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I'm not an expert plumber, but if a shaft seal fails while your sub is
docked, stored, or just parked at the dock....It sinks.
I know the efficiency of a hydraulic system is somewhat less than a direct
drive, but a hydraulic through-hull fitting, with exterior hydraulic thrusters (
available as off the shelf ) has a long history of reliability, is easy to
maintain, and also easy to monitor/fix.
And then we can consider the magnetic couplers available on hazardous
pumping installations.
There is virtually no leaks, no loss of power from conversion from
electrical to mechanical to hydraulic to mechanical, and really no maintenance
of the coupler.
Here in California, there is a pumping station supplying millions of
gallons of water into the California aqueduct and it's been upgraded with
magnetic couplers.
The horsepower is very large, and the maintenance is quite low.
Sorry for interrupting on this thread, but I just don't like the idea of a
spinning shaft under 200 feet of water.
There's got to be a better way.......Frank D.
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