Noisy Vortech DrySide FIX!!
- Thread starter dahenley
- Start date
I just bought some sealed bearings off of eBay - they are cheap, but I can replace them every six months for the price I paid and still be money ahead. Mine aren't terribly loud, but they are in the living room. So I'd like to get them a little quieter if possible.
They are the same ones redfishblewfish bought most likely. Abec 3 rated and a ten pack of each size for $17 shipped.
They are the same ones redfishblewfish bought most likely. Abec 3 rated and a ten pack of each size for $17 shipped.
great thread; I'm ordering a pair of BOCAs. I recently got a used MP40WES, and while not too noisy, it isn't as quiet as my MP10, and I'm hearing some rattling that makes me thing the bearings are worn.
I noticed today when I had the spacer off, that the magnet-disk on the dry side doesn't turn true; seems like it is wobbling slightly. Anybody else seen this? The unit, when running in my hand, has a slight vibration to it. Maybe I bought a dud.
--Lars
On both my MP 40's the magnet disk on the dry side was waaay out of balance. This cannot be good for both the life and the noise of the bearings. I took mine out and balanced it with a balancer that is sold for the model helicopter hobby...used to balance rotating bits on a model heli which MUST be just about perfect. I can honestly say that I cannot hear my MP 40's from 6 foot away....new bearings and balancing totally transformed them.
redfishblewfish
Member
Could you give more detail on the one you used"¦or a link. I googled RC helo balancers and got one for $100US, as well as other "œtools" that I could not figure how they would balance a rotor blade.
Buganddoug
X NJRC Vice President
Paul, Have you looked on Tower Hobbies?
Can you also go into a bit more detail on how exactly you balanced them? I definitely have on magnet that is known to be out of balance and would like to find a way to fix it?
Many thanks for any help.......
First you need to go to a local Model aero hobby shop and buy a prop. balancer.
Having taken the MP 40 apart, mount the disc magnet in the prop balancer and you will immediately see which is the "heavy part". when the disc has stabilised in the balancer, mark the low point and using a 1/16 drill, make a small drill hole in the perimeter of the disc at the low point.....be careful, dont use excessive force and only drill a small hole about 1/16 deep...and clean the magnetic dust residue with a cotton bud or a toothpick...'cause it wont just fall of of its own accord !!
Then re-balance and again mark the low point. Repeat the process and drill again.
You will find that after a few adjustments, the disc will remain stationary at any point of rotation...it is now balanced.
The instructions that come with prop balancers are very clear as to the process...and there is a ton of help on Internet..just Google prop balancing.
I am sure that Vortech could easily do his at the manufacturing stage, but it would of course add quite a bit to the cost of an already expensive bit of equipment...so they stick to their price point and expect us to tolerate the noise/wear problems of out-of-balance.
Maybe the balancing process is fiddly and time consuming but for me, the results were excellent.
If you like to spend time and effort messing around with equipment it is a worthwhile thing to do. But I accept that not everybody wants to go this far......its an individual choice
BTW The balancer I used was "Precision Magnetic Balancer from Top-Flite" I bought it here in Aus but it is American made.
Cheers
Having taken the MP 40 apart, mount the disc magnet in the prop balancer and you will immediately see which is the "heavy part". when the disc has stabilised in the balancer, mark the low point and using a 1/16 drill, make a small drill hole in the perimeter of the disc at the low point.....be careful, dont use excessive force and only drill a small hole about 1/16 deep...and clean the magnetic dust residue with a cotton bud or a toothpick...'cause it wont just fall of of its own accord !!
Then re-balance and again mark the low point. Repeat the process and drill again.
You will find that after a few adjustments, the disc will remain stationary at any point of rotation...it is now balanced.
The instructions that come with prop balancers are very clear as to the process...and there is a ton of help on Internet..just Google prop balancing.
I am sure that Vortech could easily do his at the manufacturing stage, but it would of course add quite a bit to the cost of an already expensive bit of equipment...so they stick to their price point and expect us to tolerate the noise/wear problems of out-of-balance.
