Which glow fuel pump does everyone use to fill your planes at the field?
I had my second hanger 9 and third overall electric pump stop working and end my flying before I could even get the plane fueled today. So I need to get a new pump and I'm wondering which pump people have had the best luck with.

I went through quite a few electric pumps before I got fed up with them dying so quickly. Tried several different brands but the same result, they seemed to last less than one season before they started leaking or died outright. I then bought a Hobbico hand cranked pump. I've had it now for 4 years and it's still going strong. I wouldn't use another electric pump it if was given to me free.

Hope this helps

Ken

The electric pumps are small gear pumps. Their early demise may be caused by something getting into the gears. Disassemble your latest failed pump to see if the gears are jammed with something.

I've had a Dave Brown Six Shooter for over 10 years and it's still working fine. If it goes, you can just replace the tubing. Not fancy, not electric, but dependable.

Rich

I've had several electric pumps die on me. The recent crop seem to be 6V motors and claim to be usable with either 6V or 12V systems. You can tell from the sound that they are turning way too fast and it tore the drive assembly apart in one and melted the pump in another. All in a 3 week time span

I finally gave up buying crap and bought the Slimline Boxxer fuel pump http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNB26&P=7 .

It's designed for 12V systems and the pump head is CNC machined. Best of all, a rebuild kit is available. But having seen the insides of one, I'm sure I won't be needing that for quite a few years.

Yes it costs more than the POS pumps but it's quiet and reliable. By the way, this is not a gear pump. The pump head works on the same principle as the venerable Six Shooter. And like Rich said, just replace the tubing.

For hand crank I use a Six Shooter. For electric I now use a Boxxer.

Dave

Kwigen, I opened the pump up at the field and the gears seamed to turn fine but the plastic part that the motor turns was spinning freely on the shaft to the gear.

I've been giving it some thought and I think I'll just buy a hand crank pump, maybe even an extra to keep in my flight box just in case the hand crank one stops working.

I always carry a hand-crank pump for WHEN my electric pump dies. The electric pump I am currently using (my 3rd) will be my last. I like the sullivan bottle/can topper and pump combo. Most of the guys who fly gas, (not glow), use a squeeze ball or a hand-crank. (sumthin bout electricity, sparks and gas...I dunno...I just nod and smile a lot).

I agree with Ken...hand-crank pumps are the most reliable.

I have a Sonic-Tronics Mark X electric pump that still works after 15 years. Just used it this morning, in fact. Although it is getting a little weak now. Guess it's due for retirement. I think the Sullivan pumps are pretty good too.

I've been using a cheap Hobbico electric pump for years. I think it's almost 6yrs old. Still works fine. If I had to guess--I'd say close to 40 or 50 gallons of fuel.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXVZ41&P=0

I don't run it dry though. When it starts sucking bubbles, I shut it off. I see, and hear, guys running their electric fuel pumps dry all the time. We all know that sound when the pump is sucking bubbles--it speeds up and gets louder. They suck the tank down, and then get sidetracked or start BSing, and the pump sits there and screams it's guts out runing dry for 10 or even 20 seconds before they shut it down. Maybe that causes shortened lifespan on them. Or not. Who knows? [:-] I just don't see the point in trying to suck every last drop out of the tank. If there's 1/2oz of fuel left in the tank, and the pump can't forcibly suck it out through the clunk--then how on earth could it ever leak out and cause damage in the car or the house?

Mine works great though.

G'day Mate, mine did the same thing, so I squeezed the shaft a bit in a pair of plyers, to roughen it a bit & make it a firmer fit in the drive then put some locktight on the shaft & pushed it onto the drive, it has been pumping for 8 months with no hint of a failure yet. PS, I had been using a Sonictronics Fuel pump for over 20 years until it finally wore out.
Good Flyin Mate.
Allan.

Well Im with everyone here and I found a very nice solution that so far has worked for almost 2 -3 seasons. Yeah you can buy the manual crank pumps. I still use the manual pump for back up but have yet to use it.
Anyway most of the electric pumps out there are the gear driven pumps so you can drain if needed. But if you look around in the local junk yard you have a prethera (sp) of pumps at your disposal. If you find any older volvo cars around the 86-89 range the windshield washer pump is a 12v gear driven pump that works very good for fueling the plane up. I picked up a pump there for like 2 bucks and has done very well. Dont know if the seals are nitro proof but, so far lasting almost 2 years it has yet to leak.

rcfury - with an automotive windshield washer pump, can you reverse the electrical connection and make the pump go the other way?

Thats how it works on any DC motor.

Thats how you reverse a servo by yourself. Reverse the wires on the motor and the pot and you got yourself a reversed servo.

All the switch on the Hobbico pump does it reverse the direction of current.

Sonic Tronic pumps are great. You MUST mount them as per the instructions. I have had 3 now. I just replaced one and found out it was my wiring, not the pump. My first Mark X lasted about 8 or 9 years. I think that is normal for a sonic tronic mark X. And they ship fast to. I think McDaniels RC is the distributor. Search.
I had a Six Shooter years ago. It worked great for about a year or two. Then the tube inside flattened out and the pump had almost no volume to speak of. It took a long time to fuel a plane. Hanger 9 has a good little hand cranker. ( Just don't loan it out, you will never see it again.) It WAS my "back up" pump.
Sonic Tronic Mark X comes in a 12 volt and a 6 Volt version. I don't believe it is a good idea to run 12 volts through the 6 volt motor.
I like the Sonic Tronic because it is the most compact and I feel, the most reliable electric pump. They are fast and clean also. They generally don't die all at once. Toward the end of their life, they get slower and louder. But they hang in there for some time before they quit completely.

Thanks for all the replies. I went to the LHS yesterday. They had the Sonic Tronic pump but it doesn't have a switch on it so it would have to be ran through a power panel and I didn't really care for that idea. They also had a Sullivan electric pump that looked to be well made and the package said it's direct drive which leads me to believe it has a different way of connecting to motor to the pump than the sloppy drive system that's on the H9 pump so I decided to go with that one. Hopefully this one last for a while.