Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Tugs and Towing => Topic started by: chrise on July 25, 2009, 07:55:17 am
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OK I am tight but I like car heater motors for tugs. They are large, turn big props that produce lots of thrust & last forever. They are also cheap. In the past I have used the black Smiths car heater motors (£6 each new) & Ford Cortina heater motors (£2 from my local scrapyard) which were smaller & less powerful. The problem is that there are now very very few Cortinas about & my stock of the Smiths motors has dried up. I know that MMM do some nice motors but they are rather expensive.
So, the question. I am looking for a powerful heater or radiator cooling fan heater, that is not very large diameter - 50mm to 70mm - but which will efficiently turn a 3.5" prop to produce lots of tug thrust on a low current. It should also be from a car that is easily found in UK scrap yards - & preferably will be for some time to come. One of the advantages of the Cortina was the accessability of the fan motor under the bonnet in plain view & removable with three simple screws whilst some are buried/ hidden under the dashboard somewhere. Ease of removal from the donor car matters.
I have seen suggestions about seat & window winder motors but the window winders that I have seen are not very large & I haven't seen a seat motor to comment.
Suggestions please.
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Go for the air con motors, they are mostly found at the front together with the heater motor, so
you get two for the price of one, if you are lucky
cheers Nemesis
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Vauxhall Astra motors are easy ti get to but I have not tested one so don't know their performance criteria.
Bob
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Which do you recommend Bob, petrol or diesel Astra motors?
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Martin,
I prefer the ELECTRIC ones!!!
Bob
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Which do you recommend Bob, petrol or diesel Astra motors?
Who cares so long as it has a turbo? O0
An Astra sounds good as it is common. I will see if the local scrappie has some.
I don't know much (read very little) about car air conditioning. Is one of these motors a normal heater motor & the other an air conditioning motor or.........
Chris
PS Has anybody tried seat motors?
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It depends what you want the motor for and its rating.
A lot of car motors ie seat adjustment motors are not rated for continuous running so can run hot.
Unfortunately there isn't an industry standard so you will get your results from trial and error.
For Tugs with a large prop you shouldn't need any more than about 3000 revs (ball park figure).
Bob
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Chris
PS Has anybody tried seat motors?
I use seat motors regularly. Look under the SS Master thread. A number of us, here use them. Check out ggeorge's build thread on the TID BUILD too.
They do get somewhat warm after hard use, but not objectionably. I use mine in a tug handling competions and turn a 3 3/4" prop, Jerry turns a 4" prop, and there have been no ill effects We use them direct drive. They have loads of torque and the speed is about right.
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7914.0
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13720.0
John
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I will go & have a word with my scrap yard in the next fedw days. From past experience I know that they value motors very differently. Heater motors they see as worthless whilst windscreen wiper motors are valuable. Seat & air conditioning motors are relatively new in my local scrap yards & I don't know where they place them in value.
One of the reasons that I liked the Cortina heater motors (which I was told were also used by BMW) was the very open chassis which let you clearly see the condition. Despite being in scrapyard recovered condition this motor is very little worn & the brushes almost new length. The body is 85mm long & approx 57mm diameter with a 6mm shaft.
(http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4417/27843332.th.jpg) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gxdqXfS)
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The Cortina motor had a self aligning front bearing, could be stripped right out for maintenance and was about 5000 rpm on 12 volts.
Bob
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I have only used the Cortina motor on relatively light fastish hulls. I got a dozen of the black Smiths motors & used them for bigger models leaving the Cortina motors for lighter jobs but now all my Smiths motors are gone <:(.
Do you have experience of a good tug prop for the Cortina motor? I am guessing 2.75" or 3".
In fact as I am building a Super Springer with a steerable Kort nozzle the Smiths motors would have been too large in diameter to get the propshaft anything like horizontal so something different is be necessary. Hence this topic.
Chris
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The open cage motors that you say are in cortinas are also in transits. A late member used to work
in the local ambulance/fire station servicing the vehicles. Because they were open they got a lot of
grot on the brushes which then seized up. It was cheaper for the powers that be to renew the motor, so we had a regular supply. Nothing wrong with the motors, but the brushes, at times took some getting out
Cheers Nemesis
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The Cortina motors running at 5000 rpm were a bit fast for tugs, but ran well on 6 volts.
Bob
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Hello everyone!..Metro fan blower motors do it for me. I have it down to a fine art now. A few belts on the plastic casing with a big hammer and out it pops. I've done 5 up to now and a big flat bladed screwdriver comes in handy too just in case the washer pump is hanging off.(well, it might come in handy) Grab one now before they all go
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When you say Metro fan blower motors, do you mean the radiator fan or the heater fan ?
Derek. :police:
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Heater blower motors and they work both ways unlike some motors which run one way only. Most breakers group the same vehicle types together so when you get the hang of knockiing one out just move along or up but then again it depends on how many you want. More becomes cheaper if you haggle and you've already got your hands cut, scratched and covered in muck anyway...I love scrap yards :-))
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Dimensions?
Are they visible or is it a crawl under the dash?
Are we talking the later Metros?
Chris
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Yep Mini Metro radiator motors always work for me. Cheap, and very low drain. Failing that, big silver jag radiator motors, again low drain ( but not that cheap)