Hydraulic Power Pack Used in the 14-19-2?

Jonathan Baron

Jonathan Baron

New member
As you can imagine, I'm not keen on using the Electrol 750B power pack again on my 14-19. Do any of you Bellanca 230 guys know the type of power pack used on your airplanes? I recall a 750N, but I'm not sure.

Thanks guys :)

Jonathan
 
hey jon!

have you determined the cause of your hydro-pak failure? i'm very interested in knowing if this is something that can be avoided or was it just "one of those things"?

a year or so ago, i was snooping around for someone to ovh mine (i have the original, not the one from the -2) and the only people i found who could do the job was AirParts of Lockhaven. they were very pleasant, but wanted $1500 to do it. also would not sell or release any of the maintainance manual to me. said it had cost them plenty to get it and they weren't about to let it go at any price.

at our low wing round-table discussion last weekend, there was a guy who recounted a series of disasterous episodes with his -2 pak. also said it was a pain to find someone to do the ovh job correctly. guess the later pak is no guarantee of immunity.

i actually prefer our earlier pak for it's more robust retraction "saftey". the one on the -2 is just a sheet metal "catch" that is easily bent or removed. our earlier one is a spring loaded bar that must be slid sideways before the l.g. handle can be lowered.

keep us posted on howgozit.

blue skies,
vic & N522A
 
Now Airparts of Lockhaven tells me they will no longer overhaul either the 750B or the 750N (the one in the -2).....they said something about the FAA, and you all know where the story goes from there, alas. Much like the phrase, "I don't mean to be critical, BUT...."

Jonathan
 
Jon, with all the Aztecs out there with the same hydrualic pack---someone is going to make some money! So my question is what about the manuals? If they're not using them maybe we can buy them and do the job. Lynn N9818B :twisted:
 
Lynn, If you can't find a manual or copy the section out of aztec book, please let me know--I used it to do mine--and I will make a copy and send it to you. I will not be back in the states until the 25th of July but would do it after that. Regards, Ron
 
Lynn,

I followed up earlier in the fashion you suggested - if they're not going to use the data anymore, heck, let me use it....well....let me let someone who knows what he's doing use it. I'll let you know what they say. You know how it is - once the golden hour of 8AM or even 6AM in some shops passes the phone becomes a landmine and those on it, wanting to speak with anyone who knows anything is viewed as a PITA, and nothing more :wink:

Ron/Lynn,

I found a 31800-003 pack, but they (Preferred Air Parts) do not know if this is a 750N. I phoned Bellanca, they have an ancient one, but it has no part number other than 750N. Is this a case of one item, released with a number for Piper and a different number for Bellanca?

Sorry guys, I know I sound a bit addle-brained at the moment. It may sound silly to you two, but mechanical matters too easily leave me feeling like a cave man with a Tricorder :)

Jonathan
 
Jonathan, I have both a 750N and a 31800-3 on the shelf in my hangar. Unfortunately, I will not be back there until around the 25th of July or I could compare the two mechanically--mounting--and hydraulically. If you don't figure it out by then let me know and I will check it out. I do remember that the "-3" that come out of the Aztec does have a reservoir that is taller now but maybe that could be changed to the original one. I do know that the relief valve pressures are higher for the Aztec but that is easily changed. The 750N came out of an earlier 260 and I bought the "-3" out of an Aztec that had an accident in Canada. "Looks like it might fit a Cruisemaster--Better buy it, right?" Let me know if I can help you. Regards, Ron
 
jon and all,

i spoke with george @ airparts of lockhaven this morning. george claims they "lost" the ovh document for the 750B and so have nothing to use for ovh and consequently have nothing to sell to us (hmmmm... :? )

his only suggestion for ovh was to talk to dick pifer @ pifer airmotive... (this may or may not be a good option. when i last asked dick pifer abt ovh'g my unit, he became very agitated and didn't really seem to want to do the job. he also wanted something like $2500 :shock: )

george did say that mechanically speaking, the 750B & 750N are VERY similar to the 750P which is used in the piper aztec, and that the ovh procedures for the 750P are contained in the aztec service manual! of course the housing/packaging of the 750P is considerably different and the internal pressures are slightly different, but maybe the aztec service manual is as close as we can come to some sort of documentation. i'll have to bird-dog this one and see what's actually in the aztec manual.

i'll keep you posted!

blue skies,
vic & N522A
 
Ron:

You seem to be in the ideal position, having both on the same shelf! I look forward to your return :)

Vic:

I hate to sound like a snippy lout, but I am a Jonathan. The tendency as we get to know people is to shorten their names, and I understand that.

OTOH I get a kick out of lengthening names (couldn't wait to call you "Vick-Door" at the fly-in). And I keep wanting to refer to Cy Galley as Cyrus. I'm also fond of assigning false ethnicity, such as using the Hebrew pronounciation of my brother Ephraim's name, or calling Ron "Rinaldo" (I betcha he'd toss those power packs at my head if I did). Generally I simply stick with the name a person uses to sign his posts or email.

