windshield wipers
I seen something on this subject in the past but not a solution to a vexing problem. I have a Island Gypsy with a wiper arm/blade which is wholly inadequate to 'wipe' the viewing area of the windshield in front of the lower helm. I've seen the same situation on other trawlers and can only wonder what the designers were thinking. The arm and blade at best cover the top third of the glass panel in front of the helmsman and wipes the area many of us are unable to see through. My wife finds it ok to look at the sky for clearing clouds. What's the fix. Longer blades won't work because of the width limitation. How have others confronted/resolved this problem?
Gary
"Mystique"
Dana Point, CA (presently moored in Olympia, WA)
There are various combinations that will suit just about every piece of
glass. The heavy duty AFI wiper motors come in three sweeps. I can't
remember exactly, but I think they are 60, 90, or 120 degrees. No matter
what you have or get, they can be changed by opening up and changing the
little cam mount.
The arms can be extended to the proper length, and you can get blades in
various lengths. On top of that, you can get pantographic arms which will
wipe more of a rectangular area rather than just back and forth like a car
setup.
Spend some time with an AFI catalog at your local boat store and I bet you
can find what you need.
Keith
__
Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to
realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
----- Original Message -----
From: jgaryk@cox.net
I seen something on this subject in the past but not a solution to a
vexing problem. I have a Island Gypsy with a wiper arm/blade which is
wholly inadequate to 'wipe' the viewing area of the windshield in front of
the lower helm. I've seen the same situation on other trawlers and can only
wonder what the designers were thinking. The arm and blade at best cover the
top third of the glass panel in front of the helmsman and wipes the area
many of us are unable to see through. My wife finds it ok to look at the sky
for clearing clouds. What's the fix. Longer blades won't work because of the
width limitation. How have others confronted/resolved this problem?
Gary,
Since I just finished redoing the wipers on our Roughwater I consider myself
somewhat of a self-taught "windshield wiper expert". Whom by the way ended
up with a collection of motors and blades and arms from trying things that
didn't work.
What you may need to do is replace the motor, or if your lucky the present
one will be adjustable, so that you have a smaller arc of sweep. I, in my
infinite wisdom, thought that a wider arc would provide more coverage so
bought 3- 110 degree motors. (Non adjustable) Not so. It just means you
have to use a shorter blade and arm to keep from hitting the sides therefore
end up wiping the top part only. Probably the set-up you have now.
If you use an 80-90 degree sweep you can use longer blades and get a larger
area of coverage closer to the bottom of the window. BUT be careful. If you
try to use blades that are too long you end up with a large area that is
poorly cleared. Sometimes shorter blades covering a smaller area clean much
better.
You may also want to consider a pantograph arm. So far I haven't been there.
That's my next step but the wife tells me I've got to use up some of this
stuff I've already bought before she will budget more. ;=)
Bill
Gary, we have a similar problem on Taid's Inn. The PO was 6' 4" tall, and
he installed wiper arms that sweep the upper half of the windshield. I
treat the entire windshield with Rain-X regularly (no relationship, etc),
and any rain or spray runs right off. I hardly ever use the wipers, unless
we are caught out in heavy rain. At 5' 8", my line of sight is barely above
the bottom of the sweep, so the chemical treatment compensates in most
cases. We run entirely in fresh water, so salt spray is not a problem.
YMMV
Bob Davies
Taid's Inn
1965 Pacemaker 32 Sedan Express
Just out of the slings near Toronto
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Although we have three new heavy duty windshield wiper motors with
pantograph arms and nice long blades, we haven't used them for about 8
years, took them off about six years ago for painting and never put them
back on. We use Rain-X instead and prefer it to the wipers. The
windshields stay cleaner and water sheets off quicker than wipers can clear
them. We put Rain-X on three or four times per year.
Good luck,
Bob Lowe
www.MV-Dreamer.com
www.CruisingAndMaintainingYourBoat.com
I seen something on this subject in the past but not a solution to a vexing
problem. I have a Island Gypsy with a wiper arm/blade which is wholly
inadequate to 'wipe' the viewing area of the windshield in front of the
lower helm. I've seen the same situation on other trawlers and can only
wonder what the designers were thinking. The arm and blade at best cover the
top third of the glass panel in front of the helmsman and wipes the area
many of us are unable to see through. My wife finds it ok to look at the sky
for clearing clouds. What's the fix. Longer blades won't work because of the
width limitation. How have others confronted/resolved this problem?
Gary
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I wonder if any of the experts on the list can answer a question for me.
While tracing the cause of an inoperative (secondary, thank goodness!) bilge
pump, I discovered what I consider an unusual electrical set-up.