Maybe the balancing process is fiddly and time consuming but for me, the results were excellent.
If you like to spend time and effort messing around with equipment it is a worthwhile thing to do. But I accept that not everybody wants to go this far......its an individual choice
BTW The balancer I used was "Precision Magnetic Balancer from Top-Flite" I bought it here in Aus but it is American made.
Cheers
First you need to go to a local Model aero hobby shop and buy a prop. balancer.
Having taken the MP 40 apart, mount the disc magnet in the prop balancer and you will immediately see which is the "heavy part". when the disc has stabilised in the balancer, mark the low point and using a 1/16 drill, make a small drill hole in the perimeter of the disc at the low point.....be careful, dont use excessive force and only drill a small hole about 1/16 deep...and clean the magnetic dust residue with a cotton bud or a toothpick...'cause it wont just fall of of its own accord !!
Then re-balance and again mark the low point. Repeat the process and drill again.
You will find that after a few adjustments, the disc will remain stationary at any point of rotation...it is now balanced.
The instructions that come with prop balancers are very clear as to the process...and there is a ton of help on Internet..just Google prop balancing.
I am sure that Vortech could easily do his at the manufacturing stage, but it would of course add quite a bit to the cost of an already expensive bit of equipment...so they stick to their price point and expect us to tolerate the noise/wear problems of out-of-balance.
Maybe the balancing process is fiddly and time consuming but for me, the results were excellent.
If you like to spend time and effort messing around with equipment it is a worthwhile thing to do. But I accept that not everybody wants to go this far......its an individual choice
BTW The balancer I used was "Precision Magnetic Balancer from Top-Flite" I bought it here in Aus but it is American made.
Cheers
THANK YOU for your detail reply to my question......I will definitely look into balancing my magnet.
Cheers...........
Buganddoug
X NJRC Vice President
I see them on Tower hobbies in the $20-$30 price range.
robcampman
Premium Member
While trying to hammer out the axle from the bearing, i have bend the stainless steel screw in the middle holding the black magnet. Who knows what kind of dimensions the screw has so i can replace it.. At the moment the magnet is placed at an angle on the motor making the noise terrible of course.
PS: i know, i was in a hurry and used a metal hammer, stupid........
PS: i know, i was in a hurry and used a metal hammer, stupid........
robcampman
Premium Member
A little bump for this subject.. i ordered some m3 bolts of 12mm (metric) to replace the beaten bolt. But they don't seem to fit. What size bolt would i need?
As the Vortech is Americam made, you wont get metric bolts to fit (as you discovered)...at a guess I suspect the bolts would be UNC or UNF, but I dont have one lying about to measure up.
Alternatively, you could buy 3 mm Bottom Tap and recut the threads in the shaft to 3 mm....but be careful, you could stuff up the whole shaft !!!
Alternatively, you could buy 3 mm Bottom Tap and recut the threads in the shaft to 3 mm....but be careful, you could stuff up the whole shaft !!!
wangxue120
New member
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somethingfish76
New member
First you need to go to a local Model aero hobby shop and buy a prop. balancer.
Having taken the MP 40 apart, mount the disc magnet in the prop balancer and you will immediately see which is the "heavy part". when the disc has stabilised in the balancer, mark the low point and using a 1/16 drill, make a small drill hole in the perimeter of the disc at the low point.....be careful, dont use excessive force and only drill a small hole about 1/16 deep...and clean the magnetic dust residue with a cotton bud or a toothpick...'cause it wont just fall of of its own accord !!
Then re-balance and again mark the low point. Repeat the process and drill again.
You will find that after a few adjustments, the disc will remain stationary at any point of rotation...it is now balanced.
The instructions that come with prop balancers are very clear as to the process...and there is a ton of help on Internet..just Google prop balancing.
I am sure that Vortech could easily do his at the manufacturing stage, but it would of course add quite a bit to the cost of an already expensive bit of equipment...so they stick to their price point and expect us to tolerate the noise/wear problems of out-of-balance.