I too spoke with Dick and, yeah, he's pretty much done with the 750B power pack business. As I know I've mentioned it took him months to overhaul mine and it still never worked correctly. The one I used until recently <cough> was a spare from a parts airplane.

Tomorrow I'll ask if he'll part with a copy of the data. When I discussed this with him before I encountered the usual paradox: although he has no use for the data anymore, he vividly recalls what a PITA it was acquiring it. Thus he cannot bear to use it and cannot bear to part with it. I'll let you know.

Jonathan
 
Another source of overhaul used to be "Power Packs Plus" in Reno. I think they are still in business and their number used to be 775-322-8555. If the number does not ring you might try information. Ron
 
Boys, it looks like we are all hell bent for heaven on this one. I can't believe AAC is not on top of this! Where the hell is the support for our old crates? Lynn N9818B :twisted:
 
I mentioned this, Lynn, to a fellow named Carol at AAC who often answers to the phone. He chuckled but the conversation ended there.

Naturally everyone who owns a Bellanca wishes them well but the outward signs are not good. All those sections on their site "under construction" remain so, some items were withdrawn long ago, and the site was never properly authored to begin with. All the active buttons vanish if you employ a browser with vigorous ad blocking software, such as Firefox. Although you may think all of this is like judging a book by its cover, I've never known a thriving company with a web presence that failed to update and improve their web site.

Let's see...650 or so Cruisaires, 200 total Cruisemasters made. How many of these are still flying? Add to this not a huge number of nosewheel airplanes (260s, and some Vikings). Keeping these supplied with parts is not an easy way to make a buck once the old stock grows thin. Univair survives by supporting several fleets, each numbering in the thousands of active, flying aircraft, alas. Heck, Mooney is always in and out of business and look at the fleet they have.

All I'm saying really is that it's up to us, in the end, to support our fleet. Having a heart-to-heart with AAC may help. Plus there are other efforts afoot to identify common problem areas, inventory hangar stashes, and so forth. Yeah, that last item could prove as amusing as it is dangerous 8)

Jonathan
 
Ron:

Oddly it took me a few tries to find it, as they do not have a web site, but they appear to exist :) Plus they have the phone number you recalled.

Power Packs Plus LLC
(775) 322-8555
1135 Terminal Way
Reno, NV 89502

I'll give 'em a ring in the morning.

Jonathan
 
jonathan,

sorry, did not mean to offend. preference noted and will comply! :D

any word on power paks plus? it would be a real coup if someone could break loose an ovh manual from one of these outfits.

i think i know what a/c your pak came out of. if you got that from "pontius-the-pilot", are you aware of it's background? if not, contact me offline for the story. don't know if that had anything to do with the failure but it gives one pause... :roll:

blue skies,
"weeck-tor" & N522A
 
Not offended in the least, Vic. That's what pointing stuff out early is supposed to do - preclude offense. If one more person explodes at me for something I've done for ages that annoyed him or her, yet kept their yaps shut until hitting redline.....kapow! :)

Okay, lemme try Power Packs Plus....one moment please...

The fellow there is named Brian, and he's EXTREMELY nice. They'll overhaul the pack. The cost though is <gulp> $2250. They have a 750N on the shelf...yup, 2250. I think I'll think on this over the holiday weekend :cry:

Jonathan
 
Oh, and thanks for their email address, Bob. If I go, literally, for broke, it will be a more suitable medium than endless phone calls.
 
hey jonathan!

do you have the 750N or the 750B? i gave a cursory look at where/how my 750B is mounted and it looked to be major surgery to retrofit the 750N.

will PPP do the 750B? $2250 sounds mighty spendy, but if it's the only game in town... :roll:

looking forward to hearing from you soon!

blue skies,
vic & N522A
 
I figured, Vic, as your landing gear are also of the -2 variety.

Well...I can pay the same for either one (they will do the 750B they said). The "N" is on the shelf, freshly overhauled, with all the 8130 paperwork. The "B" would mean overhauling my current pack. The "N" would require the surgery you mentioned, whereas the "B" would not. The wild card is that Brian had never heard of a 750B but was certain his overhaul guy could do it...hmmm......

I'll reboot my brain over the holiday weekend.

Jonathan
 
Jonathan Baron said:
I figured, Vic, as your landing gear are also of the -2 variety...
Click to expand...

jonathan,

uhhh..., what? :?

i don't think my l.g. are -2 flavored. in fact, i know the actuators are not because i've compared them to john jefferies' ship (N9801B) and they are slightly different. are there other differences between the 'naught and the -2? i thought they were the same.

talk to ya soon!

blue skies,
vic & N522A
 
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