PZL compass repair

Hi Tom,

I can get you one for $ 200,00

Hans Disma



"5Z" schreef in bericht
oups.com...
I have a PZL K-13 compass that's leaking. Here's a photo of the
compass:
http://www.soarbfss.org/scgi-bin/gal...0/acc.jpg.html

This summer, I had the canopy of my ASH-26E open and it focused the sun
onto the compass and melted a hole in the front. Luckily it was in the
black painted area of the plastic, so I repaired it with some epoxy and
then repainted it. I then fully filled it with compass fluid using the
fill hole on the back.

Unfortunately, it now leaks around the circular "base" of where the the
plastic "bubble" is attached to the back. Maybe there's an O-ring seal
in there?

The back has two holes that I assume are for a spanner wrench and the
ring attaching the plastic part to the base also has some notches that
I suppose are for a special wrench as well.
I've put a pair of "c clip" pliers in the holes on the back and tried
to unscrew the outer ring by hand but it's too tight and I'm afraid to
put too much pressure on it.

Any suggestions either how to take it apart or where in the USA to send
it?

Thanks

-Tom

With or without leaks ?

So, it appears this is a common problem, and one without a good
solution. Since the compass is useless to me as is, I plan to attempt
a repair before throwing in the towel and getting a new one....

Plan is to drain it and keep it in a "warm" place such as the dash of
my car for a few days to let all the oil evaporate. Then I'll take a
moto-tool and clean up an area around the circumferance of the leak to
accept an epoxy fillet. Before applying the epoxy, I'll put some thin
super glue in the crack to seal any small cracks (and ensure it can
never be disassembeld .

Will report the results in a few weeks.

Problem with epoxy, though it bonds to many surfaces, is it tends to cure
relatively brittle and would probably have a different thermal coefficient
of expansion than the plastic you are bonding.

Consider using an adhesive such as Loctite Depend 330. 330 is an almost
instant boding two part adhesive (primer and gel) that, besides bonding to
many material types, retains more flexibility than epoxy and thus won't be
as likely to crack during thermal cycling. It's available from McMaster-Carr
on-line. Recommend the small size as it has a shelf-life of about 2 years or
so.

As and aside, 330 is excellent for such applications as bonding metal
directly to FRP. Good adhesive to have in one's tool cabinet (g).

bumper

"5Z" wrote in message
ups.com...
So, it appears this is a common problem, and one without a good
solution. Since the compass is useless to me as is, I plan to attempt
a repair before throwing in the towel and getting a new one....

Plan is to drain it and keep it in a "warm" place such as the dash of
my car for a few days to let all the oil evaporate. Then I'll take a
moto-tool and clean up an area around the circumferance of the leak to
accept an epoxy fillet. Before applying the epoxy, I'll put some thin
super glue in the crack to seal any small cracks (and ensure it can
never be disassembeld .

Will report the results in a few weeks.

bumper wrote:
Consider using an adhesive such as Loctite Depend 330. 330 is an almost
instant boding two part adhesive (primer and gel) that, besides bonding to
many material types, retains more flexibility than epoxy and thus won't be
as likely to crack during thermal cycling. It's available from McMaster-Carr
on-line. Recommend the small size as it has a shelf-life of about 2 years or
so.

Thanks! I'll do that.

-Tom

Another option with the PZL K13a compass is to mount it directly to the
face of the instrument panel, without using the supplied mounting ring.
I used this approach due to limited panel space in my LS6, and not
wanting to lose any forward visibility by mounting on top of the panel
(LS6 forward vis is bad enough as is!).

Turns out that there are two small screws that hold the SN plate to the
back of the compass. After removing the compass from the mounting
ring, I use these screw holes to mount the compass directly to the
front of the panel, using slightly longer screws and a small backing
plate.

Doesn't take much space, keeps compass out of the sun, hasn't leaked in
over 2 years.

I never used a compass while soaring in AZ, but now in southern
Illinois I find it useful - due to the really bad vis we have on
occasions!

Pictures available on request...

Kirk
66

bumper wrote:

Consider using an adhesive such as Loctite Depend 330.

Hmmm, sounds like a product for really incontinent adults, but I'll
order some anyway. If it doesn't work for Tom, I suggest he cruise the
local auto parts store, which usually features a dozen varieties of
compasses. The "PZL style" (compass ball floating in a clear sphere) I
have in my ASH 26 E has worked well for 10 years, looks decent, and cost
$4.95.

This might not be an option for a standard registration, but nobody has
complained about it in my Experimentally registered glider. There are no
adjustments on it, but mounted well forward on the cowling, it doesn't
need any. Some units do have the adjustments, so be prepared to spend an
extra $2.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA