TFL balancer...not very sensitive?

[Turbo Dan-O]

I just got my new TFL balancer in and it is all over the place. I have tried adjusting it every way I can but the shaft wobbles on the magnet and it will only sometimes find the heavy side of my new unbalanced TFL 440. Am I doing something wrong?

Dan-O

[ksm2001]

The TP balancer is not accurate enough for balancing boat props, I really would recommend a magnetic balancer that Steve sells on OSE here or one from Jan at kintec racing.

Ken

[siberianhusky]

Is the shaft straight with the point on center?
If it's a magnetic balancer thats about the only thing I can see being wrong with one. Unless the magnets are really weak.

[Turbo Dan-O]

Yes, this is the magnetic TFL balancer from Kintec. I just tried the 3/16th shaft and it is better than the 4mm I was using but it is still not very sensitive. The 4mm shaft has flat spots on the sides not sharp points like the rest of them.

Dan-O

[ksm2001]

Is the shaft straight with the point on center?
If it's a magnetic balancer thats about the only thing I can see being wrong with one. Unless the magnets are really weak.

The problem with the TP balancer is that the shaft is not persison machined to the point, along with the cones are not perfectly balanced. I have the balancer from kintec racing which is very precise. My TP balancer is somewhere in a box in the basement.

[siberianhusky]

I can't remember what mine is but you can see how a mark from a sharpie slightly changes the prop angle, it has a machined/ground shaft, I remember that being a selling feature.
Way better than the collection of other styles that are in junk boxes in the basement!

[martin]

Isnt this the same balancer that OSE sells, Only a few days ago on this forum their was a disscusion on how good these were & better than some of the other ones around. Martin.

[jingalls007]

This is the one I've used for years. I've tried other balancers on the market specifically made for boat props but I prefer this one over any of them.

http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...od=dh-topq5700

[ksm2001]

Dan-O, this is the one I use now from Kintec Racing. There was a thread a few years ago when we were talking about this balancer, here is the link.
http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...ead.php?t=6123.

I haven't tried the TFL one from Kintec Racing but the one that jingalls007 posted above is the one that I had problems with.

Ken

[SweetAccord]

The Top flight one is for airplane props, and not sensitive enough and will be off for balancing small items like boat props. It was never designed initially as a boat prop balancer. Using cones to balance won't be the same as a shaft through the prop. The shaft is not balanced enough for small items and gets off balance even more as the cones, if you rotate them on the shaft, will keep moving the "true" balance. It's just made for heavier items where these small effects won't show or be as critical it just gets you in the park and a huge park at that.

You can make any magnetic balancer accurate even if the shaft points are off which some are and will vary. Take a drill and put the shaft in it. I used a dremel blue head polisher and at an angle created a point on it. Once you get a point put it and only it back on the balancer and balance it. Use nail polish on the shaft on th opposite end to balance it. If you get it right (and it will take practice and time) you will end up with one drop of polish and have a balanced shaft.

I spent 3 days balancing my shafts to a needle point and they are perfect but time is the factor. It may be overkill and hard, but once you do it and take care of the shaft it will reward you in the end.

Now the extra step regardless if you do the above or not is to use a small razor blade and put in on the side where the shaft touches with the magnet. Add oil the lightest oil you have on the shaft while balancing. This makes it extremely accurate. I do this all the time.

This is my new favorite: http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...prod=ose-80310 and I do have the one from Kintec and prefer this one for many reasons http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...ad.php?t=23916) but most won't tell the difference but I can.

Plus I like to support OSE when they have a great product.

Hope that helps.

[properchopper]

I have one of Jan's balancers. It's weird. I think it's possesed :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa_psjdj7XU

[carlcisneros]

I use the orange TFL balancer and USE to use the Top Flight one and have found the TFL unit is by far a better balancer hands down.

I can take a prop off the TFL and place it on the Top Flight unit and the prop will show out of balance. It does not matter where the cones are placed against the prop, it goes on to a different heavy spot every time.

[Turbo Dan-O]

Well, I'm am idiot. I was messing with it some today and found that I had it too far apart. I got it adjusted right and it spins like crazy now!

Dan-O

[sailr]

Our balancer works great! I use it all the time and we have had no complaints.

http://minicatracingusa.com/images/parts/accs/propbal.jpg