Maybe the balancing process is fiddly and time consuming but for me, the results were excellent.
If you like to spend time and effort messing around with equipment it is a worthwhile thing to do. But I accept that not everybody wants to go this far......its an individual choice
BTW The balancer I used was "Precision Magnetic Balancer from Top-Flite" I bought it here in Aus but it is American made.
Cheers
Fantastic!! This is a crucial part of the repair, It funny how no one considered this in the entire thread. My magnet disk also vibrates and seeing as I have a prop balancer in my tool box... I shall endeavor to rectify the imbalance. I have the MP40W and have changed out the bearing twice now. Both occasions I resorted to the old hammer and a 22mm socket to get the bearings on. Mine is very very tight, no screw driver will ever get them off. As someone has stated earlier, I believe I also have one of those stupidly tight units. I ordered two bearings from RC bearings and I also got two *** bearings from my local bearing shop. I shall install the *** ones first and see about noise then if no good I will try the RC bearings pair. My believe is that my method can be improved upon greatly and by using a bearing press I would be able to only apply pressure onto the inner race. That said, slightly chilling the rotor would not be a bad idea either. Secondly I have noticed that there is a big difference in how tight you do your bolts up. Tight equaled noisy for me and slightly looser made it quieter. I will try the thinner glass idea as well. I too believe that thicker glass spacer would cause more lateral force on the unit. I only have one washer on the glass side and only two on the non magnet side.
Personally I cannot believe such an expensive piece of kit can to have these issues. We all know there are simple manufacturing improvements that can be made that being mag. balance and bearing quality improvements. Ultimately if the magnet and bearings set could be sold as a replacement item... well we can dream..
I shall report back on the bearing change out and which worked better. I have the MP40 on a 100Gal and it's in our living room. My system is almost silent so the addition of this boisterous MP40 certainly has not gone down well with my Wife. For the money I recon this equipment should be silent and stay silent!!! I think this is a fantastic thread however and well done to everyone who shared they're findings.
somethingfish76
New member
The other set of bearings i wanted to mention beggins wit a F and the second letter is a A and then the last one is a G... Nice work there guys... i mean really!!
First you need to go to a local Model aero hobby shop and buy a prop. balancer.
Having taken the MP 40 apart, mount the disc magnet in the prop balancer and you will immediately see which is the "heavy part". when the disc has stabilised in the balancer, mark the low point and using a 1/16 drill, make a small drill hole in the perimeter of the disc at the low point.....be careful, dont use excessive force and only drill a small hole about 1/16 deep...and clean the magnetic dust residue with a cotton bud or a toothpick...'cause it wont just fall of of its own accord !!
Then re-balance and again mark the low point. Repeat the process and drill again.
You will find that after a few adjustments, the disc will remain stationary at any point of rotation...it is now balanced.
The instructions that come with prop balancers are very clear as to the process...and there is a ton of help on Internet..just Google prop balancing.
I am sure that Vortech could easily do his at the manufacturing stage, but it would of course add quite a bit to the cost of an already expensive bit of equipment...so they stick to their price point and expect us to tolerate the noise/wear problems of out-of-balance.
Maybe the balancing process is fiddly and time consuming but for me, the results were excellent.
If you like to spend time and effort messing around with equipment it is a worthwhile thing to do. But I accept that not everybody wants to go this far......its an individual choice
BTW The balancer I used was "Precision Magnetic Balancer from Top-Flite" I bought it here in Aus but it is American made.
Cheers
I'm actually shocked they wouldn't be balanced from the factory. Any pictures detailing your process?
Buganddoug
X NJRC Vice President
For the ones who did balanced there pumps and difference?
somethingfish76
New member
I will post photo's of my balance process as well as report back on the bearing press on. Pressed them on today will install tomorrow.
somethingfish76
New member
Look, Ecotech pumps do not get supplied with the best bearings which is sad. However a proper and slightly better bearing should and is hope, would last a year. I would have no problem replacing them every 12 months if I had to. But does anyone perhaps know what the Votech pumps standard factory bearing are?
