Compass Fluid

[christoph]

Does anyone know where you can obtain the oil used in compasses ?

 

[Poignard]

I always thought it was alcohol because I have read somewhere of sailors drinking it! If it is alcohol I suppose it is used because it has a lower freezing point than water.

You could try a nautical instrument maker such as Cooke's, Hull ( web page )

 

[iangrant]

At the risk of being shot down - johnsons baby oil is the closest, and it worked for me when i mistakenly undid ALL the screws around the compass and the top came off emptying the contents onto the back of a mate lifting out the engine!

Everyone said - oooh it won't mix etc.... it should be alcohol, it should be special oil etc,,, but it did work and i sailed about 5,000 miles with it. (probably in the wrong direction most of the time


Ian

 

[bedouin]

Just to be difficult, I think it may depend on the brand of the compass. My old ones used to require a mixture of glycol and distilled water (or something like that)

 

[Poignard]

This thread from 2005 may answer your question.

 

[FAITIRA]

Be careful, all the fluids are NOT the same, it,s the s.g. of the fluid that is important so as to provide the correct damping /bouyancy for the card.
Some are filled with oil, some with alcohol, as Ian says, in an emergency any thing is worth a try but the wrong fluid will cause eccesive wear and or under or over sensitivity.
If you know the maker they will normally suppply the fluid, certainly Sestral have sent it to me, it,s cheap, the carriage to the Caribb was a lot more than the oil.

 

[VicS]

Different compasses use different fluids.
If you top up with the wrong fluid you may choose one which is not miscible with what is already in the compass, then you have a right old mess to sort out
If you refill with a fluid of the wrong viscosity then you may have a compass that is either over damped or under damped.
If you use a fluid that is not compatible with the materials used in its construction that'll be curtains for it.
If you use one which is not compatible with the card markings you could end up with no markings. Then it'll be useless.

The <u>only</u> sound advice you can be given is to contact a compass repairer and obtain the correct fluid for your compass. for example BPSC marine who appears on these forums from time to time, or Sirs Navigation (sorry no url but Google will find them)

 

[retsina]

I overhauled my compass on my previous yacht and I filled it with white spirit. It worked very well; Someone told me that white spirit gets a bit yellow with time, however, I did not notice any change in colour.

 

[Rosa]

We have used baby oil succssefully with our Plastimo.

 

[alan006]

I agree with VICS on this topic. I've seen compass cards spoilt because the wrong liquid was put into the compass and it reacted with the card. I think you will find replacement fluid not very expensive and it could save spoiling the compass.
I used SIRS years ago and they were very helpfull.

 

[BrendanS]

I agree as well. No matter that some forumites in this thread say they have had no issues, introducing immiscible liquids can cause issues. A pm to bspcmarine (forumite here who specialises in this sort of thing) will probably give info on which liquid was originally used in the compass.

 

[KCS]

People are correct depending on the type of compass depends on the type of fluid that is required in the compass

My friend is a compass repairer and compass adjuster in Cornwall.

You can't just put anything in them. If you'd like his details PM me you can speak to him he'd be happy to give advice or help.