Does anyone make Thrusters that are Pro quality but priced in the range of the average person? CrustCrawler has some nice ones but at $600 they are out of my price range.
Chuck
Pro Thrusters
Re: Pro Thrusters
@Chuck,
After doing a lot of research, I have found that you get what you pay for in the way of thrusters. Most good thruster manufactures go whole hog and build thrusters good down to 300 feet or so and figure that it is not worth building a thruster that will perform at very shallow depths for a lower price. I think that is why you see so many discussions here on how to build your own thrusters due to the fact that there are no really relatively cheap thruster out there.
My approach is to use an inexpensive brushless outrunner motor, run it unencased which is great for cooling, and throw it away when it either quits or the bearings go bad. That is OpenROVs approach and people seem to be buying it.
Or you can use the bilge pump motors like the Mayfair cartridge pump motors, but the motor rubber seal limits you to how deeply you can dive before the seal compresses on the motor shaft and becomes a big drag. You can use a sealed, oil encased motor, however you still have the seal issue to deal with to keep the oil from leaking out. You will notice that the CrustCrawler thrusters require you to repack the shaft grease seal gland after every dive or so.
I think the reason that most high end hobby/commercial thrusters cost so much is due to the quality of the shaft seals and the way they keep the internal brushless motors cool while being encased.
Regards,
TCIII/SSN626B
After doing a lot of research, I have found that you get what you pay for in the way of thrusters. Most good thruster manufactures go whole hog and build thrusters good down to 300 feet or so and figure that it is not worth building a thruster that will perform at very shallow depths for a lower price. I think that is why you see so many discussions here on how to build your own thrusters due to the fact that there are no really relatively cheap thruster out there.
My approach is to use an inexpensive brushless outrunner motor, run it unencased which is great for cooling, and throw it away when it either quits or the bearings go bad. That is OpenROVs approach and people seem to be buying it.
Or you can use the bilge pump motors like the Mayfair cartridge pump motors, but the motor rubber seal limits you to how deeply you can dive before the seal compresses on the motor shaft and becomes a big drag. You can use a sealed, oil encased motor, however you still have the seal issue to deal with to keep the oil from leaking out. You will notice that the CrustCrawler thrusters require you to repack the shaft grease seal gland after every dive or so.
I think the reason that most high end hobby/commercial thrusters cost so much is due to the quality of the shaft seals and the way they keep the internal brushless motors cool while being encased.
Regards,
TCIII/SSN626B