New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

[Mule Laker]

Just got a new Solas, four blade, aluminum prop from iboats. First thing I did was put it on the balance stand and swung like a pendulum. Not good. I ordered this to use this weekend so I'm kinda pissed. Especially after I learned Solas has no phone number and iboats closes at 6pm!

How perfectly balanced does a prop need to be? What can I expect from these manufacture's?

 

[QC]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Sorry not going so well. My personal experience is that prop vibration is much more about blade shape equality than weight balance. I can't say you're gonna be OK, but that's my "spin" on the matter. I am sure iboats will help you get it right. Good luck!

 

[Bondo]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Just got a new Solas, four blade, aluminum prop from iboats. First thing I did was put it on the balance stand and swung like a pendulum. Not good. I ordered this to use this weekend so I'm kinda pissed. Especially after I learned Solas has no phone number and iboats closes at 6pm! Unbelievable!

How perfectly balanced does a prop need to be? What can I expect from these manufacture's?

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... I can't say's I've ever put a prop on a balance stand,...
Haveta try it now,...

I agree with QC,... Unequal blade profiles cause vibrations,...

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

I bought a new prop this summer and had the same problem. I took it to a prop. shop and found one blade was slightly longer. He fixed the blade and balanced it. It works great now. I could have sent it back but needed the prop at the current time so I spent the $80 and fixed it. It shines better now anyway. The prop. guy said that happens from time to time with propellers that are not a custom made prop.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Especially after I learned Solas has no phone number

Solas does indeed have a phone number +886-4-23597455

Of course this might be of very limited use, as it is a Taiwan phone number.

Their "Contact Us" email address sends your emails to Taiwan as well.

It would be an interesting experience to send them an email with your concerns, just to see what their response is.

 

[Mule Laker]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Thanks guys.

I'm sure a reputable shop could balance it, but it's brand new so that's not exactly what a guy expects. All I know is we just picked this boat up last week (I'm going to start another thread) and wanted to use it this weekend before it goes into storage. The prop the boat came with is a bit beat up, obviously missing metal from one blade and has obviously been repaired before. But you know what? It has better balance then the brand new Solas.:facepalm: I would like a replacement here by Saturday morning, not sure it it will happen though.

 

[QC]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Did you read our comments about shape vs. balance? It is not cutting through air, the loads on it are significant. More so than rotating mass What you have proven if the old prop is "balanced" and there is missing material, then it wasn't when it was new. And also, recognize that if you grabbed a blade and bent it with pliers the weight balance would not be affected. Point being maybe weight balance isn't such a big deal

 

[Mule Laker]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Did you read our comments about shape vs. balance? It is not cutting through air, the loads on it are significant. More so than rotating mass What you have proven if the old prop is "balanced" and there is missing material, then it wasn;t when it was new. And also, recognize that if you grabbed a blade and bent it with pliers the weight balance would not be affected. Point being maybe weight balance isn't such a big deal

Right, so if you had one blade of a completely different shape yet the overall balance was perfect...? Fluid dynamics anyone?

I have proven what you stated. That one prop is closer in balance than the other. Nothing less, nothing more. Not much to discuss there, it was just an observation. Now, if you are telling me that you know the prop was designed to be statically out of balance from the factory, then we would have something.

 

[jestor68]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Could you post a picture of this prop balance device in your possession?

If you use the contact E-Mail address on their web site, it goes to Solas USA in Tampa, FL.

 

[Mule Laker]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Could you post a picture of this prop balance device in your possession?

Yes.

Just curious; as that's not how we check the "balance" of a prop.

How and with what would you do it?

If you use the contact E-Mail address on their web site, it goes to Solas USA in Tampa, FL.

Good to know. Thank you.



I certainly hope I am way off base on this, the prop is good to go, and I don't have to jump up and down


Update: I have received a very quick response form Solas.



We do not use a static balancer.

We high speed balance.




Nothing is perfect today.

If it is perfectly exactly balanced you will have a harmonic high pitch hum at certain RPM’s

Put the prop on the boat and try it, have fun.

If you have any problems, let me know.

Best regards

Marc

It doesn't sound like this fella from the prop company knows his business. Oh well, at least he got back to me right away.

 

[jestor68]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

I have several Solas aluminum props, and they all run smooth.

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

anyone who says a prop shouldnt be balanced dont understand anything about a prop.
ofcourse they are supposed to be balanced, anything moving along a shaft will run better if balanced.

now when talking about boats,especially speedboats ,balance can be the difference of winning or losing.
all the talk about a harmonic hum is total bull****.
do you get a harmonic hum off all your car tyres , off your car prop shaft ? off the engine fan in the car ?
a engine running 5000 rpms on average spins a prop at about 2500 rpms, that type of speed needs to be balanced for sure.

Now if anyone wants to make a simple cheap prop balancer its very easy to do.

Just have a look at how the remote control guys balance their airplane props and make it a bit bigger.

or take the prop to a tyre fitting shop and have them run it for balance.

a good balanced prop can make a huge difference to bearing wear and to performance.

its not rocket science, its common sense...



phill

 

[QC]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

anyone who says a prop shouldnt be balanced dont understand anything about a prop.
of course they are supposed to be balanced, anything moving along a shaft will run better if balanced.

No one said that. What we said is that checking balance, may, or may not indicate a prop is good or bad. We don't have the tolerances etc. And these things are spinning in wawa. Very "heavy" media. Blade shape may impact vibration way more than "balance".

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

blade shape making vibration !!!! who on earth told you that rubbish ?

this could only be the case with a true surface drive prop as when one blade is out of the water and on
re-entry is a different pitch to the others,causing a different load on the prop.

on outboards where the prop is always fully submerged the prop is at the same load all the time.
a damaged prop might be a bit out of shape and still run good without causing vibration if the balance is still correct.
a bad or out of balance prop will cause far more damage than a damage out of shape prop thats in balance.
unless ofcourse its the hub thats out of shape.

anyone who works in a prop shop who knows his stuff will explain it in proper terms how it all works.
and they will explain that you can have a 3 bladed prop with all blades exact the same and still be a
very bad prop due to the balance being out.


But if i bought a brand new prop and it was out of balance i would want it put right or exchanged for a good one.



phill

 

[QC]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Phil, mate, chill just a bit. Go take some pliers, bend one blade over, and then tell me there is no vibration . . . Balance will still be right though. Neither out of shape, or out of balance is good.

 

[emilsr]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Both blade shape AND balance matter. That's why you don't want to just start filing material off the end of the heavy blade to make it balance. Isn't just those two things either; cup, rake and a whole myriad of other factors can affect how smoothly the prop runs in the water. It may not be rocket science, but it's close.

A good prop guy can fix it properly, but a new prop shouldn't be that far out of balance. A little, sure, but if it "swings like a pendulum" I wouldn't run it till it's fixed. Naturally the faster you spin the prop the harder it will be on the drive components, but any out of balance condition (whether caused by weight differential or blade differential) isn't good.

The comment "nothing is perfect today" would be enough to make me want to find another prop vendor.

 

[Mule Laker]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

 

[jestor68]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

How is that rod being held perfectly centered in the hub?

 

[Don S]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Put the prop on the boat and try it, have fun.

If you have any problems, let me know.

Best regards

Marc

Have you put the prop on the boat and ran it to see if it vibrates??????????????? Why not??? :facepalm:

 

[emilsr]

Re: New prop out of balance. Where's this gonna go?

Have you put the prop on the boat and ran it to see if it vibrates??????????????? Why not??? :facepalm:

Perhaps he doesn't want to take a chance on damaging his drive/outboard with an unbalanced prop? I know I wouldn't.