Ideal Windlass problem

[dar636]

Hi- I have a Ideal APC 35 vertical windlass that has been a problem as long as I've owned the boat. The chain (3/8") doesn't cleanly strip off the wildcat and intermittently jams on the 'stripper' instead of falling into the chain locker. It of course does this at the most in-opportune time (randomly) and will trip the breaker necessitating a run to the chain locker to reset the breaker. Not good.

I've replaced the wildcat with new from Ideal, made sure the chain is flaking into the locker and not piling up and still have the problem - so I am back to trouble shooting.

What I've seen is that the entry port to the chain locker is pretty low when compared to the angle the chain comes off of the wildcat and thought about adding a spacer to raise up the elbow. See pic. Also realized the windlass dataplate says it is a 12V unitIMG_4471.jpgWindlass.jpg though I'm sure I have 32V running to the motor from the relays. I have talked to Jeff at Shaeffer Marine and he's asked for a video of it running and advised to check the wildcat casting for the chain size. He says it'll be cast into the wildcat.

I don't think the windlass is running too fast, from my experience if I were running 32V into a 12V motor it'd spin like crazy and would not last long. Am I correct?

I'm heading to the boat this afternoon to take a video for Shaeffer and will recheck the input voltage, just because its been a few years since I last checked. Thoughts?

[Glory]

Maybe the stripper blade is worn down?

[Captain Ralph]

I'm thinking the stripper is to early or the down pipe is late. There is a science (crude) to where the down pipe is vs the stripper.
That is a new Wild-Cat? Does not look like it's messing with the chain that well.

[dar636]

The wildcat was new from Schaeffer 2 years ago, with little use since replacing. I’d guess 20 cycles at the most. I have noticed that the placement of the downpipe varies on the YF’s and 53’s I’ve run across and I’ve seen variations in the height of the pipe as well. I’ll take a closer look at the stripper tonight.

[Shaunc]

I would have Schaefer re look at it. The dont get it righ the 1st time.

The rebuilt my windlass a few years back and it was nightmare. The sent it back with the wrong motor. Only figure that out when I went to have it wired up.

They then sent me a new motor and I had that installed. Once that we in and running. The windlass ran so slow. Turns out the gears were not designed for the new motor.

I gave up with them and had a local machine shop make me new gears and it ran much better.

[Dreamboat]

On mine, the entry port to the chain locker is a bit farther away from the windlass, thereby reducing the angle of the chain as it comes off the wildcat. So, I think your idea of raising the entry port, will serve the same purpose. I think your chain maybe binding as it comes of the wildcat due to the sharp angle.

[dar636]

Finally fixed the jamming problem, raised the opening of the chain pipe and rebuilt the tube inside the chain locker getting rid of the old hose and PVC tube. Now the ABS chain pipe drops the chain into the locker faster with less friction, and the chain pipe opening is even with the plane of rotation of the wildcat. After all the work I ran 350' of chain back into the boat without a jam. Success!!IMG_9373.jpgWIndlass before.jpgIMG_9386.jpg

[Pascal]

I have a nearly identical galley maid windlass and the hawsepipe is raised. Occasionally the chain piles up too high and requires opening the hatch and picking the pile down

I don’t have a chain stripper on mine. Comes off fine with it it