Air bubble in Whitlock Compass

[starboard]

Have been asked by a friend for the best solution in removing an air bubble from a Whitlock pedestal steering compass.

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[TFJ]

Hit it with a hammer, that should do the trick and let the air out


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[starboard]

Thanks...will try that but you may find this is a little more intricate than building houses!!!

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[Born_Free]

Don't know that particular compass, but there should be a screw in plug on it somewhere, just remove it and top it up. Of course you'll probably have to remove it from the pedestal as Murphy's la dictates that it won't be on top. You may need to check with the manufacturer, but for topping up or re-filling, ordinary Glycerine (froim chemists or cake shops) works well. and gives excellent damping for the card against the boats motion.

<hr width=100% size=1>I have nothing to declare, except my genius
(Sorry Oscar)

 

[rwoofer]

I tried to do my whitlock (this one was actually made by Silva) compass recently.

You need to take the compass off the pedestal and undo all the screws that hold the rear cover on. The rear cover basically compresses a rubber cap against the chamber that holds the liquid, so soon as you undo it, liquid may leak if it is not absolutely level.

Top up the level (I used white spirit) and the difficult bit is trying to assemble it without letting air in. I must admit my attempt was not great, I reduced the size of the air bubble, but is was still there.

Some people recommend putting everything in the freezer first to contract the liquid or assembling everything in a bucket of your chosen liquid.

RB

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[bpscmarine]

Do NOT put glycerine in it it will ruin the compass, if you send it to us we will remove the bubble for and put in the proper liquid (which is not White Spirit) our details are on bpsc-marine.co.uk

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