Need Brushes for Raymarine Type 1 Linear Drive (Autohelm)

[Raven]

I contacted Raymarine via their online "customer support" page to find out how I can go about getting replacement brushes for my Type 1 linear drive.

Here is the question I posed for them:
Customer (Kevin Rose) 04/07/2007 05:38 PM I am looking for replacement brushes for my Type 1 Linear Drive. Please tell me what information is needed to obtain replacements, as well as contact information for placing the order. Thank you.

Here is the response I received today:
Response (George Martin) 04/09/2007 03:11 PM Sorry but we do not stock brushes for these motors, you may be able to take the brushes you have to a DC motor rebuild shop and have them cross referenced and replaced but you will not get them from us.

Does this seem a bit odd? Given that you can send in your old drive to have it "reconditioned," (to the tune of $700), how can that be done if they do not stock brushes? Do they simply throw out the motor if the brushes (which are removeable and replaceable) go bad?

Well, I've already determined that it will be fruitless to try and get anything more from Raymarine. Do any of you know of a source for brushes? Any leads on where to begin the search?

[GordMay]

Appliance repair shop?

[DeepFrz]

Any shop that repairs electric motors will have a variety of brushes and if not in stock would probably order them in for you.

[Wahoo Sails]

If you can't find exactly what you need, take something a little larger & take a file to it. Once had a gentelman tell me that he couldn't get his 1915 Dodge started because no parts were available for the starter ... yeah, had it running the next day.
Bob

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Wahoo Sails

If you can't find exactly what you need, take something a little larger & take a file to it. Once had a gentelman tell me that he couldn't get his 1915 Dodge started because no parts were available for the starter ... yeah, had it running the next day.
Bob

Bob,

Yes, if all else fails, I may very well end up manufacturing a set. It's not as if they're a particularly high tech item. A chunk of carbon, a spring, a wire through the middle . . .

I think the thing that irritates me more and more these days is how we've evolved into such a throw away culture. Having grown up in a Vermont dairy farming community, we were taught to fix things, jury rig things, or otherwise make do. Nowadays it's hard to find anything under the name "repair shop." Let's see how I do finding one for electric motors that might have a similar set of brushes to those in the Raymarine drive.

[senormechanico]

Another possibility, a sewing machine repair shop.
Some newer sewing machine motors are DC, at least Berninas.
Do you have the remains of the old ones in hand? If so, take them along.
You shouldn't have any problem finding replacements.
Another thought and don't laugh, try Ace Hardware. Look in those little drawers.

Steve B.
(Bernina tech)

[DeepFrz]

You may have to run up to Montreal and try Canadian Tire...eh...

[msoneji]

Raven,

Just curious if you got your drive fixed....

[lateral]

Bump!
Brushes for type 1.....source anyone?

[botanybay]

Originally Posted by Raven

I contacted Raymarine via their online "customer support" page to find out how I can go about getting replacement brushes for my Type 1 linear drive.

Here is the question I posed for them:
Customer (Kevin Rose) 04/07/2007 05:38 PM I am looking for replacement brushes for my Type 1 Linear Drive. Please tell me what information is needed to obtain replacements, as well as contact information for placing the order. Thank you.

Here is the response I received today:
Response (George Martin) 04/09/2007 03:11 PM Sorry but we do not stock brushes for these motors, you may be able to take the brushes you have to a DC motor rebuild shop and have them cross referenced and replaced but you will not get them from us.

Does this seem a bit odd? Given that you can send in your old drive to have it "reconditioned," (to the tune of $700), how can that be done if they do not stock brushes? Do they simply throw out the motor if the brushes (which are removeable and replaceable) go bad?

Well, I've already determined that it will be fruitless to try and get anything more from Raymarine. Do any of you know of a source for brushes? Any leads on where to begin the search?

The motor itself is a replaceable unit from Raymarine for about half of the cost of a linear drive rebuild.

I have worked with several of these going back to an electric motor shop, they work upon return but often have a rather short life. The cost of the rebuild at the shop is often about 1/3 of the cost of the motor.

I have given up rebuilding the motors (I have rebuilt them myself with much the same result) and just consider the motor itself to be an "expendable", for serious cruising on vessels which the weather helm is somewhat large they last about 18 - 24 months of continuous cruising.

For vessels with light helm or with care taken to tune it up carefully all of the time they last several times longer.

Type 2 units seem to hold up better than Type 1 units but that might just be that they are effectively more lightly loaded.

Just my observation.

Interestingly, the 24V units seem to hold up better for some reason.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by botanybay

just consider the motor itself to be an "expendable", for serious cruising on vessels which the weather helm is somewhat large they last about 18 - 24 months of continuous cruising.

That is very much shorter operating life than anyone I know has experienced with their units. In fact, I haven't met a single person yet who has had failures in that short of time.

Did you mean 18-24 months of continuous operation? That would be ~15,000hrs, which seems more reasonable.

Mark

[botanybay]

Originally Posted by colemj

That is very much shorter operating life than anyone I know has experienced with their units. In fact, I haven't met a single person yet who has had failures in that short of time.

Did you mean 18-24 months of continuous operation? That would be ~15,000hrs, which seems more reasonable.

Mark

I did in fact mean 18-24 months of continuous cruising where the boat is moving much of the time AND excessive standing weather helm.

The issue is generally commutator getting choked up with carbon dust and then using up the brushes quickly.

Now, by 24 months of cruising, if the boat is in use as a moving every few days and longer passages for 3 months out of the year then I would expect something like 8 years of use for the vessel with excessive standing weather helm.

Use on a vessel with reasonable weather helm is MUCH longer life of the electric motor.

Talking with several of the offshore, round the world type racers, they also find that this motor is somewhat consumable.

Just the sample set I have, probably 10 different boats, 2 of them mine (no issues), sailing with some of them and seeing how the boat is setup.

In my case, as I user of a Monitor self steering vane, I tend to balance the boat pretty closely and don't see the issue.

Not to dissagree, just my observations.