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Jay, I've been meaning to compare notes with Alec and Kyle about what there conning tower height, from the top of the main pressure hull is compared to mine. Also of note, it looks like I have larger MBT's then are on there K-250's which would put me a little higher out of the water when surfaced. This in no way means that I think I have enough freeboard to be truly comfortable. For this reason, I've been seriously considering installing a 6 or 7 inch acrylic tube addition to the conning tower some what like the S101 sub. That would of course change the look of the sub and it's metacentric height. In that configuration, I think it would be safer as well as easier to see horizontally and down. The other option to make the current conning tower configuration safer, is the custom pontoon system I'm working thru with a guy that knows Zodiac designs very well. If we come up with some thing we think will work. I'll run the design thru you guys to get your input. I would like to find out if the AGM batteries have a vent and if so what kind. Perhaps they have a bladder of some type to deal with pressure differences. I've heard many times that they can be mounted vertically as well as upside down. I had expected that I would likely need to remove the batteries if I used the sub for wet exit training. But for a real emergency wet exit, I was hoping that the APM batteries would be a safer option. Corrosion issues of course are always fun to deal with. ;)' Regards, Brent H From: bottomgun@mindspring.com To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org Subject: RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] 12 Volt DC Lawnmower Battery Test Update Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 17:54:58 -0400 Brent, The batteries would have to be in a waterproof container if going into saltwater. I believe even the APM batteries have a vent otherwise they would explode at altitude.
As noted in his book, George moved to the K-350 design for a number of reasons…the cramped interior, minimal reserve buoyancy, and statics issues if I remember correctly. Adding gear to the K-250 design only compounds the issue. Look how little freeboard Alec’s sub exhibits (not to pick on him). You will find getting into and out of a flooded K-250 an issue due to the tight nature of the interior and conning tower. The domed hatch will open explosively due to the large bubble that will be trapped there. If you didn’t drain all of the air out of the rest of the conning tower but compressed it, you will be violently expelled from the sub. Corrosion will be a nightmare inside your sub after flooding it down 1 or more times, lock-out chambers of large subs experience this issue despite being easier to access and preserve.
I wanted to be able to lock out of a K-250 also when I first viewed the plans for the sub back in 1974. Experience has taught me that this is not a good idea. R/Jay
From: owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org [mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org] On Behalf Of Brent Hartwig
Hello Jay, Regards, |