Lack of Power to Windlass?

[DeepFrz]

atoll, that is ugly but very much like what I am expecting the OP will find.

[Emerald Sea]

As the first followup, it has turned out that all the symptoms have led to a fried and oxidized motor. I took it to an electrical repair shop in Papeete this morning and the electrician put it on a battery and with a few readings said it was fried. It will be another day before he can tell me if it can be repaired so will follow up with details later on this.

In the meantime Ive written to Quick Italy to provide them with the diagnosis and they were 'quick' to reply saying its also likely fried. Im now chasing them on warranty...Im two months past the 3yr warranty expiry so we'll see where this goes.

Also, in the meantime (what's a cruiser to do) Ive strolled the chandlery shops for a replacement but no similar windlass can be found here so if a repair cant be executed then I'll be importing a replacement. Its likely not going to be the same (Quick Dylan) so Im looking at a Lofrans X3 which will fit the slot with minimal effort, all wires in place, and very similar spec albeit a bit stronger.

Atol....yes thats one ugly photo!

[donradcliffe]

MUCH easier and cheaper to import and install a new motor from Quick. However, make sure that you improve the waterproofing and coatings before you install.

[Emerald Sea]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

MUCH easier and cheaper to import and install a new motor from Quick. However, make sure that you improve the waterproofing and coatings before you install.

Good point on the waterproofing before reinstallation. Yes, that is the next option if the electrician can't repair the existing one. Im in contact with Quick for this now.

Thanks

[DeepFrz]

I would suggest also that you install a short piece of tubing under the hawse hole so that water doesn't splash off the chain onto the motor/gear box. Either that or mount a plastic shield between the chain and the motor/gearbox to stop the splashing.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

MUCH easier and cheaper to import and install a new motor from Quick. However, make sure that you improve the waterproofing and coatings before you install.

+2
when i installed the new replacement $2500 gearbox/motor assembly
2 dabs of sikaflex in each of the alignment notches sealed the breather holes and upgraded the automotive motor to something vaguely marine spec

aside from that steve, i highly reccomend walking the waterfront in pappeete, and saying hi to the visiting yachts whilst you are there,crossroads of the world ,kindered spirits etc.......had some great dock parties there.....conversation topic was generally fixing boats in exotic locations
regards to the miss'us cheers alex

[Emerald Sea]

Update on this Quick Dylan windlass. Attached are a few photos of the DC motor after the electrician had examined it which has been termed ‘burned out’, ’totally worn out’, etc. Im presently sourcing another windlass - which will not be a Quick.

As this was only 2 months past its 3 year warranty period I made contact with Quick Italy to see if there was wiggle room for a claim. Their reply was quite alarming - "no matter if already in the warranty period, it would not been acceptable under warranty in any case. It’s not that the motor went out of order for some defectiveness, it’s been used to death”. Make what you will of this statement but I was surprised!

As an mechanical engineer, I would hazard an well educated guess and say that these Quick motors have been designed to fatigue/fail after x-amount of cycles in order to save material and production co$ts - nearly all production manufacture's do this. Interestingly, its a 4th yr curriculum exercise in mech engineering uni (solid mechanics) to design an item to last a specified number of cycles as a fatigue competition.

FWIW, I operate our windlass in a conservative manner, always have, always will.

For the reader’s info below are a few stats from our logbook. I deem this usage as average or perhaps below average use of the windlass for this period.

Days Emerald Sea afloat since new : 1146 Days
Subtract Days at Marinas, Yards, Mooring: 418 Days
Total Actual Days at Anchor: 728 Days
Total Actual Locations at Anchor: 93 Locations
Average WD at Anchor: 7.2 Meters
Average Scope: 1.4; Payout Meters: 28.8Meters
Total Meters PayOut on Windlass: 2688 Meters
Total Meters PayIn on Windlass: 2688 Meters
Total Approx Meters Used on Windlass: 5376Meters (Accuracy: 2%)
Total Cycles Operated on Windlass: 187 Cycles
Reference: Emerald Sea Logbook 1 and 2

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Emerald Sea

Update on this Quick Dylan windlass. Attached are a few photos of the DC motor after the electrician had examined it which has been termed ‘burned out’, ’totally worn out’, etc. Im presently sourcing another windlass - which will not be a Quick.

As this was only 2 months past its 3 year warranty period I made contact with Quick Italy to see if there was wiggle room for a claim. Their reply was quite alarming - "no matter if already in the warranty period, it would not been acceptable under warranty in any case. It’s not that the motor went out of order for some defectiveness, it’s been used to death”. Make what you will of this statement but I was surprised!

As an mechanical engineer, I would hazard an well educated guess and say that these Quick motors have been designed to fatigue/fail after x-amount of cycles in order to save material and production co$ts - nearly all production manufacture's do this. Interestingly, its a 4th yr curriculum exercise in mech engineering uni (solid mechanics) to design an item to last a specified number of cycles as a fatigue competition.

FWIW, I operate our windlass in a conservative manner, always have, always will.

For the reader’s info below are a few stats from our logbook. I deem this usage as average or perhaps below average use of the windlass for this period.

Days Emerald Sea afloat since new : 1146 Days
Subtract Days at Marinas, Yards, Mooring: 418 Days
Total Actual Days at Anchor: 728 Days
Total Actual Locations at Anchor: 93 Locations
Average WD at Anchor: 7.2 Meters
Average Scope: 1.4; Payout Meters: 28.8Meters
Total Meters PayOut on Windlass: 2688 Meters
Total Meters PayIn on Windlass: 2688 Meters
Total Approx Meters Used on Windlass: 5376Meters (Accuracy: 2%)
Total Cycles Operated on Windlass: 187 Cycles
Reference: Emerald Sea Logbook 1 and 2

Not surprised you will not be replacing it with a Quick. Maybe the "Quick" refers to it's replacement time

Seriously, the amount of use you have stated seems mild. I would expect it to last much much longer at your usage rates. From the photos, the rotor has clearly being "poling" which is symptomatic of failed bearings ( or very poor design).

I have always like Muir winches and they make everything from small yacht winches through to super yacht windlasses but I'm biassed as they are local company .

I bought a small vertical winch from them two years back and it was a first one of a new design to be installed. Long story short, it failed within a couple of heavy duty cycles. After a quick phone call and sending them some photos of the problem, their technical guys stayed back after hours and re-machined some parts using different metals and couriered the parts to me the next day. Being working great ever since and the changes were made to the series. That is the sort of service one likes. No questions about what you did wrong, rather, how can we be make the product better.

[double u]

to my knowledge no windlass manufacturer & for sure neither Quick nor Lewmar manufacture their motor/gearbox units, most of them "made in Italy" (seen on a Muir too)

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by double u

to my knowledge no windlass manufacturer & for sure neither Quick nor Lewmar manufacture their motor/gearbox units, most of them "made in Italy" (seen on a Muir too)

Very true.

And many parts are from China but let's remember that the manufacturer has control (if they wish to exercise it) of quality control so the country of origin is not as important as the quality of parts coming from that country.

[double u]

the worst part of this is, that no spares just complete motors are available!

[smac999]

Originally Posted by Emerald Sea

SMAC99. See my reply below with further voltage readings.

Do step one with windlass on. At breaker, and at input to relay. You may need 2 people