Do propellers wear out?
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I just lost 4" of the tip on a 6 blade RH 20X32 SS Rolla propeller. I didn't hit anything. The boat is in the salt water all the time. The propeller is 3 years old and has about 500 hrs use or about 17,000 miles. I have been told that this can happen to SS props. Do props wear out like tires? Will this happen to my other 2 props? Is there anything that I can do to help prevent this from happening? I'm waiting for a quote for price and delivery time for a new prop now but it may take 10 weeks to get one.
Ken
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The simple answer, Yes props wear out. They are thin and undergo severe cyclical loading and like any other metal they will fail through fatigue. Lab-finished props are especially susceptible because they are further thinned down from stock.
Dents, dings and scratches will hasten the process by providing areas of stress risers.
And since most props are cast there's always the possibility of embedded imperfections like inclusions and/or voids and those areas will fail first.
Dents, dings and scratches will hasten the process by providing areas of stress risers.
And since most props are cast there's always the possibility of embedded imperfections like inclusions and/or voids and those areas will fail first.
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I believe racers in Supercat only get a few races out of a set of props.
I also believe it takes big HP to wear em out. I don't think a 50hp OB will ever wear a prop out, even if it's aluminum.
I also believe it takes big HP to wear em out. I don't think a 50hp OB will ever wear a prop out, even if it's aluminum.
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Cig Daze very nice! However, I would add that you may want to take a look at your set-up and have your props inspected to get a professional opinion, as to the failure and possibly look for ways to improve the set-up and/or your propellers. You will have to match the new propeller, to your intact propeller. As you will now have a new propeller made at a different time by a different technician. This way at least you know you have done everything that you can to aviod future failures that are set-up related, possilbly. Food for thought.
Julie
Julie
Last edited by throttleup; 12-05-2006 at 03:44 PM.
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Thanks for all the advice. The drives are Arneson ASD8 on a Fountain 48 this is their standard setup. I would like to prevent this prop failure in the future. I'm disapointed that I have to wait 10 weeks to get another prop. I can only imagine what it will cost. Ken
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I just met I guy with cryogenic freezer he use it to treat just about anything they can get in them (connecting rods, ball joints, cutting tools), would that process benefit a prop?
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Originally Posted by czy40p
I just met I guy with cryogenic freezer he use it to treat just about anything they can get in them (connecting rods, ball joints, cutting tools), would that process benefit a prop?
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Originally Posted by czy40p
I just met I guy with cryogenic freezer he use it to treat just about anything they can get in them (connecting rods, ball joints, cutting tools), would that process benefit a prop?
I did it with my baseball and softball aluminum bats. The freeze eliminates weak spots....