Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim and Amelia Isaacs on February 17, 2018 at 1:34am

Dave did you confirm fuel still flows through it after it failed? Just curious.

Jim

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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on February 17, 2018 at 8:05am

Hi jim

i did not remove It yet, I have a replacement on the way.

I’ll post my post mortem results when I replace it.

dave

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Permalink Reply by Don Morrisey on February 19, 2018 at 10:22pm

Could be the fuel pressure gauge is at fault...

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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on February 19, 2018 at 10:44pm

Thanks for the input, but I don’t think it’s the gauge.

the pump normally  slows down when it builds up pressure, and it’s not slowing down at all.

dave

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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on February 23, 2018 at 8:24am

Got the new fuel pump, went out to the airport to install it. Checked the old pump and guess what? It’s working normally again. Don’t know if I have an intermittent problem with the pump, or if there was an air pocket that prevented the pump from working. Took the plane up for a flight and everything functioned normally.

will keep the new pump for a spare and keep an eye on the old one.

have about 225 flights, and this is the first time the fuel pump didn’t work on the pre flight.

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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on March 28, 2018 at 2:34pm

Tightened up all the screw clamps on the rubber fuel lines. Hoping that it was just some air in the lines.

so far no recurrence in the loss of pressure on the back up electric pump.

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on March 28, 2018 at 9:51pm

Face it, David - now that you have a brand new spare pump, the original one will never quit working! LOL!

John

N750A

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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on March 29, 2018 at 8:07am

You are so right John!

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Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on March 30, 2018 at 1:28am

OK, I've been waiting for someone to say it and it hasn't happened, so I will.

You've gotten 12 years service out of a $40 electric fuel pump that the manufacturer specifically states is not for aviation use. (I have two of them in my plane, I'm just making the point) 

Many in the experimental field change these after 5 years. I just don't get why, once you've had a problem, you would wait for it to fail - when you really need it?

I do understand the infant mortality argument, but I can't think that would be a greater risk than a 12 year old pump that has already indicated a problem? So when would you change it - when you engine driven pump fails on takeoff and this one stops pumping?

How many years of service do you expect to get out of a $40 non-aviation electric fuel pump?

I don't mean to sound antagonistic but this one has me scratching my head.

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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on March 30, 2018 at 8:09am

Gary
You made some good points.
Thanks for your input.
Dave

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Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on March 30, 2018 at 11:51am

I feel like I came across like a bit of an idiot. I could have made my point in a less critical manner. I apologize for this.

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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on March 30, 2018 at 12:59pm

No prob, some of the reasons I did not change it were actually the fact that the pump never stopped pumping.

I figured the problem was probably not the pump but an air leak somewhere in a fuel line.

I believe in the theory , "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Sometimes repairing something causes more problems than leaving it alone.

I never felt my safety was in question as in my aircraft the electric pump is only a back up to the mechanical pump. But I would not and did not fly it when it was not developing pressure in my pre flight.

So again thanks for your input. Your apology only shows you are a valued member of this group.

Dave

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