Refilling Compass

[Mike H]

I need to refill a Plastimo Contest 100 or 101 bulkhead mount compass. It was leaking and I have removed the remaining fluid using a syringe. There is a refill access opening plugged with a small brass screw. what fluid should I use and where can a buy the correct fluid?

 

[Rodger]

Conpass fluid

You can special order Ritchie compass fluid from any marine store, it is about $30 bucks a pint. I watched the sales and got a new Saturn compass for around $65. Might be a better way to go.

 

[Jim Legere]

Mineral Oil

Buy a bottle of mineral oil a your local pharmacy. Cheap and it works.

 

[Jim Rushing]

No mineral oil

The compass on my airplane developed a leak and lost all the fluid. My pardner tried refilling with mineral oil. After a few months it started clouding up. Then we purchased the correct fluid.

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners.com]

Have you stopped the leak?

There's no sense in refilling it if you haven't figured out where it's leaking and how to stop it. It might be a good idea to take it in for repair if it's a good compass. If it's not, think about buying a new one.LaDonna

 

[David Guthridge]

Buy a new one.

I had a nice 5" Richie bulkhead mount that developed a leak. It was discontinued and new diaphrams were not available and Richie couldn't repair it. The repair shop in Annapolis, Md said it couldn't be repaired and even if the replacement diaphram was available it has to be done in a vacuum to get all the air out. Buy a new one!!David

 

[Guest]

mineral spirits

I replaced the fluid in a compass with mineral spirits from a hardware store. It worked. I didn't have a leak the fluid was cloudy and had a air bubble. I forget who told me mineral spirits.