass?

[Millerslocal]

Taken the plunge and ordered the Lofrans X3. Holding thumbs it performs better than the Quick.

Lofrans dealer assures me that my Quick wired handheld remote and the chain counter should "play nice" with the new Lofrans.

Am going to implement Rondo's suggestion of adding an additional battery as part of house bank close to the windlass.

Will report back once had the chance to test it out.

Thanks again for everyone's input, much appreciated.

(and hoping there's a good market for second hand Quick capstans and gearboxes!)

[Millerslocal]

Hi - just a report back on our new Lofrans X3. Installation was simple, and required very little adjustment for existing holes. Working beautifully - a lot faster chain retrieval than the Quick.

The Quick wired remote and the Quick chain counter both work perfectly with the new Lofrans.

Now have an almost new Quick 12mm capstan (Gypsey and drum) to sell - as purchased this new in August 2017. Also a gearbox available. Friends have taken over the refurbished motor.

[Bean Counter]

Sounds Good, Did you but extra battery closer to the windlass?

[Millerslocal]

We haven't got around to that yet as had to head south for 2 weeks. But is definitely on the cards for when we get a bit of spare time.

It does make a lot of sense to do it. Just need to look at where exactly to place the additional battery.

[SaltyMetals]

I know this is a thread about windlasses and battery placement but the problem of voltage drop is the same for a bow-thruster. In my case (2004 Jeanneau 43ds) the power at the bow is provided by 2 x 50Ah starter batteries as the original installation when the boat was new since there was not room for one larger battery. So if you are struggling to figure out where to put the battery it helps to consider the alternative of installing two smaller ones.

The strange thing about the way Jeanneau wired things up is that the windlass is powered from the ENGINE starter battery so there is a long wiring run up to the bow. I think the reason for this is that the Bow-thruster is an optional extra so the wiring for the windlass is planned as the standard fitting. Yes, i could change the windlass so it runs off the batteries in the bow but everything works fine so why change it.
Andrew

[SRC36]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

I have a Lofrans Airon on a 2004 Jeanneau 43ds with up to 80m of 10mm chain and a 20Kg Bruce . I had trouble with the counter and Quick sent me a new magnet and sensor. Luckily i only had to replace the old totally rusted magnet. You only have to drill a small hole underneath yr gypsy making sure that it will exactly pass over the sensor. Does not matter what the diameter of the gypsy is but you will find that the spot where you drill the hole in the gypsy is a bit limited since there has to be enough thickness to drill a deep enough hole. So you cannot do it too near the outer edge of the gypsy where it is thinner.

Having set it up you go into the CALLIBRATION mode on the cockpit controller/counter and recallibrate so that it then can be told what length of chain is run out on each turn. Really simple. It is all in the manual which you can get online if you do not have it.

Best of luck (maybe the old one will still work)
Andrew
"Genial Bee"

I'm trying (thinking of) to retrofit a chaincounter to my Lofrans Airon and just can't understand where to mount the magnet on the gypsy. Do I have to take it off first to drill a hole beneath or can the magnet be fitted on the side somehow? Instructions on how to fit the magnet and also info on wireless units are most welcomed. Brgds, Bjorn

[SaltyMetals]

Bjorn, you need to take the capstan off the windlass, then you can lift off the gypsy and turn it over to get access to where you need to place the magnet.

I dont think my capstan had ever been taken off is the 12 previous years before i bought the boat. My Airon has an aluminium capstan which slides onto a stainless shaft. So it was seriously stuck on the shaft due inter-metallic corrosion. You can try WD40 or equivalent. Some say a 50:50 mixture of acetone and hydraulic fluid is even better. In each case give it a day or two to soak in and then treat again. In my case i eventually got the capstan off by heating it with a blowtorch and a few gentle knocks with a hammer. Aluminium has a much larger coefficient of thermal expansion than SS. When you re-assemble it would be a good idea to add some Duralac or equivalent on the shaft before sliding on the capstan. This creates a barrier to intermetallic corrosion.

OK, to answer yr question, the magnet needs to be located on the underside of the gypsy. If you have an old magnet in there it will most likely be a load of rusty dust. If you are installing for the first time you need to drill a hole in the capstan, but as i mentioned before, choose a location near the inner part, not out on the rim where it is too thin for the hole you need to drill. I then embedded my new magnet in quick-setting araldite and made sure the araldite sealed the surface of the magnet to avoid any rust in the future.

