OTW Designs WTC?

[SWESUB]

Hi,

I saw this new wtc from OTW Designs. Bob Martin had it on Youtube in a Vanguard Sub. It seems nice.
Is there anyone here that have tested it? Is this pump/valve-technique reliable?

http://www.otwdesigns.com/products/components/dive-components/#NewModule

Best regards

[wlambing]

This is not a new thing! OTW has perfected the system over many years. I have two of them, myself, as well as do the rest of SUBRON 4. Great stuff! Damn near bullet proof, with only a modicum of maintenance required. Really nothing more than common sense stuff. There are plenty of users on this site that can attest to their quality.

Take care,

Bill

[JWLaRue]

What's new is the outside diameter of the dive module. OTW's 'original' module is 110mm/4.0 inches in diameter. The one in your web link is a smaller diameter dive module...90mm/3.5 inches. The insides are the same for both sizes. As Bill noted, they are for all practical purposes "bullet proof". I have two of the larger ones and one of the smaller ones.

-Jeff

[SWESUB]

Okay,
Are these OTW-systen easy to adjust boyancy like piston-systems? I have an Engel Typhoon but I think their piston tank is a bit noysy.

[bob the builder]

I carry all of Bob's systems and typically hold them in stock (though I just had a run and got cleaned out!). These are excellent systems and very precise. I used one in the buildup of this Nautilus model and it allowed a perfectly static hover while I used the bow thruster to spin the boat in place. Not many systems will allow that kind of control.

Pricey, but very worth it!


Bob

[sam reichart]

I carry all of Bob's systems and typically hold them in stock (though I just had a run and got cleaned out!). These are excellent systems and very precise. I used one in the buildup of this Nautilus model and it allowed a perfectly static hover while I used the bow thruster to spin the boat in place. Not many systems will allow that kind of control.

Pricey, but very worth it!


Bob

Bob Dimmack/OTW put a lot of love in their ballast systems. Bob has had some real craftsmen over the years making components for his cylinders. I used one from him for my Type XXIII (that he no longer produces) that had an onboard compressor to fill/empty of the tank. It was a work of art; even the brass knurls were hand turned. Bob used rubber bellows fittings for exits of the control surface rods.
Like Bob Martin states above, they are pricey, but they are awesome systems.

[JWLaRue]

Okay,
Are these OTW-systen easy to adjust boyancy like piston-systems?

Adjusting the amount of water on an OTW ballast tank is very easy and straight-forward. It's not as easy, compared to the Engel piston-based system that uses the optional Hall effect sensor, to return to the same volume of water in the tank. With the Engel system a given stick/servo position returns you to the exact same fill level. With the OTW system you need to adjust it manually.

If you trim your boats such that a full ballast tank gives you your desired submerged trim, then none of this matters.

I have both systems and like them both.

-Jeff

[SWESUB]

Adjusting the amount of water on an OTW ballast tank is very easy and straight-forward. It's not as easy, compared to the Engel piston-based system that uses the optional Hall effect sensor, to return to the same volume of water in the tank. With the Engel system a given stick/servo position returns you to the exact same fill level. With the OTW system you need to adjust it manually.

If you trim your boats such that a full ballast tank gives you your desired submerged trim, then none of this matters.

I have both systems and like them both.

-Jeff

Thank you Jeff,

I like the OTW, it seem straight forward and elegant designed.