Subtek Albacore problems

[greenman407]

This posting is long overdue since I have completed my Albacore and am happy with it. However, without modifacations you will probably be extremely unhappy with it. Thats where I come in. I consider myself well qualified to write this because I purchased one and encountered many problems. They were to such a point that I unceremoniously dumped all of it in the trash, except for the hull and fittings and purchased a Dave Merriman WTC . With this modifacation it became reliable. However now that time has passed and my experience with model subs has grown I toy around with the idea of purchasing a Subtek Marlin, If I could get it for a good price. This I say because I now know the ballast systems weak points and how to fix them. So I thought I would share them with you.

[greenman407]

First let me say that

First let me say that the people at Mikes Subworks are great people and I purchase alot of my stuff there. But the Subteks line of sub kits need work to get them to be reliable. Here is what I found.
#1 The hull comes without any detail except for its nice shape. It comes with a drawing that you can use to plot the location of the limber holes but that is about it. If you want a good accurate rendering you will have to buy some scale plans to show you more detail
#2 The plastic that the hull is made of is attacked by many of the most well known spot puttys . Do not use Bondo brand one and two part body puttys, Green Squadron or Tamiya brand puttys. Bondo brand auto body filler does not attack the plastic but it is much harder that the hull plastic which will make feathering in your sanding very difficult. The best thing that I have found thus far is 30 min. two part epoxy mixed with micro ballons.Be warned, if you try to use these spot puttys anyway it will soften the plastic that comes in contact with it and you will have to scrape it all out and start again.
#3 The ballast system does not work reliably for several reasons.The tee valve that is the heart of the system is housed inside of the ballast tank which you have to glue together. (Bad Idea). In order to work on it or replace it you have to get out the old Dremel and cut it open. The kit supplys you with some surgical grade hose to plum the tee valve with, only problem is when you route the hose as instructed it kinks therefore rendering the operation of the ballast tank useless. It is much better to make a hose extension out of brass tubing, bend it to shape and CA it on.

[greenman407]

#4 The ballast tank pump

#4 The ballast tank pump is mounted in the dry space where you put your electronics, this is bad because it is prone to leak. This is because the motor is mounted on top of a plastic manifold that you glue to the bottom of your dry space and water is pumped up through this manifold that is not properly sealed with o-rings or some other type of seal between the manifold and the bottom of the dry space. The instructions tell you to run a bead of glue around each hole in the bottom of the manifold and the bottom of your dry space. Guess what? It leaks! Destroying APCs , Recievers , Speed controls, and Fail safes. Its not to good on servos either. After you have followed the instructions and glued it as they say take some 30 min. epoxy liquid and pour it into the bottom around the manifold. This should insure against leaks from this location. Try not to mount your electronics on the bottom of the dry space but get them up off the floor as far away from any intruding water as possible.

[greenman407]

#5 The pressure hulls top

#5 The pressure hulls top comes off and is sealed by a large thick gasket which they tell you not to apply any sealer to.WRONG!!! Use a good amount of silicone grease to it to help it hold back the water. The top is held on by three thumb screws under which can be found an o-ring. Be sure to grease these to. The instructions dont tell you to but put some light weight machine oil on the motor output shaft where it exits the dry space as well as the two pushrod seals.

[greenman407]

In the above pictures you

In the above pictures you can see the dry space or pressure hull without its top and the ballast tank with its top removed( a la dremel) At this point I had eliminated the ballast tank from functioning and had trimmed it for dynamic diving. Still the problems came namely water leaks. When they tell you to run it no deeper that three feet they mean it. Mike at Mikes subworks offered to send me new parts for free to restore the ballast system but by that point I had lost faith in the system. He wasnt going to replace any electronics, just tee valve,ballast tank, pump and manifold.

[greenman407]

#6 The x-tail option I

#6 The x-tail option I highly recommend. It makes this sub turn on a dime!!! However the electronic mixer gave me trouble which they were kind enough to replace.

Here you can see the mixer in the forground and a bec in the background

[petn7]

Greenman,

Are you capable for building

Greenman,

Are you capable for building a sub w/o Gatorade?

I love Gatorade.

[r/c kelley]

Hi Greenman,

Nice job on your

Hi Greenman,

Nice job on your Subtech Albacore, and thank you for sharing your experiece and photos. I am building my first r/c sub, a Subtech Marlin. I purchased this kit with a Hitec 4ch radio from Mike at Subtech. He and his wife are wonderful people, very helpful.

I have searched the web for info on any Subtech sub kit builds and only found three and one includeds yours. There is a lot of thinking involved in building this kit. I am at the point of getting the Pressure hull and Ballast tank assembled. I have made a few calls to Mike in regards to this and he was very helpful.

Though it is not a perfect building kit, I am confidant once built it will be a good running sub. With your tips and Mike's, I hope to have a reliable running sub. There are a few things I would do to this kit my self starting with the Ballast tank. Instead of sealing it shut with plastic cement, put a bead of silicone. Incase you have to open the tank, just cut the seal. No need fo a Dremell. I consider this a learning experience building this kit. I am going to build a Albacore later, and hope to have all the little problems solved.

I have also been told the pressure hull and ballast tank were crap and replace it with a WTC. Well I am not, I am going to run it per Skip Asay's instructions. He designed it and ran it that way, so can anyone. As far as detailing, I am a little lost my self. I have the plans, I am going to transfer the flood holes on to my hull. With out seeing a nicely built Marlin it is hard to detail it. But it will be the grey color with the T2 on it.

I am intersted in talking to you in more detail on the Subtech Albacore and Marlin, please PM me.

r/c kelley

[greenman407]

hello RC Kelly.I hope that

hello RC Kelly.I hope that your experience with yours turns out better than mine. I will try to contact you soon.

[greenman407]

#7 The Hitek radio that

#7 The Hitek radio that is supplied with the kit is not very well suited for submarines. It is fine for surface craft but when you try to use it for submarines it does not support the failsafe device due to the fact that when you turn your radio off to test it all the servos and speed control go absolutely nuts. The same thing will happen when you lose your signal during actual operations such as when running in a pool with lots of chlorine. Your sub will start bouncing off the walls of the pool. So after losing all my electronics and making no visible progress on having a operable submarine I purchased a Dave Merriman WTC and have not looked back since.


















The motor that comes with the kit is adequate to the job but with the wtc installed in its place this sub is a torpedo! It is very entertaining!

[greenman407]

here are some pics and

here are some pics and videos.
http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm21 ... 0051-1.flv
http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm21 ... ng0031.jpg
http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm21 ... ng0030.jpg

http://www.vimeo.com/1103334

[r/c kelley]

Hi Greenman,

I hope my

Hi Greenman,

I hope my sub does turn out well. The WTC you bought looks good. You seem determined to be successful and won't give up with the trials you have had. That's good. I look foward to you contacting me. I have lots to share on Subtech kits.

r/c kelley

[r/c kelley]

And, I am glad to

And, I am glad to see someone out there is currently building a Subtech kit. I felt as though I was the only one. Now I can share my thoughts with another Subtech builder.

r/c kelley

[greenman407]

Here are a few more.
http://wavelit.com/media/596/albacore/
http://wavelit.com/media/599/albacore_3/

Here are a few more.

http://wavelit.com/media/596/albacore/

http://wavelit.com/media/599/albacore_3/

[anonymous]

And, I am glad to

And, I am glad to see someone out there is currently building a Subtech kit. I felt as though I was the only one. Now I can share my thoughts with another Subtech builder.

r/c kelley

I built an ALBACORE several years ago. Went well with help from Skip. Where in Mass are you? There is a local group (SR4) that meets once a month in the RI area.