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Grease/Lube Coffee Grinder


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My coffee grinder beacon works well, at least it has been. I would like to replace it but not right at the moment. Last time I flew it was rotating slowly when first turned on but after a few minutes was up to speed. Searching through old threads I found a post from @carusoam (pretty good odds there ;)) talking about cleaning and re-lubing the beacon. My question is how? Take the lens and retaining ring off the outside? Do I have to crawl inside the empennage and go at it from that side? I am thinking that perhaps it needs needs to be re-lubed and might last me a bit longer.

 

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My coffee grinder beacon works well, at least it has been. I would like to replace it but not right at the moment. Last time I flew it was rotating slowly when first turned on but after a few minutes was up to speed. Searching through old threads I found a post from [mention=7104]carusoam[/mention] (pretty good odds there ) talking about cleaning and re-lubing the beacon. My question is how? Take the lens and retaining ring off the outside? Do I have to crawl inside the empennage and go at it from that side? I am thinking that perhaps it needs needs to be re-lubed and might last me a bit longer.
 


I pulled the grinder one time before I went with the strobe version. You can pull the entire unit from below. Just remove the mounting screws and the unit should be free. My comments are based on the 1975 version of rotating beacon. 60 models may be different.

Once out, you can remove the cover screws and get to the gears inside. I can’t recall what lightweight grease I used but you want something that has a wide temperature range.


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If it's the same coffee grinder light as on the J models, it's pretty easy to get out.  You loosen the screw on the retaining ring, and eventually the light just drops down.  There's a gasket and metal ring, I can't remember which goes on top, so make a note of it.  I did not lube the motor, though, I was doing it to clean and micromesh the red lens, so I don't know how that goes.  I assume you can't go too wrong with Triflow?

Edit: based on @Marauder's comment, it seems like there are more than one kind of beacon used.

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You may be able to get it off from the outside, but I assisted the A&P who did my annual with the reinstall and he had to get inside the tail to hold backup. Maybe mine was a one off....


Yeah, the older ones may have mounted differently. Mine had one of these collars that the unit attached to and it attached to the fuselage from there.

51f8d37531f3f50dfe52100f112a5ab5.jpg

The rotating beacon, the Whelen strobe and the Whelen LEDs all attached using this method. It uses the screw closest to the flashing element on this strobe unit.

8ba6fbb94b9f4d92198c22b810d5011c.jpg


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This is what mine looked like when I installed the new Whelen LED unit. The old one was not a true coffee grinder, just a large high-voltage flasher that went variable intermittent on the flashes. In this picture, the trim ring has already been moved to the new unit to prep it for install.

DSC02325.thumb.JPG.22c6509d8d606ef87e1b6ff9099671ae.JPG

P.S.--all work done sitting on the concrete floor shown above. Hard it was, but not cold during June in WV. I wrote down the part number on the label of the old one, and the nice sales guy at the Whelen booth at Tornado n Fun laughed, said "wow, that's old" and took me to a dealer's booth to purchase the correct unit--"you need this one." Great way to shop! It was also the last, very slow, CC transaction from that hangar before all hell broke loose . . . . .  :o 

Edited by Hank
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32 minutes ago, PilotCoyote said:

They’ve got LEDs for that strobe now...correct?

Are you talking about LED bulbs for the rotating beacon? If there are I haven't been able to come up with any through searches. Eventually I would like to replace it with a LED strobe but that is quite a way down the list of things, especially as long as I can keep it working.

17 minutes ago, jaylw314 said:

yeah, that's definitely different than what's on my '86 J.  It's simply a retaining collar that clamps the lens and light onto a ring under the empennage

Mine has a collar on it, and I recall a retaining ring but it looks much different than Chris'. I'll mess around with it tonight when I'm there assuming I don't have to crawl inside, that would be a job for the skinny 14yo kid that lives rent free in my house.

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25 minutes ago, skykrawler said:

Another thing to motivate the move to LED is the grinder is rated 4.5 amps for 14v.    My electrical analysis is indicates closing on 40 amps nominally.  Add to that radio transmissions, pitot heat,  gear operation, flap operation.   I want the LED....but I want my $500 more for now.

 

Yes, when I switch it on at idle I watch the volts on my engine monitor drop. Glad I have manual gear/flaps, a couple less things pulling power. I want to move to LED but there have been some other things on the plane this past year that ate up discretionary funds.

14 minutes ago, Marauder said:

You can replace rotating beacons with strobe version shown above or this LED unit.

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I know, and one day I will. That day is hopefully not today.

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We did my grimes unit a few years ago. No, Mooney did not bother with a nut plate so if no one has fabricated one it's a two man job, someone on the screw underneath and someone in the fuselage on the nut.  The grimes units are ancient tech but well made. The fact that they run for decades with little to no maintenance is a testament to their robust construction.  Mine was in excellent shape even the adhesive tape on the motor was still pliable and sticky and had not deteriorated in nearly fifty years.  The sealed bearings (Made in W. Germany) eventually dry out. Soaking and lubing them made all the difference in the world. It's been running like new ever since. 

Edited by Shadrach
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21 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 


You can replace rotating beacons with strobe version shown above or this LED unit.

b637c518dc15d1be07f3d4c2474a060d.jpg


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Marauder, that’s the Whelen that I have...there is a way to retrofit an LED without replacing the entire unit? I’d be interested in that.

 

[EDIT] Disregard- I misread your post!

Edited by PilotCoyote
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Out with the old...

In with the new...

Replacing the bulbs with LED equivalent bulbs sounds like a nice idea, but...

It is the motorized rotating beacon part that doesn’t work very well.  The grease gets old, solidifies, then overcomes the small motor... it’s like an annual event...

Whelen went ahead and built a replacement using strobes in the early y2k era...

Now they have a non rotating lotso LEDs to cover the base...

And the size of the device is much smaller overall... don’t forget to order the extra ring to convert the larger hole to size....

My 65C had two holes to cover a lot of directions. One on top, one on the bottom... Great if you have no strobes... 

I still have the rotating beacon on my shelf if somebody wants an awesome desk decoration... :)

Best regards,

-a-

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Just as an aside note.  I received an e-mail from Whelen talking about their new Orion 360 LED rotating beacon.  It is pricey but seems to be a nice unit with a lower profile.  Aircraft Spruce sells it here https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/whelen-orion360.php

Like I said it is pricey though.

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