Wrong thruster rotation

We got BlueROV2 Heavy. I noticed that three vertical thrusters are the same and one alone. To fix it… Is it enough to config it in QGC or do I need to change propeller so the “angle” would be right?

Hi @diveexplorer,

There are different propellers that are intended to operate with opposite rotations. If you have three propellers in your vertical thrusters that are all the same then one of them should be swapped out (although it may not make a huge difference).

If you have the correct propellers (two clockwise, two counter-clockwise, placed on the diagonals) but one of them happens to be spinning the incorrect direction then you can just reverse the spin direction of that thruster in QGC on the Motors Setup Page (either manually, or by running the “automatic motor direction detection” process while the vehicle is in the water).

Hi Eliot thank you for your answer.

Yes, it seems that 3 are the same… Would it be easier to change the propeller, or do I need to move the thruster?

Hmm, odd. Maybe double check the other four thrusters, in case there’s another incorrect one that has been swapped with the one you’ve noticed has the wrong propeller.

If there’s only one propeller that’s wrong then you’ll need to replace the propeller. We sell spare propellers (if you don’t have a correct one available), but if you’ve been shipped an incorrect product then that’s our fault, so you can contact support@bluerobotics.com and they should be able to send you the correct one. If you do so, please provide the order number (or at least rough order date) and a link to this forum thread for context :slight_smile:

If it turns out there are just two thrusters that have been swapped, changing a propeller still requires dismounting the thruster to access the nozzle screw nearest the mounting point, so whether it’s easier to swap the whole thrusters or swap just the propellers mostly depends on how fixed your cable-management is. Note that you can configure which output is assigned to which motor in the frame using the SERVOn_FUNCTION parameters, so even if you swap the full thrusters you still shouldn’t need to swap the wiring inside the enclosure.

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Hi Eliot

As always, thank you for in-depth and good answers.

There seems to be one wrong propeller on thruster #5, as we have Heavy-Config setup. We did not notice it when we were putting the ROV together. All other thrusters are correct.

So we will change the propeller on thruster #5, from CW to CCW. We have a spare in our kit.

So I guess this will fix the problem, and then we will config it right in the QGC. Easy fix.

Thanks again, Thor

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