Dave,
While we have your ear, have the dependability of the red cubes been improved? They seem to have a bad rap out there. I made it 450hrs before mine started intermittently giving zero readings and back to normal several times a flight. What are the usual failure modes and why?
Apologies for the tardy reply. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find the time to frequent the forums as often as I'd like.
Regarding reliability, I think the "bad rap out there" is likely due to the fact that you rarely read about a product that is functioning as it should and typically only read about the ones that are not. We ship hundreds of flow transducers each month and see very few premature failures in comparison. Not only do we use them with our systems, so do Dynon, Garmin, Insight and many other manufacturers. As such, there are quite a few of our flow transducers in the market. Having said that, we of course cannot lay claim to 100% reliability and are aware of failures. The installation instructions should be carefully followed, paying special attention to isolation from heat and vibration as they are the leading contributors to damaged electronic devices.
Erratic indications are typically the symptom operators notice first. This can be an indication of loose, corroded, or otherwise bad connections. It can also be due to debris in the transducer, or even a trapped air bubble. If you are experiencing erratic indications, I recommend reviewing the aforementioned possibilities. If after having done so, the erratic indications persist, the transducer may be damaged internally and requires replacement. It is difficult to determine the nature of a failed transducer as the unit is sealed and any attempt to dissect the transducer typically results in further damage to the internal components.
If anyone would like to discuss further, please send me a PM, send me an e-mail at
[email protected] or give me a call at 541-318-6060.
Dave