Cherokee fuel tank sender unit "float" -- anybody know where to get these???

[Chuck]

Hi everyone,

Well, ran into another small problem that is balooning into a major
outlay of cash!

Somehow, the little plastic float in the right hand tank snapped in
two. And no, there haven't been any crash/hard landings lately.
Don't know what the cause was.

Well, after digging the pieces out -- I started calling around to find
a replacement. Of course, no luck. The local Piper dealer wanted to
sell me a whole new sending unit -- I didn't even ask the price on
that. I just couldn't see replacing the whole sender unit to get a
new plastic float (besides, I think my wallet would have a heart
attack at the quote!).

A couple of used parts dealers offered to sell me a used one for $125
plus shipping. Again, replacing the whole unit to get a new float.

Last thing I found -- Airparts of Lock Haven, Pa. They claim that the
FAA requires that the sender unit be sent to them. They will replace
the float, certify the unit, and ship it back -- all for $65. Well,
with no other better choice -- that's the option I took (after
verifying the sender unit really was working correctly).

But I am kinda irked! The FAA "requires" them to replace the float
and certify the unit -- that sound awfully convient !! Here we have a
plastic piece that should cost all of 50 cents. But to get a
replacement, I have to spend $65 for the repair and enough on shipping
to push the repair up to a hundred dollars. This is the kind of
stupidity that is killing GA!

I was wondering if anyone on the list knows about this FAA
"requirement". Or were they just using it as an excuse to get the
work (and not sell direct). And secondly, does anyone know a source
to get these little pieces of plastic???

You see, what irks me the most was the sticker on the back of the fuel
sender unit when it was pulled. A sticker showing Airparts of Lock
Haven, 5/30/02. That means that float came from the same company and
was only 2.5 years old. And when I called the company back about this
little item -- I was told that I'm lucky. The supervisor who talked
to me said that some floats only last a year while others last five
years. Either way, I don't hold out hope that these floats will last
long!

Thanks for any information you might share guys....


Chuck
N7398W

[Aaron Coolidge]

Chuck > wrote:
: Hi everyone,
<snip>
: You see, what irks me the most was the sticker on the back of the fuel
: sender unit when it was pulled. A sticker showing Airparts of Lock
: Haven, 5/30/02. That means that float came from the same company and
: was only 2.5 years old. And when I called the company back about this
: little item -- I was told that I'm lucky. The supervisor who talked
: to me said that some floats only last a year while others last five
: years. Either way, I don't hold out hope that these floats will last
: long!

Hmmm, according to the logs the floats on my fuel senders are 37 years
old with 6400 hours, and are still working great.
--
Aaron C. (N9376J)

[Denny]

Gotcha beat! The fuel sender floats on Fat Albert the Apache are 1956
vintage, the stencils clearly visible when we inspected the tanks 2
years ago and replaced all the cork gaskets... And the rubber tanks
look like new on the inside with the yellow stencil looking like it was
put on five minutes ago... Amazing... The best hypothesis I can make is
that the plane was always hangared other than on trips, with the tanks
full, or nearly so, much of the time...

That the new floats are lasting as little as a year, is criminal, but I
don't know what you can do about it given FAA regs, etc. <well, I do
know, but it means you would attach a non certified float on the end of
the sender arm, not put it on the log, not notify the FSDO, etc., and
we all know you can't do that, so don't even think about it>

Denny

[Michael]

> Last thing I found -- Airparts of Lock Haven, Pa. They claim that the
> FAA requires that the sender unit be sent to them. They will replace
> the float, certify the unit, and ship it back -- all for $65.

> I was wondering if anyone on the list knows about this FAA
> "requirement".

Yes. The legal theory is that the float is an instrument. It takes a
certified instrument shop (not just any A&P) to repair an instrument.
Airparts of Lock Haven is a certified instrument shop, your A&P is not.
Not saying it's necessarily valid, but that's the theory they're going
on.

Of course the realistic solution would be to find a plastic float that
looks like the broken one, replace it yourself, not tell anyone, and
not log it. However, this would not be legal.

>You see, what irks me the most was the sticker on the back of the fuel
>sender unit when it was pulled. A sticker showing Airparts of Lock
>Haven, 5/30/02. That means that float came from the same company and
>was only 2.5 years old. And when I called the company back about this
>little item -- I was told that I'm lucky. The supervisor who talked
>to me said that some floats only last a year while others last five
>years.

The floats in my senders are 40 years old, and doing fine. It makes no
sense that a plastic ball should last only a year to five years. I
think it's because these guys are using inferior materials or
procedures. For an FAA certified repair station, that's the norm
rather than the exception.

Michael

[[email protected]]

Since most of you have been having long life and Chuck is not, there
could be a difference in his fuel. I remember a fuel cap I had on a
chainsaw that would swell with gasoline/alcohol fuel blends. No
problems with straight gasoline. Could a similar mechanism be at work
here?

Bob

[Michelle P]

it is not stupidity. it is liability. Have you pulled the tank yet? That
will make the cost of the float seem a little less painful.
New tank hose, new screws. new sender, new gasket, and about four hours
labor to get the tank out and back in.
Have fun.
Michelle

Chuck wrote:

>Hi everyone,
>
>Well, ran into another small problem that is balooning into a major
>outlay of cash!
>
>Somehow, the little plastic float in the right hand tank snapped in
>two. And no, there haven't been any crash/hard landings lately.
>Don't know what the cause was.
>
>Well, after digging the pieces out -- I started calling around to find
>a replacement. Of course, no luck. The local Piper dealer wanted to
>sell me a whole new sending unit -- I didn't even ask the price on
>that. I just couldn't see replacing the whole sender unit to get a
>new plastic float (besides, I think my wallet would have a heart
>attack at the quote!).
>
>A couple of used parts dealers offered to sell me a used one for $125
>plus shipping. Again, replacing the whole unit to get a new float.
>
>Last thing I found -- Airparts of Lock Haven, Pa. They claim that the
>FAA requires that the sender unit be sent to them. They will replace
>the float, certify the unit, and ship it back -- all for $65. Well,
>with no other better choice -- that's the option I took (after
>verifying the sender unit really was working correctly).
>
>But I am kinda irked! The FAA "requires" them to replace the float
>and certify the unit -- that sound awfully convient !! Here we have a
>plastic piece that should cost all of 50 cents. But to get a
>replacement, I have to spend $65 for the repair and enough on shipping
>to push the repair up to a hundred dollars. This is the kind of
>stupidity that is killing GA!
>
>I was wondering if anyone on the list knows about this FAA
>"requirement". Or were they just using it as an excuse to get the
>work (and not sell direct). And secondly, does anyone know a source
>to get these little pieces of plastic???
>
>You see, what irks me the most was the sticker on the back of the fuel
>sender unit when it was pulled. A sticker showing Airparts of Lock
>Haven, 5/30/02. That means that float came from the same company and
>was only 2.5 years old. And when I called the company back about this
>little item -- I was told that I'm lucky. The supervisor who talked
>to me said that some floats only last a year while others last five
>years. Either way, I don't hold out hope that these floats will last
>long!
>
>Thanks for any information you might share guys....
>
>
>Chuck
>N7398W
>
>
>