My steam altimeter knob is very hard to turn

My steam altimeter has suddenly gotten very hard to calibrate . . . turning the baro knob takes great effort. Also noticed it no longer tracks my EFIS when both are calibrated to the same baro pressure. Any clues here?

Sounds like money to me...

Go to falcon guages website and under instructions on the bottom, select altimeter adjustment,,,alot of info there...

The last rebuilt one I got was $275 for a Cert Model. Got it from the guy who did my transponder and Alt test for IFR

MS19087 said:

My steam altimeter has suddenly gotten very hard to calibrate . . .

Click to expand...

Another data point... I had one do this (adjustment became very stiff) a number of years ago and it wasn't much longer before it quit working altogether. I don't remember now what it did when it "failed" but I do remember buying a new instrument....

Thanks for the encouraging info

Ill check out Falcon, if all else fails, I'll start looking for a replacement. ****, Vlads should be broken by now with his altitude antics, mine has never been above 10k'!!

MS19087 said:

Ill check out Falcon, if all else fails, I'll start looking for a replacement. ****, Vlads should be broken by now with his altitude antics, mine has never been above 10k'!!

Click to expand...

Mark try W40 btw Walt certified my antics and ATC had no complains on alt and headings. I think you need to give your Lindy a good workout.

Sounds like it's time for a new altimeter. I would recommend finding a good United 5934 for a replacement.

altimeter

If you have a United or a Kollsman that is not an antique, you can have it overhauled for less than the price of a chinese one. It will last longer too. I had Kelly in Wichita do my Kollsman a few months ago. Very nice job, around $225.

Find a used Dynon EFIS. It'll last longer than you will.

Water Got In It

I parked my RV-9A outside for a week and someone removed my pitot tube cover. Water got in the pitit system during a rainstorm. Soon after, my altimeter started getting hard to set and no longer accurately tracked altitude. I am looking at it as I type: it is now a paperweight.

Water

I had water vapor in mine last year and the knob was getting hard to turn, too. Out of nowhere the instrument face was fogged. I started looking for a new one.

Given that I never look at it anyway (my Dynon EFIS is my primary) and that it was going to be a paperweight, I figured I had nothing to lose if I took it apart. So I did.

I took off the front cover, set the unit on the bench in front of a portable heater to dry it out. After an hour or so, I put it back together. The knob turned much more easily, and there was no fog, so I put it back into the panel.

That was over a year ago and it works just dandy. In fact, it was always about 100' off the EFIS altitude with the same baro setting, and now it's within 20'. Go figure. And the knob works just fine, too.

Hey, if you have nothing to lose, try taking it apart and drying it out. Might save you a few hundred.