need replacement vacuum actuator for 1990 vintage precise flight speed brakes

[N201MKTurbo]

If somebody wanted to do a mod to replace the vacuum actuators with electric actuators, it would be a bit of work. It would require an STC. I wonder how many vacuum actuated systems are out there? It wouldn’t be technically difficult. It would be one of those deals where you will sell a few as soon as available, and a few a year as the vacuum actuators fail. Once they are all replaced, you are out of business.

It would be a fairly easy haul for @Sabremech because he already did it for the step.

[Sabremech]

35 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

If somebody wanted to do a mod to replace the vacuum actuators with electric actuators, it would be a bit of work. It would require an STC. I wonder how many vacuum actuated systems are out there? It wouldn’t be technically difficult. It would be one of those deals where you will sell a few as soon as available, and a few a year as the vacuum actuators fail. Once they are all replaced, you are out of business.

It would be a fairly easy haul for @Sabremech because he already did it for the step.

That would be @takair who did the step!

 

[IvanP]

Looking at the two systems from Precise Flight - the old vacuum and the "upgraded" electric system, it seems that the new system has quite a few more possibilities for failure than the very simple vacuum system. While I am not a big fan of vacuum systems, one has to acknwoledge the simplicity and efficiency of the original design with relatively low maintenance. It is unfortunate that the copany no longer supports the legacy system. Given the price of the "upgrade" and the associated installation costs, my guess is that few pilots will choose the $0.10 way of addressing vacuum actuator failure - INOP sticker, or try a creative way of Owner Produced Part if possible.   

I could not justify the price tag of the "upgrade" for my plane. 

[N201MKTurbo]

55 minutes ago, Sabremech said:

That would be @takair who did the step!

 

Oops.

[kortopates]

Looking at the two systems from Precise Flight - the old vacuum and the "upgraded" electric system, it seems that the new system has quite a few more possibilities for failure than the very simple vacuum system. While I am not a big fan of vacuum systems, one has to acknwoledge the simplicity and efficiency of the original design with relatively low maintenance. It is unfortunate that the copany no longer supports the legacy system. Given the price of the "upgrade" and the associated installation costs, my guess is that few pilots will choose the $0.10 way of addressing vacuum actuator failure - INOP sticker, or try a creative way of Owner Produced Part if possible.   
I could not justify the price tag of the "upgrade" for my plane. 

I don’t know, the simple vacuum brakes have their own issues besides the rubber diaphragm including sticking up in below freezing temps.
But another factor to consider with respect to cost is resale value. If your model came standard with speed brakes expect future buyers to discount the resale value by some proportion of the cost to upgrade since not really fixable. So it could be a situation of pay now or pay later without benefit of using them.


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[IvanP]

10 minutes ago, kortopates said:

I don’t know, the simple vacuum brakes have their own issues besides the rubber diaphragm including sticking up in below freezing temps.
But another factor to consider with respect to cost is resale value. If your model came standard with speed brakes expect future buyers to discount the resale value by some proportion of the cost to upgrade since not really fixable. So it could be a situation of pay now or pay later without benefit of using them.


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Fair point about resale value. I will have to make that decision when my system gives up the ghost. Knock on wood, it work OK for now. Just as on your plane, my speedbrakes get most activity at runup as I rarely use them in flight, but there are few instances when they come in handy. I am just too cheap to spend nearly 20 AMUs on replacing something that works. 

Edited June 2 by IvanP

[231MJ]

Mine still work but someone once told me that a speedo cap can replace the boot.  Keeping the cables lubed will help longevity.  I recently bought a device that works on motorcycles to lube cables, I'm going to try it at next annual. 

[takair]

7 hours ago, Sabremech said:

That would be @takair who did the step!

 

I would take a stab at it if I had a plane to try it on or a set of vacuum speed brakes to mock it up on.  I suspect that the linear actuators I use will be way to slow.  There are faster ones, but they don’t have the torque.  The ones that are fast and have the torque get big and heavy.  

[IvanP]

4 hours ago, 231MJ said:

Mine still work but someone once told me that a speedo cap can replace the boot.  Keeping the cables lubed will help longevity.  I recently bought a device that works on motorcycles to lube cables, I'm going to try it at next annual. 

Would you be willing to share what device are you planning to use on the cables. I lubed my cables with TriFlow using a straw but that may not be the best option. 

[231MJ]

This is the tool I bought but I have not tried it yet.  Not expensive.  I think you need to access the cable right where it goes from the wheel-well into the wing.  A little disassembly may be required.  

Amazon.com: KiWAV Cable Lubricator Lubricant Luber Lube Oiler Tool Twin Clamp for Motorcycle ATV Dirt-bike Scooter Bike snow-blower Toro-Zero-Turn snow-mobile lawn-mower lawn-tractor four-wheeler : Automotive

[Pinecone]

This whole thread makes me SO HAPPY that one Easter egg was finding they my plane had already be changed over to electric speed brakes.  Not mentioned anywhere in the ad.