Boost Pump

[Gasser]

I used a twin Weldon fuel pump setup in my race car for years with out a failure. Hopefully these will workout.

[Si_Zim]

N43SE has been running on a Weldon boost pump for about a year now.
I remembered that I have the old Dukes pump knocking around and I am wondering what the best way to proceed is. It would be good to have it remanufactured and ready as a spare. There is absolutely no urgency to do this so I will happily save $$ with a slower rebuild option.
I believe the Dukes issues have been ironed out in recent revisions although I think there are skeptics out there. I certainly do not want to pay what they are asking for a reman Dukes when a Weldon is cheaper and better. I have a moral objection to paying so much more for something that's inferior when there are better, cheaper options out there. Really they should be discounting the reman's for us given how quickly they failed in the first place.
What do you think:
1. Find a shop to overhaul it at their convenience - hopefully to latest rev Dukes spec (any suggestions)?
2. See if someone will accept the Dukes as a core for a Weldon (or CJ) or better PMA'd replacement?
3. Keep it as a paperweight - and just get a Weldon if I need to in the future

[Si_Zim]

Think I am going for option 1... Aeromotors LLC will OH for $400.
Apparently they will be using superior parts that will not be susceptible to the early failures of the Dukes rev < C. We'll see how it works out.
It'll be the backup for my Weldon... so hopefully it won't see action any time soon.

[RMarkSampson]

Fred, I posted my saga with my Duke's Boost Pump on the DA-20 forum. Very pleased with my $500 solution vice the OEM route.

dukes-fuel-pump-drip-t5130.html

[Si_Zim]

Thanks for the feedback on them Mark. I'll give them a shot

Simon

[David B]

A few years ago my Duke pump appeared to be on it's last legs and with some sound advice from this forum I purchased a newly approved Weldon pump to keep in the ski tube for what I assumed would be pending failure. Interestingly, once I had the new pump in hand I have since flow the plane in excess of 300 additional hours TT without any issues. In fact, the radio static has long since gone as well.

The plane now has almost 700 hours TT on it and the original pump continues to work flawlessly as the spare collects dust in the ski tube.

I use the pump for take-off only to 800 AGL and then monitor pressure to cruise altitude. I closely monitor the fuel pressure on final but don't use the pump unless I see a pressure change...and I never have. I never use it to switch tanks either.

[Charles]

To add to this, my pump is dying right now. It runs but at what seems to be a much slower rpm than before. It had been installed at 740TT to replace the original one when it failed, and now this one failed at 1450TT. So it seems to have a 700-hour life with my usage pattern of about 5 minutes of use per hour of flight.

Any update on how the Weldon pumps and the latest Dukes are performing would be appreciated.

[BlackMammoth]

We have been flying with a Weldon pump for 290 hours without issue. Our last Dukes pump barely made it 100 hours... so this is an improvement.

Probably too early to render real durability verdict, but so far so good.

We probably have run the pump more than any other fuel pump we have had in the aircraft. Since we installed Electronic Ignition we have been flying at higher (sometimes much) cruise altitudes on long trips. Above 10-11k feet we often engage the fuel pump to keep the fuel pressure stable. This means that we are running the pump for 2-3 hours at a stretch, and we have done this a lot.

Prior to the Elctronic Ignition we seldom went over 10k as the airplane just got too slow to justify the climb (tailwinds being the exception).

[Chris B]

We have been flying with a Weldon pump for 290 hours without issue. Our last Dukes pump barely made it 100 hours... so this is an improvement.

Probably too early to render real durability verdict, but so far so good.

We have about 630 tach hours on the Weldon, and regularly fly high with the pump running continuously. The previous two Dukes pumps lasted a combined 717 tach hours. As Phil notes, the time and sample size is too small to reach any firm conclusions. But the Weldon is specifically designed as a primary fuel pump and rated for 2000 hours.

Since we installed Electronic Ignition we have been flying at higher (sometimes much) cruise altitudes on long trips.
<snip>
Prior to the Elctronic Ignition we seldom went over 10k as the airplane just got too slow to justify the climb (tailwinds being the exception).

Phil -

This probably warrants a separate thread, but would you please consider sharing your experience switching to electronic ignition?

I would love to hear about:

• Before/after climb & cruise performance (especially if you were running LoP prior to the switch)
• Installation complexity (/suggestions)
• Maintenance (frequency & cost)

Thanks!

Chris

[rwtucker]

I made a few inquiries on the Weldon 18002-B. This reply was interesting.

. . . We have this Weldon PN advertised to help sell an alternate NE FAA PMA pump that we distribute. The pump we offer is a clone of the Dukes Aerospace original, from a high quality vendor. We sell the pump new exchange, but an outright sale may need to be considered if you have the Weldon pump installed.

We would need to confirm that the aircraft is not being flown / used as a flight training aircraft… the vendor will not sell the pump to a flight school plane due to abnormal (ill-advised) maneuvers they encounter. As a flight school aircraft, the planes have shown to be being flown in a manner that causes premature failure of the fuel pumps.

We would be happy to provide you with the following:

QTY: 1 Each PN: 5100-00-9CJ – Fuel Boost Pump
Cost: $685.00 new (FAA PMA) condition – exchange, with a $50.00 core value

- Unit comes with a single release FAA 8130-3 form stating NEW
- Unit comes with a dual release FAA 8130-3 form stating INSPECTED
- Unit comes with a (limited) 2 year / 300 hours warranty period

New pumps utilize a permanent magnet style motor, opposed to the old wound field coil type
New pumps are not subject to the mandatory 10 year replacement SB (all Dukes OH and NE pumps are required replaced every 10 years).

A like part number, repairable core is due back within 30 days of the sale, or it will be deemed outright. Core will be billed on day 31 if a qualifying core has not been returned. Core must be Dukes 5100-00-9.

Ryan Svetz
Power Packs Plus
1380 Greg Street, Suite 203
Sparks, NV 89431
Office: 775-322-8555 Ext. #307
Fax: 775-322-8562
http://www.powerpacksplus.com