Suunto Compass: Isopar M fluid?

nigelmercier

nigelmercier

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I thought it best to start a new thread about my Suunto Compass, which has leaked all of the fluid.

nigelmercier said:
... I'm going to ask Suunto for their advice.
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Suunto replied: "Please be informed that compasses over 10 years old cannot be repaired anymore. If fluid is leaking out, refilling the compass may not be a permanent solution. Mineral oil is used in filling the capsule. We have used liquid known as Isopar M ..."

Isopar M info and MSDS below. I believe the "M" refers to medium viscosity, as the similar "L" product is low viscosity.

Anybody know if this has a common name (other than paraffin) and where I can get some?

http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/C...s-isopar-application.aspx?ln=productsservices
http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/Chem-English-Micro/reach-together/fluids-at-a-glance.aspx
http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/C...ces/isopar-m-fluid-product-safety-summary.pdf
http://www.emedco.info/rtk/common/wcd0001c/wcd01c8e.htm
 
nigelmercier said:
I thought it best to start a new thread about my Suunto Compass, which has leaked all of the fluid.



Suunto replied: "Please be informed that compasses over 10 years old cannot be repaired anymore. If fluid is leaking out, refilling the compass may not be a permanent solution. Mineral oil is used in filling the capsule. We have used liquid known as Isopar M ..."

Isopar M info and MSDS below. I believe the "M" refers to medium viscosity, as the similar "L" product is low viscosity.

Anybody know if this has a common name (other than paraffin) and where I can get some?

http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/C...s-isopar-application.aspx?ln=productsservices
http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/Chem-English-Micro/reach-together/fluids-at-a-glance.aspx
http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/C...ces/isopar-m-fluid-product-safety-summary.pdf
http://www.emedco.info/rtk/common/wcd0001c/wcd01c8e.htm
Click to expand...


One of your links came up with a composition of paraffins ( alkanes ) in the range of C 11 to C 16 That is pretty much the range for kerosene.

On that basis I would happily use lamp oil .
 
Wow, (sorry again, repeating from other thread) are you sure you wanna fill up a potentially leaky device on board with ultra-flammable juice???

Make sure that you (or any of your passengers) are not smokers!
 
ultra-flammable juice
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What are you calling "ultra flammable" what for that matter is the definition of "ultra flammable" Its not a description I can say I have seen before.

Highly flammable is defined as having a flash point below 32C !

Many people are happy to keep supplies of meths on board for spirit stoves ... That I think you will find falls within the definition of a highly flammable liquid ( the fpt of ethanol is 12C). Kerosene etc does not.

Some people keep and use kerosene ( paraffin) for cooking stoves and lamp oil for oil lights.
 
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You are totally right, sorry for my non-techically-savvy response... It was more an emotional response above all - spilled kerosene on my deck would freak me out... especially if there was any smokers on board...
 
antaris said:
You are totally right, sorry for my non-techically-savvy response... It was more an emotional response above all - spilled kerosene on my deck would freak me out... especially if there was any smokers on board...
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kerosene is not highly flammable. No problem
 
Its a pity it was over 10 years old. Suunto replaced mine free of charge with a brand new compass. AND I got a sun cover that I didnt with the previous one! The weights in the bottom of mine broke free and it was lying all over the place. Best service by any company Ive dealt with ever!
 
I've just had an interesting reply from Barry at compass repairers BPSC Marine:

Isopar L (compass fluid we supply) is specific for the job! White Spirit is used for cleaning paint of brushes! Lamp oil, if you knew the number of compasses that come in with that inside that I just throw away because it ruined the internals. Below are the fluids I have had in because someone told someone else it would work!!
Olive Oil
Baby Oil
Sunflower Oil
Kerosene
Pink Paraffin
White Spirit
Clear Massage Oil (enough said)
All of this compasses were marked ‘oil fill only’
 
If Isopar L is recommended by a highly professional compass repair company in the UK, I am happy to run with that recommendation.

Isopar is also used in all kinds of personal cosmetics, and many other industrial environments. One of its advantages is its flash point of c. 60C.
 
sarabande said:
If Isopar L is recommended by a highly professional compass repair company in the UK, I am happy to run with that recommendation.

Isopar is also used in all kinds of personal cosmetics, and many other industrial environments. One of its advantages is its flash point of c. 60C.
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Regardless of the fact that this thread is over 8 years old, and that the OP is sadly no longer with us, it's worth noting that Isopar L isn't necessarily the correct fluid for all compasses. Ritchie compasses use Isopar L, but many other makes use Isopar M.
 
L or M , I think either would be preferred over many other recommendations I have seen on the forums.

At this point, my question would be how to avoid any remaining bubble without the professional equipment. Would it make sense to totally immerse the compass then install the plug while immersed?
 
Argold57 said:
L or M , I think either would be preferred over many other recommendations I have seen on the forums.

At this point, my question would be how to avoid any remaining bubble without the professional equipment. Would it make sense to totally immerse the compass then install the plug while immersed?
Click to expand...

If there's a bubble, there's a leak. You need to fix the leak before refilling.
 
pvb said:
If there's a bubble, there's a leak. You need to fix the leak before refilling.
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Understood, my question was how to prevent a bubble after refilling. I read somewhere that professionals use a vacuume system to make sure there are no remaining bubbles after the refill.
 
Argold57 said:
Understood, my question was how to prevent a bubble after refilling. I read somewhere that professionals use a vacuume system to make sure there are no remaining bubbles after the refill.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have thought a vacuum system would work very well on liquid.
 
Argold57 said:
Understood, my question was how to prevent a bubble after refilling. I read somewhere that professionals use a vacuume system to make sure there are no remaining bubbles after the refill.
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I did three compasses about six years ago and found that filling 'to the brim' and leaving them overnight seemed to get all the bubbles out. I did try a vacuum pump on one but nothing came out that I could see. (Contrary to @pvb 's comment, vacuum is very good at reducing gas content - if there's any in there!). As of now, no bubbles have appeared. The way I got the plug/screw in was to fill so that there was a meniscus, wet the plug and lower it in so that it displaces the meniscus at the same time as cohesion gets the drip on the bottom linked to the meniscus.

Contrary to some of the above - I have used baby oil in two Sestrel compasses (they recommend 'Bayol' and a lot of digging convinced me that it's it's the same stuff).
 
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