Carbon dust off Bow Thruster?

[DickB]

Hi there, I have "75" Vetus bow thruster on my yacht. Its quite elderly at 25years.

It always seems to produce a load of carbon dust by the end of the season. Is this normal?

I have to vacuum and clean out the compartment every year. I wondered if the motor brushes were worn. Any views? Thanks Dick

 

[RichardS]

Indeed, the carbon dust is probably coming off the brushes. Some motors shed a lot more dust than others and some brushes do seem to deteriorate faster as they wear down.

Whether yours are worn to the point where they need changing is difficult to say unless you can actually remove the end cover from the motor and take a look at them.

If that is an easy job, then it's not a problem. If it's a difficult job then I would be inclined to obtain a new set and change them anyway.

Richard

 

[VicS]

Hi there, I have "75" Vetus bow thruster on my yacht. Its quite elderly at 25years.

It always seems to produce a load of carbon dust by the end of the season. Is this normal?

I have to vacuum and clean out the compartment every year. I wondered if the motor brushes were worn. Any views? Thanks Dick

According to the maintenance schedule you should be checking the brushes every year

See page 8 :- https://www.vetus.com/media/magentominds/sasdocument/20200106130446_0.pdf for details

 

[Boater Sam]

Change them sooner rather than later when they have ripped the motor commutator to irreparable shreds.

 

[DickB]

Thanks for your help everyone, \i will change the brushes "toute suite"...