Plug replacement

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Rich
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Re: Plug replacement

Post by Rich »

Davestation wrote: Wed Aug 12, 2020 12:30 am Did you check the resistance of the old ones that it liked?
I did not check. They've been flying happily for years + 6-ish months on the SIM, so I didn't feel the need. But I do still have 4 more I could check on, just for the info.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Davestation
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Re: Plug replacement

Post by Davestation »

Just interesting to see what the real difference is between them - if you could isolate it to a certain resistance range or bad batch of plugs.
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Re: Plug replacement

Post by Rich »

Here's some interesting data:

Resistance of 4 old Unison plugs AND 1 unused old Unison plug: ~1250 ohms. These are all 13+ years old.
Resistance of 3 of the Tempests: ~950 ohms, the other is 795.

Gaps of all 5 of the Unisons are at spec ~.017"
Gaps of the Tempests were all below spec (.017-.021"), one as low as .013"

Before checking these gaps I traded emails with Surefly support. They told me that low spark plug gaps can be a problem with their system and Electroair.

I just got off the phone with Tempest support and he told me the same thing about the spark plug gaps. They're sending me 4 new plugs.

Both companies have been very responsive. A few emails late yesterday and this morning with SF and an immediate callback from Tempest within the last hour.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Re: Plug replacement

Post by Davestation »

On a side note I always found it odd that Electroair wants large gaps but surefly doesn’t. I’m still not sure what the magic in the box is - is the surefly basically an HEI?
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Re: Plug replacement

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Davestation wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 10:09 pm On a side note I always found it odd that Electroair wants large gaps but surefly doesn’t. I’m still not sure what the magic in the box is - is the surefly basically an HEI?
Large gap plugs are compatible with SF but not required. As I said SF setups are routinely run with.030” gaps.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Re: Plug replacement

Post by Lou »

I just bought and installed 4 Tempest plugs. The gaps were all on spec. Very happy.
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Re: Plug replacement

Post by Rich »

Received 4 new Tempest plugs yesterday. Gaps all on spec, as is resistance. Put 'em in and the plane runs great. :D
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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