Propeller wobble in Submerge Scooters N-19

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Heka

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Messages
69
Reaction score
53
Location
Finland
# of dives
200 - 499
I have a problem with my SS N-19 DPV. Its propeller wobbles when in lower pitch settings than 9.
Because of this I'm basically forced to run it at 9 all the time which is not ideal.
The wobble increases when on lower pitch setting ( 8 = slight wobble, 7 = a bit more wobble, 6 = noticeable wobble ... )
The propeller doesn't wobble when run on land.

Things that I've done to fix this:
- Changed the ball bearings on the motor assembly (asked for the best ones that the specialty shop had)
- Changed all the plastic parts on the rear end (e.g. yoke, drive hub, clutch plate, propeller blades)
- Contacted the manufacturer twice and they don't bother to answer back to my emails, so I've lost hope for their support.
- Contacted a dealer that didn't want to change the motor bearings, so I've lost hope for their support

Any ideas?

Could the actual motor be off balance and would it produce a wobble only in water?
Can the DPV be assembled in a way that produces this kind of problem? (it had the wobble when I got it and I've re-assembled it the same way it was)
 
change the shaft seal and make sure the motor is tight to the tail cone.
Thank you for the reply.
I've changed the shaft seal when I took the motor out and did fasten the cone bolts as well

If there isn't any other opinions / ideas I'll remove and reinstall the cone from the body and re-replace the shaft seal
 
Submerge was the leader in scooters for such a long time. Now between their inability to update their line of scooters to newer standards and poor customer service, they’ve really become the last company to buy from. I was shocked when I was at Edd’s and he was pushing seacraft over submerge (a wise choice in my mind) considering he was one of their biggest proponents
 
Now the only reason to buy a SS is their dirt cheap price on the used market. After seeing some posts that Rodney made about women, I can't even bring myself to take my Uv18 to him for a Venom controller. I want the controller but I don't want him to get any money from me.

I would leave the prop on 9 and have fun zooming around. Sure it's not the most efficient, but neither is open circuit diving.

But in addition I would check the stack of spring washers, making sure they are all in good condition and oriented correctly. You say you replaced all the propeller parts, do you have a friend with the same scooter you both could swap and see if the problem moves or stays? DiveX used to sell a propeller kit that was a direct replacement for SS. You could also get a runout dial gauge, and use it to check the prop shaft.
 
Could be a slight bend on the shaft. Honestly, I've seen quite a few older scooters that have a slight prop wobble. Even after replacing parts.
 
Could be a slight bend on the shaft. Honestly, I've seen quite a few older scooters that have a slight prop wobble. Even after replacing parts.
If I don't get the wobble out, I might attach the motor w/ shaft to a lathe and check this on winter time.
 
How much does it wobble? Is it just a visual annoyance or is it enough to have vibration/shudder in the handle? If the former, it doesn't matter just go dive the thing.

If it really bothers you you can pull the prop assembly off, run a dial indicator on the shaft and identify where the wobble is coming from. If the shaft is > ~.006" TIR it may be worth looking into (yes that's massive in the machine tool world but for DPV applications is plenty adequate). If it's under that it's likely coming from the prop stack and with tolerances on those molded parts you could go through 100 permutations of replacement parts and never eliminate the wobble other than by pure luck.
 
How much does it wobble? Is it just a visual annoyance or is it enough to have vibration/shudder in the handle? If the former, it doesn't matter just go dive the thing.

If it really bothers you you can pull the prop assembly off, run a dial indicator on the shaft and identify where the wobble is coming from. If the shaft is > ~.006" TIR it may be worth looking into (yes that's massive in the machine tool world but for DPV applications is plenty adequate). If it's under that it's likely coming from the prop stack and with tolerances on those molded parts you could go through 100 permutations of replacement parts and never eliminate the wobble other than by pure luck.
It's been few weeks of my last dive but I don't recall feeling the wobble from the DPV, just visusal.
I also have an Apollo AV-1 that might be older than I am and it has absolutely zero wobble and I of course compare the N-19 to it.
 

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