# One Armed Grave Grabber redesigned, Deer Motors and Auto Reverse



## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

A few of us have built the One Armed Grave Grabber. Our group Loved it so much that we decided to build one for our March build. That meant one of us had to build a prototype to test it. From the start, I was skeptical about the Deer motors and thier longevity when relying on it's auto-reverse capabilities.

Has anyone else done a test to explore the longevity of deer motors when relying on Auto-Reverse" ??? I did, and here are my experiances.

Please understand that I am not trying to undermine Keven242 and his amazing prop. It really IS a COOL prop. The Tutorial could have been a little better , as there were no measurments and the pictures just didn't include enough details to build it right the very first time. I still managed to get it built with some minor modifications, but pretty much stuck witjh the original concept.
The Prop ran flawlessly for the first 4 hours, then the "buck" motor stalled as it was trying to auto reverse. A gentle Nuge put it back in motion for another 3 hours. It then stalled again. Another gentle nudge and it once again ran fine for another 2 hours (See a pattern developing?). After a while the motor would stall every 5 minutes, and I noticed condisderable wear and tear on the output shaft.
Now, It is possible that I did something wrong with the build (I don't think I did), OR I got a bad motor, OR (more likely) these motors are just not designed for this type of use. 
I've reached out to Keven242 to see if he experianced any issues with his during his halloween season, but as of today he hasn't responded.

I had to create a bullet-proof design for our MnT since we will building around 15 of these things. Building a prop that could only function reliably for only 4 hours just wasn't acceptable. I tried to use springs for "assistors" to help it auto reverse. I also tested the prop for any binding issues and lubed everything with grease and/or oil. It didn't help. So, I redesigned the mechanism so the motor can now turn 360 degrees and still have the same type of movement as the original.






This new version now has 20+ hours of run time with perfect reliability.

So, I am very curious if anyone else experianced this "Shortcomming" after building this prop. Again, it could be that I had a "Bum" motor, but I'd like to know if anyone else has had success with thier prop running for at least 8 hours straigt. I do Love the design and would love to know what other experiances people have had when using Deer motors in Auto-reverse mode.

These "Deer" or "Buck" motors are AMAZING motors. They are STRONG, Silent, and built for outdoor use. But, untill we get some feedback about the Auto-reverse issue, I would only use them as they were designed, 360 degree rotation.


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## halloween71 (Aug 9, 2007)

I would love to see a tut on your new design-it looks good!!!
I haven't built this prop but do have several props that run on deer motor.
The problem I found when they stop is something is making them (at least on mine ) .Mine was not visable at the end when it stopped so I had to sit and watch it till it stopped and found the problem.I adjusted and it worked perfect.It was catching on part of the frame but not all the time.


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## halstaff (Nov 18, 2009)

That looks great! I may have to rebuild mine once you get the tutorial with your measurements out.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

halloween71 said:


> I would love to see a tut on your new design-it looks good!!!
> I haven't built this prop but do have several props that run on deer motor.
> The problem I found when they stop is something is making them (at least on mine ) .Mine was not visable at the end when it stopped so I had to sit and watch it till it stopped and found the problem.I adjusted and it worked perfect.It was catching on part of the frame but not all the time.


The original design by Keven242 uses 4" deck screws to purposely stop the crank arm at predetermined angles, causing the motor to intentionally reverse direction. Other than those "screws, there were no obstructions, snags, or binds. The issue I'm looking for feeback on is: has anyone else had a problem with these motors when they "intentionally" cause them to auto-reverse for many hours a day.



> halstaff
> 
> That looks great! I may have to rebuild mine once you get the tutorial with your measurements out.


In Preparation for our MnT, I rebuilt mine again this afternoon to improve the ease of construction, and to get better movement. I relocated the motor to a new spot that makes more sense. Now you can't tell the difference from the original movemet. NOW I'm very happy with this prop!!

I don't know if I'll do a "full" tutorial, BUT I can take pictures or make some drawings with measurements. I already have the parts list 90% complete for our march meeting. That would get you going in the right direction. I'll post it when I'm done. I think that this prop will now be trouble free for MANY seasons.

Keven242, If you read this, I'd love to find out how you made out with your OAGG this past halloween. If your OAGG lasted the season, then maybe I got a Bum motor. If it had problems like Mine, than we will confirm that the Deer motors shouldn't be used in that manner (auto-reverse). If you didn't have any problems than I'll do some experimenting to find out why mine gave me issues.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

*OAGG parts list*

The parts list for my version of the OAGG is in our March MnT thread. I probably will do a quickie tutorial at some point in the near future. It really is a COOL PROP because it's so simple and inexpensive.

The updated version now has about 30 hours on it and it's still going strong.


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## kevin242 (Sep 30, 2005)

Generally, I don't like to run any of my motorized props continuously, mine are all set up on motion sensors to keep them from burning out. I had 0 problems with the motor although I believe using the auto reverse feature of the motor could possibly put some extra strain on it and shorten its life. I did have one ToT kick the prop over accidentally, but it was repaired in the field and was up and running in 10 minutes no worse for wear. I thought my tutorial was easy enough to follow and pretty self-explanatory despite the lack of exact measurements. All in all, this is a simple and inexpensive prop to make, as far as the longevity of the motor, mine was still working great as of today.


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