Compass Bubble .

[ALLAN WARD]

I own a Whitlock Polaris 125 binnacle compass which has developed a large bubble and either needs to have this bubble removed or l would imagine needs to be topped up with the correct fluid .

Any suggestions as to what fluid is in this compass and the correct procedure on how to perform this task ?

Looking forward to your advice .

[Hud3]

Ritchey compasses use Isopar L. West Marine sells it in the US; your local chandlery may carry it. I assume it would work in any marine compass if you drained the existing fluid and flushed it with the new stuff.

[badboo]

I refilled a compass before, it's a bit tricky. Freeze the compass fluid (the Ritchey stuff works well), make sure all the rubber components such as gaskets seals and plugs of your compass are not dry rotted if they are replace them. Get a syringe fill the compass - oh you'll need to remove it from the binnacle, it it's hooked to a light be careful when disconnecting and remember how to put it basic the right way. There will also be some super small bolts and screws, try not to drop or loose them. Anyway fill the compass upside down ensuring that you leave no air, cap it turn it right side up and see if you got the bubble... you can also get fancy and do all of this while the compass is submerged in the fluid completely make sure all the air escapes, wear gloves since you can really hurt yourself -freezing fluid and such- anyway I hope this helps

[badboo]

Sorry about typos- fat thumbs on my phone -

[S/V Illusion]

Refilling is usually analogous to 'threading the symptom rather than the disease'.

The bubble will reappear unless you also fix the problem which caused it. Could be the diaphragm or other cause impossible to tell without opening it up.

[Tetepare]

I got the fluid off Amazon for about $8.

Turn compass upside down, remove fill screw. I used a large kitchen syringe to insert new fluid. Replace screw.

Total cost about $10 and five minutes.

[ur2slo]

Having overhauled and certified many aviation compass's, the info given is correct, BUT fix the problem, not the symptom.

You have a leak in diaphragm or gasket. They are simple units, so carefully take it apart and fix it.

Has it ever been swung to check calibration?

[Steve Bean]

YouTube has more than a dozen videos on this, and how-to videos on many, many other topics.

[ALLAN WARD]

Firstly , thank you all for your advice . Much appreciated .

Would it be necessary to swing the compass again after this repair ?