J

jeff beckley

Well Known Member
My RV7 break lines are always getting air in them but never show signs of leakage. I saw somewhere a product that replaces the bleed fitting with a check ball that eases one person bleeding. Any one know?
 
Jeff,

The bleeder valve you are referring to is the Stahlbus valve. If you go to the web site: www.tost.de, you will find information in English about this valve, plus a cartoon-style animation on how it works. To get there faster, try this in your browser:

http://www.tost.de/evers/edefault.htm

They also offer a small plastic pump to help with the job. I think their products are very well designed, and bought some for myself. They are based on motocycle technology and maintenance. I have not had the opportunity to try them yet.

Note that the web site is in Germany, and while I had no problem getting them here in France, you can also order them from the add in the December Sport Aviation, page 75. Please let us know if you put them in a give them a try.

Terry Lutz
 
stop the bleeding!

hey, these look neat! I was about to order a couple to flush my brakes at next annual.
...but are they REALLY $62.00 each???
Even my normal desensitization to aircraft part pricing has been exceeded!
for the $150 bucks they would be, I can hire a stealth bomber tech to bleed my brakes for me!?!?!? ( once anyway! :)
 
Not really the answer...

$62.00 each, and not the answer for aircraft. I prefer the "bottom up" system when bleeding an aircraft. Pumping the fluid into the caliper bleeder while checking the reservoir sure works for me. Save the bucks and buy a good pump oil can and some tubing. You might want to do a search of the forum on brake bleeding, it is a long read. :rolleyes:

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
I understand pretty pricey but why "not for aircraft"? I see no reason this would not work on an aircraft. I once got stuck without a right break and no one around to help me. Three years of flying and I still have not found why I keep getting air into the lines. I could replace all the plastic lines with something more substantial but that would cost even more than these valves.
 
Bleeding..

The logic on bleeding by pushing fluid up from the calipers is that he air in the system will try to rise. The distance, top to bottom, where you are going to try to push the bubbles down, is longer and more convoluted than most cars. I'm not saying it won't work, it is just much faster to gently pump some fluid in from the caliper end. I can bleed the brakes on my '8' in 20 minutes.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAA FAAST Team Member
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Tost

Tost are a very good company to deal with. They are based in Munich and they make all sorts of parts for gliders and aeroplanes. They are THE leading manufacturer of glider towing releases and winches. Most of their products are approved by the LBA and EASA for aircraft applications. That said, their products are not cheap. I had to replace a tow hook bracket on the back of my Cub. There was no change from 1100 euros for this part, however the part was superbly welded.

I was always getting air in brakes on my Cub, even when I converted to Grove discs some air would magically work its way into the system making the brakes spongy. If these valves had been available at the time or if they were available, I would have fitted them had I known about them. I used the bottom up method of bleeding, which worked very well. However the master cylinders fitted to the Cub have a very small reservoir and no matter what one did brake fluid always ended up being spilt inside the cabin directly under the pilots seat onto the wooden floorboards. These bleed valves would have stopped the spillage inside the cabin and taken it outside to the wheel where it would no harm to the structure of the plane. 136 bucks! Cheap at the price IMHO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.