aframe2

My Feedback: (5)

I have had 4 different hand crank fuel pumps go bad in the last 2
months. Has anyone else had this problem with your pumps.
My local hobby shop called the supplier and he said there
is a screw inside the pump that gets to tight and won't let
the diaphragm do its thing. Just wondering if anyone else has
had this experience? Thanks, Aframe2

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Aframe and yes I think I have experienced just about every type of problem with the geared manual pumps and while they are not perfect they are my preference and I keep I think seven of them on different types of fuel and sizes of containers and this includes in addition to glow fuel but also gas and turbine fuels,

It would help to know if your failures were a failure to pump or just leaks from the bottom of the case or did the gears lock up and freeze? That can happen and if so its easy to break a handle.

The actual pump is a rootes type pump and has a round stainless plate covering one whole side of the pump. Some brands but not all provide a screw in the main case to push aginst this plate and that is the screw your dealer was referring to. A simple very small rotating of this screw can increase pump pressure but it does not take much to makes things worse and that is why some brands omit this screw. This screw only can adjust pump pressure very slightly but it has nothing to do with the crank locking. That is caused by a tiny bit of dirt getting into the gears and does not take much. If you catch it ;quick enough a light rocking back and forth with the crank in most cases will free up the gears.

As for a small amount of leakage out the bottom of the pump I just do not worry and it seams to be endemic in most of the brands. By the way in terms of ease of use when these pumps are used for gasoline they are quite fast and glow fuel is a bit more work while the turbine fuel takes the longest and the most work But I still love these pumps.

John

aframe2

My Feedback: (5)

John, just about everything you said about the pump I have experienced it. Sometime the pump won't draw fuel
out or won't pump it in. Sometimes the crank locks up tight like the gears are out of whack. I got to the field
the other day and couldn't fuel my plane. I just need something that is more reliable. I will try and adjust that
set screw in the middle of the diaphragm now that I have found it. Didn't know it was there. I have one electric
pump that is giving me the same problem. Hadn't had a chance to take that one apart yet. The leaks are the least
of the problems. I can live with that. Thanks, Aframe2

Jason Gross

Yes, I've lost two of them now. The original pump that came with my fuel station lasted for about 4 months then locked up and in the process of trying to jiggle it backwards I stripped one of the gears so it was off to the hobby shop for number two. Pump two lasted exactly one and a half uses before it did the same thing and I broke it again. I will say that the breakage of number two was partly my fault as I was frustrated and I probably put a little more "umph" into it than prudent. Anyhow, I'm not buying anymore of those pumps or the clones of them sold by thunder tiger etc. I'm using an ancient looking Tower pump that I acquired somewhere and it works fine but in the future I plan to try one of the Six Shooter type pumps. From what I've heard the Six Shooter pumps have their own little list of hiccups but at least they are so simple that I figure even a guy like me should be able to keep one running if I keep a spare piece of tube laying around.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

One little trick that while I am not sure actually helps but it takes no effort and just may is to always keep the pumps wetted out. In other words after the days last use defueling is to just reverse the crank a few turns and pump fuel forward in the pump after plugging the filler line back into the container.

Hi Jason, ya suppose if gun control ever comes to the wilds of northern Arizona you think we will have to register all our Dave Brown Six Shooter pumps

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

Hi Guys I have to ask are you pumping glo-fuel or gas ? as I have had the same pump, pumping gas for the last 5 years

Cheers bob T

aframe2

My Feedback: (5)

I am pumping both, not with the same pump. I have one on a gas setup, have changed it twice in the last
few months, and I have another one on a glow setup that I've changed 3 times in the last two months.
My local hobby shop contacted the dealer/supplier, and he said that these pumps would last forever;
however he gave us a fix for our problem which leads me to believe he knows there is an inherent problem
with this fueler. Aframe2

Jason Gross

I'm pumping glow. I tried to "break in" the second pump by pumping fuel out of and into my fuel can. The pump was Gritty from the git-go. I dunno...they both failed the same way, broken gears in the housing, the actual pumps are still fine after you break them free.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Bob Here is my current fuel pumping equipment. Five of the geared manuals are used for various glow fuels, one is used to pump gas and one is used in a hand held fashion to pump my turbine fuel. Also pictured is a 3 ounce syringe I use just for one engine and that is my 1937 gas fueled Brown Jr. The pictured Jett Tanker syringe I use on all my pylon racers as well as my conrtrolline airplanes that I utilize bubbleless tanks with. The last pictured is the yellow Sullivan Streaker electric pump that I use freehand with a velcro'd three cell lipo. This pump is the only electric I utillize and only for my two cross country airplanes one which carries 72 ounces of fuel and the other 115 ounces .


Ease of pumping and durability I beleve is directly effected by what is pumped and the very easiest is gas with the turbine fuel being the most difficult and time consuming with glow fuel somewhere in between. So Bob if you only have used your geared manual for gas then yes you have likely avoided some of the difficulties with glow, pump diesel, kerosene or Jet A.

However as I noted in post #2 the geared manuals are certainly not perfect and can have problems in use but for all around reliability ease of use and simplicity they are worth every penny.

The chief reason I do not like the six shooter personally is they require two hands to turn unlike the geared manuals and are more difficult to use. The largest tanks I use with the manuals is the fifty ounce Dubro and that is definately much more of a challenge with the six shooter. I have owned a few of them acquired from buyouts but soon tired of their use and donated to the club auction.