Once you have chosen yr location for the magnet you then need to fix the sensor so that it is nicely located for the magnet to pass over it on each rotation.

Sounds complicated but actually very straight forward. Your biggest problem will be the get the capstan off the SS spindle but if you follow my suggestions above it shld be OK.

I can take my capstan off and send you some photos if you like.
Andrew

[SRC36]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

Bjorn, you need to take the capstan off the windlass, then you can lift off the gypsy and turn it over to get access to where you need to place the magnet.

I dont think my capstan had ever been taken off is the 12 previous years before i bought the boat. My Airon has an aluminium capstan which slides onto a stainless shaft. So it was seriously stuck on the shaft due inter-metallic corrosion. You can try WD40 or equivalent. Some say a 50:50 mixture of acetone and hydraulic fluid is even better. In each case give it a day or two to soak in and then treat again. In my case i eventually got the capstan off by heating it with a blowtorch and a few gentle knocks with a hammer. Aluminium has a much larger coefficient of thermal expansion than SS. When you re-assemble it would be a good idea to add some Duralac or equivalent on the shaft before sliding on the capstan. This creates a barrier to intermetallic corrosion.

OK, to answer yr question, the magnet needs to be located on the underside of the gypsy. If you have an old magnet in there it will most likely be a load of rusty dust. If you are installing for the first time you need to drill a hole in the capstan, but as i mentioned before, choose a location near the inner part, not out on the rim where it is too thin for the hole you need to drill. I then embedded my new magnet in quick-setting araldite and made sure the araldite sealed the surface of the magnet to avoid any rust in the future.

Once you have chosen yr location for the magnet you then need to fix the sensor so that it is nicely located for the magnet to pass over it on each rotation.

Sounds complicated but actually very straight forward. Your biggest problem will be the get the capstan off the SS spindle but if you follow my suggestions above it shld be OK.

I can take my capstan off and send you some photos if you like.
Andrew

Hi Andrew, really appreciate all this info, will be a winter project. A bit worried to not get the same tension on the capstan when I refit it. I read somewhere that if it's loose you will have free fall on the chain, I guess I misinterpreted the text, or do you know if that is that possible to achieve with this windlass?
If you have a picture of the capstan, I'm sure it would useful. Brgds, Bjorn

[SaltyMetals]

OK, reverting with some pics in a week or so.
Andrew
"Genial Bee"

[steve450]

Hello group
I’ve been repairing these and other brands for a long time and have foumd they mostly use the same brand of motor and gearbox and they just rebrand them.
They all use bonfiglioli motors and gearbox which you can buy all over the world they have a catalogue to identify their products also the brand and type of gear box is cast onto the gearbox.
The motors generally have 2 positive brushes and 1 negative the 2 positive allow more power for the retrieving the anchor and when one fails the windlass spins very slow.I haven’t repaced a armature yet just a quick machine or wet and dry paper untill smooth
All bearings and seals can be bought locally but you will have to make your own gaskets for the gear box.
Most of the gear boxes require a special oil synthetic 320 grade as per manual but is hard to get mostly we use sae 90.
Most gear boxes dont have a oil fill hole so you can tap a thread and put a plug in but i fill them with the side cover off approx half full.
The manufacturers make the top only and the bearings and seals can be bought from local supplyers.when repaceing the seals i use double seal seals;not double lip seals but double seal seals which have a spring retainer top and bottom and i use 2 of them so if you have a 10mm thick seal i use 2x5mm or a odd size like 11mm use a 5 and 6 these type of seals i use every where i can.i have found most top seals put in upside down.The spring side should face the top.
The chain counter usually has 1 magnet but i fit 2 one opposite each other the adjust the display then if 1 fails you can reset the display to run on 1.
The magnets con be bought locally at most hardware stores if you cant get the same size you can drill it out or use a smaller one.The sensors can also be sourced locally but i use the alarm window types used in home alarm systems the magnet and sensor cost under $4 dollars
If you gypsy is seized you can undo the clutch and try running the motor to load it up this usually works i will send the catalogue as soon as i learn to i hate computors
Steve

[SaltyMetals]

Bjorn (SRC #23) did you fix yr prblm or would you still like some pics since i am on my boat right now?
Andrew