Andymsa Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 When using a tortoise point motor they have a slight rock to them when placed like they are mounted, this is due to how there made. I have noticed stress lines in the side flanges where the screws fix after mounting, this is caused by pressure on the center part of the base and the sides pull down as you fix screws. I now place a piece of thin plastic card along the edges where the screws fix so the motor sits on these and no rocking occurs. I have had a motor actually fall off the layout due to complete failure of the flange. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2018 I've got 58 fitted without any of the described issue, no failures either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Have to agree as I've noticed something similar. I just make sure not to over tighten the mounting screws. A plastic strip either side is probably a better solution as I do have two motors where the screw slot has broken away in one position. I've kept these two as spare parts, although have yet to replace anything as the motors are pretty well bullet proof. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2018 (edited) I've got over 60 over these fitted and found that they can be secured quite well with only two screws instead of 4. So long as they can't move there's no problem with operation. Edited April 5, 2018 by RFS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 (edited) Had to laugh, Dave as your experience is the opposite to mine....:-) I've fitted 36 of the 60 I have in stock and they've all showed a similar condition. They are all labelled 0805, so I assume were made in August 2005. Here's a pic showing the gap either side against a straight edge. I stress it's not an issue for me and they all work perfectly (apart from the two broken slots). I'm just careful with the screw tension. Edited April 5, 2018 by gordon s Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 (edited) Had to laugh, Dave as your experience is the opposite to mine....:-) I've fitted 36 of the 60 I have in stock and they've all showed a similar condition. They are all labelled 0805, so I assume were made in August 2005. Here's a pic showing the gap either side against a straight edge. I stress it's not an issue for me and they all work perfectly (apart from the two broken slots). I'm just careful with the screw tension. DSCF9248.jpg Your photo shows the issue very nicely. Even when you mount normally with no mods the actual operation works as expected. But even with the mod I also found you have to be careful overnighting the screws. I did in fact repair the broken with super glue it worked a treat and I further put plastic card over the base to reinforce further. I did contact circutron about the raised centre and was told it's part of the manufacturing process and aids removal from the molds. Andy Edited April 5, 2018 by Andymsa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2018 I'll have a look at the spare I've got, I wonder if it's a batch issue ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 As a footnote, I still prefer the tortoise over any other motor. And how many products do you get a 10year warranty. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2018 Another option when fitting is to use double-sided sticky pads to hold the motor in position so that you can then have both hands free to fit the screws. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2018 As a footnote, I still prefer the tortoise over any other motor. And how many products do you get a 10year warranty. Andy Gordon...yours are already out of warranty... Hang on...so are mine... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 (edited) Gordon...yours are already out of warranty... Hang on...so are mine... Don't the Americans put there year first so 08/05 should mean 10 years this year Just googled it it's mm/dd/year Andy Edited April 5, 2018 by Andymsa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 As a footnote, I still prefer the tortoise over any other motor. And how many products do you get a 10year warranty. Andy Jury's still out for me, and DCC Concepts give a Lifetime Warranty on all their motors and levers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Jury's still out for me, and DCC Concepts give a Lifetime Warranty on all their motors and levers. When I looked at the Cobalt you couldn't throw it but hand has this changed Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
amdaley Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Another option when fitting is to use double-sided sticky pads to hold the motor in position so that you can then have both hands free to fit the screws. I use this method as well. The sticky tape will take out any unevenness in the tortoise base plate as well as holding the motor while the screws are fitted. I use only two screws in opposite corners. I also make sure that the adjustable fulcrum is set so that the point blades are not held over too firmly. They only need to be held over not welded shut. Tony. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 I also make sure that the adjustable fulcrum is set so that the point blades are not held over too firmly. They only need to be held over not welded shut. Tony. This is something to be aware of if you put a stiffer wire in place than the supplied one Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2018 Another option when fitting is to use double-sided sticky pads to hold the motor in position so that you can then have both hands free to fit the screws. I didn't actually bother with screws due to using thin ply baseboard top. Simply stuck them to the baseboard with exceptionally sticky double sided tape.. The were difficult to remove when I scrapped the layout because I'd used thin ply to make the baseboards................. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 5, 2018 Another option when fitting is to use double-sided sticky pads to hold the motor in position so that you can then have both hands free to fit the screws. Cobalt motors come with a thick foam pad with adhesive both sides. The recommendation is to mount it with the foam pad and screws and a few days later, back off the screws letting the pad do all the work. The flexible mounting results in quieter operation than a rigidly mounted motor If you paint or seal the wood, the foam pad sticks like smelly brown stuff to the proverbial blanket. Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted April 5, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2018 The recommendation is to mount it with the foam pad and screws and a few days later, back off the screws letting the pad do all the work. I tried that with my Tortoises, but the constant passage of heavy freight trains above caused 2 or 3 of them to drop off. So I resorted to 2 screws in opposite corners but not done up too tight. Belt and braces you might say .... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
amdaley Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 I tried that with my Tortoises, but the constant passage of heavy freight trains above caused 2 or 3 of them to drop off. So I resorted to 2 screws in opposite corners but not done up too tight. Belt and braces you might say .... I use the sticky pads to hold the tortoise while I make sure its working the point correctly. I then place two screws diagonally across from each other. I also found that if the wood was sealed then the pads got a better grip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted April 6, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 6, 2018 I also found that if the wood was sealed then the pads got a better grip. Agreed. I painted the area where I was going to stick a motor with wood primer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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