Valley Belle

[scotfriend]

Hi PD`s,

on saturday i bought this nice model of the Valley Belle together with two huge barges all together for 400,- Euro. Today i started to see what kind of RC and electronic parts are in the model. When i picked up the model there was an old Graupner S12 transmitter so i knew there are only such old RC-components. asfter i had removed the upper deck and the motor (monoperm super 12V) i found an waterpump and some cables but i dont know what they are for, so please have a look to the photos and maybe one of you can tell me how it is working.

[Eddy Matthews]

Very very nice Hans.....   

It's impossible to tell what the pump is doing from the photos - Where do the pipes lead to? It appears they may exit at either side of the stern, so perhaps it was being used as a stern thruster to help with turning?

[scotfriend]

OK,

as far as i can see one hose leaves the hull at the port end of the hull and the second is on the inside of the hull, could it be that it is a safety feature if water comes into the hull the pump removes it.

This is the only possible idea of this construction.

Regards Hans

[Eddy Matthews]

OK,

as far as i can see one hose leaves the hull at the port end of the hull and the second is on the inside of the hull, could it be that it is a safety feature if water comes into the hull the pump removes it.

This is the only possible idea of this construction.

Regards Hans

You're probably right Hans - My model of the Suter sternwheeler takes in water when going astern, through the holes that the pitman arms exit through. It's fine when going ahead.....

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's....I think you have hot the nail  head Hans

in 003 jpg we see a blue outlined plastic mesh which appears to be captive - this certainly could be a filter element to keep weeds from the pump suction

in 002 jpg we also see to the lower left of snap...a dark/black round section [12 mm diameter?] vertical component which is hard wired  to the pump motor supply terminals...... ...this could be a float switch......

Possibly time to get the BM SAABA multi meter out & trace the conductivity    or if all else fails...power up the battery & fill the hull cavity with clean water & see what happens 

[steamboatmodel]

I think Derek has it correct, It looks like a bilge pump. Probably the stern area around the rudders fills with water, and the two bare wires are sensors for turning the pump on. Looks like a Great Buy.
Regards,
Gerald