The manual switch is fed from the main buss, and is therefore on the house
battery and properly fused. The feed for the automatic (integral) float
switch is connected directly to one of my starting batteries (unfused).
Since it appears that the two inputs must be in parallel, I assume that the
pump will receive a maximum of 12V, even if someone turns on the manual
switch while the float switch is engaged (probably me in a senior's moment!
<VBG>), but I am concerned that the current supplied will be increased, and
that the armature of the pump motor will burn out from the additional
available current.
I know that motors draw only the current they require, so is my concern
unfounded here?
Bob Davies
Toronto
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I know that motors draw only the current they require, so is my concern
unfounded here?
Yes.
Bill
Your fears are unfounded!
For a given electrical supply voltage and a given resistance of the
load, there is a limit to how much current will flow. The two sources
of electricity you have identified are simply that - two places from
where the current can come.
It takes more voltage to force more amps thru the pump motor. As long
as everything is 12V you won't overload it.
On Fri, 14 May 2004, Bob Davies wrote:
<snip>Since it appears that the two inputs must be in parallel, I assume that the
pump will receive a maximum of 12V, even if someone turns on the manual
switch while the float switch is engaged (probably me in a senior's moment!
<VBG>), but I am concerned that the current supplied will be increased, and
that the armature of the pump motor will burn out from the additional
available current.
My thanks for the quick responses, folks. It has been a long time since I
studied electrical theory, and I forgot to think about the basic O=VA
equation.
I don't like the two battery set-up, particularly since the feed to the
automatic is not protected by a fuse, so today's project is to replace the
on/off switch with a three position one and run both feeds off the house so
the circuit is protected properly, and to replace the pump itself - the
cause of the pump failure is a worn bearing that allows the armature to drop
off the brushes when the pump is in position, but allows it to run perfectly
when turned upside down. With a single plank wooden hull, redundant pumps
are a must, but I need the security of knowing that they will work properly
when needed.
The joys of owning a 38 year old boat!
Bob Davies
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I don't know the size of your windows, but on my 26' boat I use these parts:
Windshield Wiper Motor, HD waterproof, 80 deg sweep AFI 37180
Windshield wiper arm AFI adjustable pantographic 33132A or 33032A
Windshield wiper blades, AFI 16 31016B
Pantographic arms are the key to greater coverage. The blade will sweep back
and forth while holding a consistent angle (straight up and down, in my case).
In addition to being adjustable to sweep various shapes of glass area, with the
sides of the area at various angles, the arms are also adjustable in length.
Very flexible setup. You'll have to play with the adjustments for some time
until you get exactly the results you need, but it's well worth the one-time effort.
Two things I've learned the hard way:
If you're getting new wiper motors, make sure you get the right length of shaft
coming out of the motor through the cabin material to the wiper arm - there are
choices. I had to remove the old one before I realized that I had guessed wrong
on the shaft length. May be better to remove the old one first. There are also
choices in the number of degrees of sweep coverage, as someone else mentioned,
but not all motors are adjustable between all the angle choices.
The brass snap-in "ball joints" on the ends of the wiper arm parts are subject
to wear, and when they get loose, they come apart at inopportune times. The
solution is:
-
Put a little waterproof grease in the ball joints before assembly. Assemble
and adjust VERY carefully, making sure the two socket ends on each piece are
lined up the same, not one at one angle and the other turned to another angle.
This is not quite as easy as it sounds, since tightening their lock nuts after
getting their length adjustment correct tends to twist the ends from where you
had planned to have them. Double check after tightening. -
For additional security, drill a small hole through the end of the split
socket part of the ball joint, across the split but beyond the ball area, and
secure the joint after assembly and adjustment with a small bolt and double nut.
Without this the split socket can open up a little too easily, and thus let
the ball end pop out if there's some wear.
I had endless problems with my ball joints wearing and coming apart until I
figured out these techniques - now no problem at all.
Richard Cook
New Moon - Bounty 257
jgaryk@cox.net wrote:
I seen something on this subject in the past but not a solution to a vexing problem.
I have a Island Gypsy with a wiper arm/blade which is wholly inadequate to
'wipe' the
viewing area of the windshield in front of the lower helm. I've seen the same
situation
on other trawlers and can only wonder what the designers were thinking. The arm
and blade
at best cover the top third of the glass panel in front of the helmsman and
wipes the
area many of us are unable to see through. My wife finds it ok to look at the
sky for
clearing clouds. What's the fix. Longer blades won't work because of the width
limitation.
How have others confronted/resolved this problem?