Carb floats

[jrich]

I did not own the plane until after 200 hours. and the engine log book does not indicate the extent of the inspection.

[Eric Wizard]

Originally Posted by Pat Stewart

I have been experiencing a fuel smell on climb out and a lingering smell once back in the hangar. Checked all the fuel tank and fuel line connections and all is dry. When I put my hand under the carb filters I get wet gas. My filters elements are starting to turn white from red.

I went back and looked at the Carb float SB and if reading correctly my engine and carbs are outside of the range. My engine serial no. Is 6779981, my l/h carb ser no is 116358 and the r/h is 120372.

When I start the engine cold with choke on the engine runs just a little rough so I immediately push the choke back in which drops the rpm and forces me to add a little throttle to keep rpm in the green. Other than that this thing runs great. Just don't like the possiblefuel issue.

For those that may have experienced this in the past I would appreciate your feedback.

Take the floats out an weigh them, thats the only way to really know if they are a problem. If they are sinking (heavy) call a Service Centre with your engine informaiton. Even if its outside the range they will get a warranty for you.
You need a small scale, like they use for measuring gems or jewelry. You can get a cheap one from Harbor Freight for about 20 bucks. If the 2 floats as a set in one carb are more than 7 grams they are no good. The floats come in a set so change them both if necessary.

They changed the check at the inspection to include a weight check now for the floats.

[Tom Delaney]

Great to have you aboard..

[Pat Stewart]

Put new floats in Saturday. We will see how long they last. Thanks for all the feedback.

[Mitch757]

I am currently doing my first condition inspection of my RV12. There has been a faint odor of fuel on takeoff so I removed the carb bowls and weighed the floats. The left carb floats each weighed 3.0 grams but the right carb floats weighed 3.6 and 3.4 grams. I spoke with the Lockwood technician today and he said to replace both of the floats from the right carburetor.

This is becoming a real annoyance. A couple months ago I replaced one of the floats in the left carburetor which was provided under warranty due to the service bulletin. I did receive a warranty rebate on that float as well.

Now to see if they reimburse for the two that I just ordered.

Mitch Garner
N2ET flying

[Sink]

Hi Mitch,

Fill out a Rotax CSIR and make a copy of your logbook entry of the float replacement. Those should go to your service center where you purchased your floats. You will need to have the invoice or have them pull up your order. Service centers do not automatically track these things or refund money unless the paperwork is filed.
Out of curiosity were the floats that just went bad on the recall list?


p.s.
You should always replace floats as a pair which should be the way they are shipped.

p.s.s.
For those that don't know weighing the carb floats is now in the manuals for the annual condition/100 hr. inspections.

[Harvey rv12]

Sink;
I thought the Rotax manual called for carb inspection at 200 hrs, not 100 hrs.

[PilotBrent]

Latest manual I've read says "200h or annual check" which is closer to 100h for most of us.

[Sink]

Sorry I was trying to think and write. Sometimes it comes out jumbled and my typing isn't always spot on.
The carb inspection and bowl check is indeed 200 hrs.

[Pat Stewart]

Well Mine was at 20 hours and started with that same smell of fuel especially during take off climb. I don't understand the paperwork warranty concern. Until they develop an acceptable replacement they should replace them all as many times as it takes regardless of time on the engine. This is a design defect not a limited warranty issue.

My 2 cents