John

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

Try a Dave Brown pump. Simple, inexpensive, parts are available and they last forever. I can't understand why people use any other pump while enduring all sorts of problems.

aspeed

Is that the Dave Brown Six Shooter? It looks like he has sold out to another company but is still doing the spinners. Ohio ____ Products something or other. I may need to go to something else some day. I still use a rubber fuel bulb and syringe for bladders.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I picked up a couple of the Magnum hand pumps at a swap meet for about 5 bucks a piece. Had them for several years now and they are both still working but like John I have one that leaks a little when pumping. I just keep a rag in my box and wipe my hands after fueling up.
I use one for glow and one for gas, they are supposed to be glow only though but after years of use the one I have for gas is just fine. The one I use for glow is the leaker.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Just for giggles I thought I might post these pictures of the first manual I purchased I think back to the late seventies or early eighties, It was produced by Dubro and is not geared or is it a Rootes type pump, rather it is a single rubber impeller with multiple flaps. As you might expect from the label advising to prime before use that proved to be quite a challenge at times. It also could not be used with gas because of the rubber impeller.

I also included a picture of some Six shooters that I had and as you can see they are designed to be strapped with a two inch strap around metal cans. The problem in use is due to the rough action of two pulses of fuel every three hundred and sixty degrees it is necessary to hold the can down with one hand and crank with the other and what happens is a rocking action starts that is very tiring in use and if you use the strap with a plastic bottle this rocking can become severe. I would advise anyone contemplating one of these to actually use one first.



John

acdii

I have, and it sits on a shelf. Way too difficult to use since I can't find a metal can to strap it to. The one I have is for gas, and after gas has sat in it for a while it is easier to spin.

aspeed

I saw a For What It's Worth article from many moons ago. They used a car's mechanical fuel pump to fill the weedwacker/Quadra gasoline motors. They put a handle on the lever that normally goes on the crank cam. I guess it must have worked. Not sure about glow fuel, it may affect the neoprene bellows or whatever was used. I thought of trying one, I have one sitting around, but just use the old bulb until it gives up the ghost.

acdii

I tried one of those electric automotive fuel pumps, lasted all of 5 minutes before it spit fuel out everywhere.

aspeed

No, this was the mechanical ones. The 70's and earlier cars all had them. I thought they were kind of big and heavy, but really they are not any bigger than the other plastic ones now. Heavier yes because they are mostly aluminum. They may leak too, I haven't tried. I have gone through two electric ones without even using them. One came with a box of stuff at a swap meet, and the other one appeared on my swap meet table somehow? I still have one that I have not tried that came with a toolbox that accompanied a plane I bought. I will need a fuel can with the fittings to try it out, and have not got aroun tuit. I have also considered a fuel bulb to pressurize the fuel can too, but it would need a quick pinch off valve. I have tried a snowmobile primer and it worked but was slow because of the long thin tubing that it has to suck through.

Jason Gross

The windshield washer pumps for cars are usually made to handle fluids with alcohol in them and they sell "universal inline" replacement pumps at napa/auto zone etc. that have just about perfect sized barbed inlet and outlet fittings. I don't know how long they'd last compared to a purpose made glow fuel pump but if you wanted to use an electric pump and you've got a curious mind it might be worth spending a couple bucks and a half hour at the junk yard to find out.

acdii

I have gone through 3 electric pumps, while my hand crank pump is still going strong. The electrics work fine until half a gallon is left then they stop pumping. I have one glow and one gas hand crank Dubro pump and they so far(knocking on particle board) still pump nice.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

For the fellows using an independent pump of what ever type one method I have found works very well indeed is to clean the area on the can/bottle with a bit of alcohol and layer down a quarter in depth of RTV (silicon cement ) and just push the back of the pump into the layer without pushing all the way down so perhaps an eighth inch space remains between the can and the pump then let cure for a full 24 hours.

This has worked for me extremely well now for some years now and it also works on plastic bottles. I once did a byrons bottle with the pump on the upper tapered portion of the bottle but I finally let this on go and donated to a club auction. The round plastic jugs are less stable in the truck or trailer with a smaller footprint and of course taller.

If I were to use a dave brown I definately would use it RTV'd to a metal can and not strapped. I do not beleve that pump would work though RTV''d to a plastic bottle.

Hey Jason Gross good to see you posting and I have good news, our local Walmart still sells the seven inch rubber bands for the old broad chord old timers. Just bought a 1/4 lb bag yesterday, 2.89. When I was buying them before they were called book marker bands but the same bands are now marketed as file bands and are in the stationary section about the middle of the store next to the coin tube wrappers. Sorry for the digression.



John

acdii

I have something like this for my gas. http://www.rcplanet.com/Dubro_Fillin...h_p/dub908.htm

I attached it to a glow gallon and use that for my gas. My glow fuel though I hand hold the pump, and when done flying take the fill cap off the bottle and seal it with the original cap to keep moisture out. For my glow I use one of these, http://www.rcplanet.com/Great_Planes...p/gpmp1001.htm and store the pump in the bottom drawer.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

I still have one of these.....worked well for many years....

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Years ago when I was still racing VWs and sand rails I was using a small electric fuel pump made by Facet. I figured they were long gone by now but I just googled facet electric fuel pumps and they are still with us. The red top is still only $13.50 and they work great, even with the alcohol in our gas. They didn't last long with straight alcohol though, we used one of there pumps designed for it. I even used one in my camper for my water and it lasted a couple years. I only have two gas powered planes in operation at any one time so don't require an electric pump but if I wanted one I would go with the Facet pump again in a minute. It comes with two screw in barbs that are a bit big for filling our gas powered planes but you can buy smaller barbs at any auto parts store of neck them down. Good pump and they work great for very little money. I even used one on my 15 gallon gas cans to fill my rails gas tank, they have a great flow rate too.

acdii

That looks like the pump for West Systems.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Indeed Tailskid and very similar I sure did remember these well, cost 79 cents and fit the pint and half pint cans. Perfect was the Dubro of its time everything ya needed for under a buck and all the thousands of little packets for 5 and 10 cents.

This one is not mine but sure wish it was

John