Vacuum Pump replacement

OkieAviator

OkieAviator

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OkieAviator
Flying back from Austin on Sunday my Vacuum system went down. Today the mechanic pulled the park off and the coupling basically just sheered in half.

The part that was in there was an Aero Pump 215CC. I found two different types that I beleive are replacements; TEMPEST TORNADO DRY AIR PUMP AA3215CC and a Rapco RAP215CC series.

Two questions... 1) there's also a *215CC-9, what's the -9 about? 2) Is the extra $75 for a Tempest brand worth it?
 
Don't know about the -9 but after having a couple of them apart and seeing the innerds, I use Sigma-Tek. The Sigma-tek is a much better pump in my opinion. No, I am not affiliated with the company in any way.
 
The Sigma-tek is about twice as much as the Rapco. If I'm looking at the right thing.
 
OkieAviator said:
The Sigma-tek is about twice as much as the Rapco. If I'm looking at the right thing.
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Yes, it is.
The pump is bi-directional. The rotor is aluminum instead of carbon like pencil lead. The vanes are like carbon-fiber instead of easily broken carbon like a pencil lead.
 
OkieAviator said:
About $308... I'm self loathing...
Click to expand...

VFR only it doesn't really matter...if'n yer gonna see IMC some day...maybe it's worth the extra money. If you go for the lower cost pump just plan on replacing it every 600 hours or so.

Me? I went with the Airwolf wet pump...
 
I have tried the sig tec, my experiance with it was not good. The pump failed well before the graphite models I have previously used. I am running a Rapco. The bottom line is you need a back up if you are flying In IMC.
 
The shaft is supposed to shear. That way when the blades jam up in a failure the thing doesn't gum up your accessory drive.
 
N801BH said:
What is your life worth...:dunno::dunno::dunno::rolleyes:
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Vacuum pump failure should be merely annoying, not life-threatening. If it would be life-threatening, you need some recurrent partial-panel training before you fly in actual instrument conditions again. :wink2:
 
Rapco and Tempest both have vane wear inspection ports. Don't know about Sigma-Tek. If you check the vane wear as per the maunfacturer's recommendations, pump failure is unlikely since those vanes won't wear down enough to cock and jam the pump. Pumps without such ports usually need replacing at 500 hours or whatever just to avoid the possibility of failure. You can end up replacing perfectly good pumps.

Tempest has a new little seal that you position appropriately when you install it. That seal keeps external oil and solvents out of the drive end of the pump. Such contaminants can get into other pumps and gum up the innards and fail them.

Leaking pump drive seals in the adapter in the engine will fail any dry pump in short order. Way too common.

The plastic drive is usually a six-year lifed part. It gets brittle and weak with age and heat and can fail.

Dan
 
Dan Thomas said:
Rapco and Tempest both have vane wear inspection ports. Don't know about Sigma-Tek.

Dan
Click to expand...
If you remove the intake or exhaust tube on a Sigma-Tek, the vanes are readily visible for inspection.
 
The -9 is the amount of time before the warrantee runs out.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Rapco and Tempest both have vane wear inspection ports. Don't know about Sigma-Tek. If you check the vane wear as per the maunfacturer's recommendations, pump failure is unlikely since those vanes won't wear down enough to cock and jam the pump. Pumps without such ports usually need replacing at 500 hours or whatever just to avoid the possibility of failure. You can end up replacing perfectly good pumps.

Tempest has a new little seal that you position appropriately when you install it. That seal keeps external oil and solvents out of the drive end of the pump. Such contaminants can get into other pumps and gum up the innards and fail them.

Leaking pump drive seals in the adapter in the engine will fail any dry pump in short order. Way too common.

The plastic drive is usually a six-year lifed part. It gets brittle and weak with age and heat and can fail.

Dan
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this. Mine has an inspection port and have yet to actually use it. I don't think it's on the Cessna inspection checklist so I forget there is a gauge to measure wear.
 
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