Need to adjust how fast my K-plane moves
 

Okay, I have both my planes wired together to move at the same time instead of seperate on my throttle handle. It's a great setup for making the boat easier to drive but the problem is my port K-plane is slower going up and down. I have checked the voltage on both, checked for sticking/binding and I have switched the cylinders and the port one is always slower which would point to a slower pump.

Both pumps seem to work great but the one is just slower. I know that they are basically like small starter motors. Could the brushes need to be replaced?

If I try everything and it turns out one pump is just a little faster is there a way to adjust it? I was thinking about a variable switch that could adjust the voltage to the faster pump and maybe reduce the voltage slightly until they work at the same speed. Any ideas?

Thanks

Your switch idea souds good on the surface but you will need to use resistors capable of dealing with a 100 amp load. Kind of kills that idea real fast.

You can take the brush plate off the slow motor easy enough and clean the armature and brushes with contact cleaner. If there are carbon tracks on the armature, that could be a small part of the difference.

You can cheat and vise-grip the stainless elbow where it attaches to the trim pump and crimp the line smaller until the speed equalizes.

In all honesty, though, aside from making sure the slow motor is clean, I wouldn't go to extreme measures to try to match them speedwise.

Just use your single switch to get then close, and tweak them with the standard rockers. Usually, you bump the drive trims much more frequently then the tabs in a given sea condition.

I HAVE seen expensive pump modulators advertised that will vary voltage to the pumps in order to match the speed. Seems that the electronics "listens" to the line load and counts the motor "pulses" to know which one is running faster. It then slows down the fast one by interrupting the juice to it real fast. Kind of like a rev limiter. Best I can recall, these units were around $400, and you could use them on drive pumps or tab pumps.

Will you always want the tabs to move in tandem? If so, then just tie the two lines together. Then, it won't matter if there are differences in pressure. If you ever want to have them operate independently, then a simple ball valve (one designed for hydraulics) could be added to make the systems independent. If you want to automate it, then you could use a solenoid valve.

No, with this configuration the fluid from one piston can flow into the piston on the other tab so if you were to push up on one tab with your hand the other will go down and vice versa, in other words they would be free to wag one up and the other down and you would have no control over them.

Yes, but he is trying to make both planes behave as one. If that is true, then tying the two systems together is the only way to make them absolutly even.

I can't use my standard rockers to get them set even because once you tie the two together(because they both are hooked to the switch on my throttle) then the rocker switches activate both of them at once too.

I also thought about using just one pump but I was afraid that it would slow the tabs down too much.

My boat has a lot of rocker and with the blackhawk drive it is not trim sensitive at all. You ALWAYS use the tabs for changing water conditions.

I guess I will tear the electric motor apart and check the brushes and clean it. I have heard there are screens on the hydrualic pump that can become clogged so i will check that too. Hopefully it just needs to be cleaned.

I like the PHD's idea. Use an adjustable valve to control the flow somewhat. I think though you will find it never to be 100% the same. By necking down the flow you draw more amps through that pump and depending upon voltages of batteries, alternator output and other loads it will vary. Just push your cooler to the other side of the boat!

Some of these ideas are crazy........we are talking about trim........in other words......if something is pinched, crossed, or jimmyed (like I have been reading) and there is an accident (boat hook) you are in big ****..Just keep it simple and use your stock rockers and install a diode in line of your throttle controls.....This will take about one hour, includes time to re/re and clean up. This is the safest way.

"keep it simple and use your stock rockers and install a diode in line of your throttle "

I agree! You definitely want to put the diodes in so you can still fine tune with the individual switches.

You could also go to dextron power steering fluid on the side that is slower, the thinner oil will speed the pump up a bit.

I have had new pumps and they still are never the same speed. There must be a better way.