Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

Well it was a nice warm +2 today and I decided to take my enforcer out again after trying to get my pipe pressure fitting to stay put. It blew 3 fittings so far and nothing can hold that sucker in their. The aluminum just lets go. So today we had a new larger fitting with red lock tight and it ran ok for 1 flight until again the engine died in flight and after glidding it to the field I looked and not just the pressure fitting was gone but the whole pipe let go.

I have a few pics to show you. I have never seen a pipe let go at the header like that. Basically this pipe is a tube within an outer tube. the outer tube is welded at a header section that fits over the engine header. Well the weld let go big time.

I am now wondering if I should by another pipe like this or get the regular long pipe. Have others had this kind of issue with these pipes. I would have figured that pipes should last more then 6 runs.

Enjoy!

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Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

Hmmm

I have been using 1 on a TG jet for well over a year now.They are great pipes and very well suited for the OS91's.I did in the 1st few flights have the same problem with the pressure tap coming loose. What it is-it's a weak spot in the metal-its only 1/8 thick & only allows 3 threads tight at the most .So what I did was give mine to a friend who is a welder-he brazed it on and it never has even loosened up 1 bit since with many flights on that pipe now.

I have since bought another one for my YA F16 .I love them,what they offer is much less lighter,much more powerful and a whole lot less quieter..A good close 2nd choice is the BVM pipe ,i own a couple of those as well

regards-Steve

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

I have never heard of the pipe actually seperating from the outer segment.I think maybe it was just a freak thing or maybe a weak link in your particular pipe.Mine recently had the springs come undone in flighton my YA F16,had fan pressure so I flew it 2 more laps then came in for a landing.Upon approach the pipe which come undone-blew out the back and hit the pavement from about 50 feet .So there goes the proof that are strong well built pipes:D




Steve

Weston pipe the best!
 

Hi ,having almost 20 years of running the Byron setup, I have found that the Weston pipe is the Best pipe by far for a Byron fan. I used Jb weld around the pressure fitting to build up this point so the high vibration wouldn't break the fitting off. MAKE sure the pipe and fitting are clean and sand the area with 120 grit and the pressure fitting also! good luck..

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

After spending 159US on this pipe and have it blow it's weld after 6 flights and the pressure fittings you can see how I might be a little apprehensive about purchasing another one.

I have heard recently from a few people about this pipe having a bad pressure fitting connection. Do you know if the pipe maker has fixed this weakness in the pipe ?

Send it back!
 

Sparkplug, I would call them up (JDE or Weston) and tell them the situation. I bet they will replace/repair the pipe for you and save you the 159. You may be out of commission for a couple weeks though.

I'm mixed on the whole Weston vs. other pipes. I believe the Weston IS better on the Byron set-up, but will take the JMP II system ANY day for the Dynamax. I'm glad I don't have to pick which one to put on my turbine :D

Call them and give them a chance to make it right.

George

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

Hello,

I too believe that the short pipe is perfect for the pusher type applications. The short pipe split versions also are great because the fit almost any size bifurcated exhaust. The straight thru tractor application would work as well also, if you were going for the weight savings, etc. The other straight thru tractor tuned pipe systems work well for this set up also since there are usually no restrictions in these applications.
Where did you purchase it from?
I purchased my last short pipe set up from TGA, with the discounts they offered I got the entire set up for $129.99 not the $ 159.00 you mentioned. I am very happy with this product and have not had any problem with the outer shell separating.
I would definitely check and see if you can get some kind of discount, like a new one at cost.
TGA must be in the "loop" they have been selling these for a while now, give them a call, they take care of their customers. Even if the place you purchased yours from won't do anything, TGA may, since they are selling them and should want to keep the product publicity positive. Good Luck, Let us know what happens.
Paul

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

I orginally purchased this pipe from TGA in the fall when I was building my byro enforcer. I will send an email to Steven Gray with the pictures to see what his take is with this.

Enjoy!

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

Well I have spoken to Top Gun but since they are the distributer their is not much they can do. They did offer to give me another pipe at their cost. I have sent an email to Weston directly to try and see what the next step should be.

Enjoy!

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

I doubt you will get a response from Weston via email. I have tried on numerous occaisions. You might try faxing them a note, or since the pipe is useless, I'd write a letter and stick the whole thing in a box and send it off to them.

Pipe problems
 

.. High frequency vibrations can cause this problem with ALL tuned pipes, and I'd put $$$$ on it that this is the problem because I've experienced it many times.

Took me a while to figure out how/why I was wasting $4 and breaking pipes :D

IMHO the Weston pipes are 2nd to none - except for the BVM pipes.

Just my .02 eurocents worth...

Mike C

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

Hmm!

Well I am running a hurricane fan which was balanced by hurricane and when I got it it was perfect. So I guess where would the vibration come from aside from maybe a balance issue on the shaft but this would cause the rpm on the engine to never reach it's peak efficiency.

In flight it was not fluttering at all even on a steep dive.

So I guess where would the vibration come from ?

The only thing is that this pipe is running in a fairly cold climat compared to most people. I was flying earlier this year off snow at a temp of -20. I wonder if this might be the cause of the pipe being brittle.

Enjoy!

Weston byron short pipe not so good
 

I received an email today from Alan of Weston UK and they want me to send them the pipe for repairs which is good. They got back to me very quickly as well which is very nice.

Oh by the way I got to see how the inside of this pipe is built and I have to say that this is one master piece of a pipe. It's a very nice clean design inside. Their are a few things in their that I am not sure of it's purpose but if the pipe works which it does then no need to question it.

enjoy!