Hi George.
My father was a submariner for the U.S. navy and
after Japan surrendered he and the captain went aboard a captured Japanese
sub
and removed some items before they sunk it for
target practice. One of the items my father got is a japanese depth gauge off
the sub.
We still have it today and it appears to be
relatively simple in that it appears to screw to a pipe of some kind and works
off outside water
pressure. It is big as gauges go, about 8 inches in
diameter. I don't know if you are using an ambient sub with a variable internal
atmosphere
or a 1 atm sub that the pressure never changes
internally in. This might make a difference in the gauge's reading depending on
what kind of
gauge you used and whether it was a gauge that
operated from pressure all around the gauge or just pressure going INSIDE the
gauge.
Why not just use a simple depth gauge like the jap
one that worked screwed to a pipe penetrating the hull interior that allowed the
water pressure to come
into the pipe and go inside the gauge to actuate
it? You could put a cutoff valve on the pipe before the gauge so if the gauge
ever failed or came
apart or leaked, you could shut off the water
pressure going to the gauge. I don't understand why you would want to have a
gauge outside the hull
when you could mount it inside the hull. Seems
simple to me. Buy a depth gauge that works from pressure applied to the interior
of the gauge instead
of a gauge that works from pressure all around the
outside of the gauge. Then mount that gauge inside the hull to a pipe that
penetrates the hull that allows
the water pressure to enter the gauge and install a
shutoff valve before the gauge on the pipe. Should this be more complicated? Am
I missing something guys?
Bill Akins.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 9:47
AM
Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Preasure
Gauge
I'm looking to make myself some sort of preasure
gauge so I can calculate depth, but the best Idea I can come up with is to
embed a Preasure sensor in a ball of silicon and mount it to the outside of my
preasure hull, I'm thinking that the silicon will transfer preasure to the
sensor evenly as well as protect it from water damage. The biggest problem
with that would be the wires coming out of the silicon ball causing rippage if
any stress was put on them, thus allowing water in however minute amount to
get to the sensor, so I'd have to make some sort of cradle for it so it can't
move... maybe epoxy it onto a machine brass craddle that can be mounted
to the preasure hull which I can then run the wires through so I can connect
the Preasure sensor to the MC this way I can avoid loose wires. Another
problem is would the silicon transfer the preasure so I could get an accurate
reading.
Am I over thinking this, is there some simple
solution I'm over looking?
Thanks
George H. Slaterpryce III