Compass with bubbles? bad

[ItsBruce]

BTW: Bubble or no buttle, do not under any circumstances rely on a compass made by the Tates company.

 

[bperrybap]

That bubble is probably just playing hide-and-seek with you.

Seriously, if you hold the compass upside down, or at a 90 degree angle, and then flip it upright the bubble may reappear from underneath the rotating compass card.

Thats what I would have thought too. However, due to our
wonderful knee jerk security rules, the compass has been removed
from its boot, and there definitely is no bubble in it right now.
You can see inside it from all directions.

I always just figured that there was a slight amount of
gas that was always there even from the factory
and was simply going in and out of solution depending on
pressures, temperatures, and ascent/descent rates.
This is what I thought was makeing the bubble grow,
shrink or even go away.

BTW, when I bought mine, I'd say 80%+ brand new compasses
had small bubbles in them.

--- bill

 

[ShoalDiverSA]

A colleague of mine found some of her old compasses that had been in storage for a long while. The needles still work, but all the fluid has disappeared from the casings over time. They may be worth salvaging, so I was wondering what fluid can be used to refill the compass. I see Varsol mentioned above, but it is a proprietary solvent (not available in S.A.). Could someone post some more generic terms for the oil or fluid used so that I can search for something available here.

If it is a light mineral oil, what weight is correct (wt.)?

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[kelseysmith]

http://www.discountweather.com/compassoil.html

Says it's compatible with most oil filled compasses, although the image shows permanently mounted navigation compasses like those used on boats.

$9 us is not that bad for enough oil to repair a bunch of compasses.

 

[Bigcape]

Mine didn't have a bubble when I bought it a year ago.
After a week in Bonaire back in January it had a bubble in it
when I got back home.

After diving a week in Roatan back in June, there was no
bubble in it when I got home and still no bubble it.

Seems odd that it comes and goes but it does.
Anybody else ever seen this?

Doesn't seem to hurt anything.

--- bill

My compass Bubble comes and goes to. No leaks. Maybe it has to do with barometric pressure.

My mother has an air bed and she claims it get harder and softer as the weather changes. It is a SleepComfort and the number changes!

 

[Jai Bar]

Try here... http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=118577&highlight=compass+bubble

 

[mvtek]

Maybe the bubble is there to assist in the expansion and contraction of the fluid when it warms and cools. Otherwise the liquid may be forced to squeeze out when the compass is warmed. I've alse heard that when the bubbles become frothy looking, it is due to a leak in the housing.

 

[BKP]

I've got a Suunto SK7 on a retractor... no bubble... two friends have the same... no bubbles...

My console compass had a bubble (non-Suunto)... so did my wife's... Mine got bigger... and bigger... couldn't tell how the air was getting in... It's sitting on my desk... the bubble is still growing...