Problems w/Sullivan Skywriter pumps...

[dougpeck]

Two of us are having problems w/Sullivan Skywriters pumps. My friends pump went out after only several times use and so far no one has called back from Sullivan.

Mine was working for around 30-40 flights and went out today at field. Just stopped . Getting voltage but pump not working. I notice these are sealed units which makes trouble shooting strange.

Am thinking of using some other brand... what do you guys find the best pump is??

Have not seen any recent discussion on smoke pumps etc. , when I used search got mostly old posts - very old.

So far in my search the new Harris pump seems to have the best reccommendations...

Any competition guys out there w/ideas??

[airbike]

I'm using one and it stopped working on me too. I opened it up and found the problem to be inside the cheapie brushed motor. It looked like the brushes were burnt or there was some carbon/oxidation/whatever buildup. The motor would start up and run until it happened to stop with the brushes in contact with the bad spots.
I scraped it clean with an x-acto blade and reassembled the motor. Its working so far, but I'm sure this will happen again. If you have a similar sized motor, you could just replace it. I didn't want to throw out a $90 unit because of a stupid $3 motor. I think they could've used better components for that kind of price!

[Bdegan]

Happened to me to. The pump stopped working after 5 uses.

[dougpeck]

I'm still not sure what is going on w/them... but I did receive a call from them in answer to my call. I will prob. send it in and see what they do and say. I am considering changing out to a TME pump instead. Some of the guys w/ lots more experience w/smoke reccommend them.

I guess my problem is why did it work for me for 30-40 flights and then all of a sudden quit? It would seem to me that w/that many flights the set-up was ok.

I did notice after I read the extensive instructions to the TME pump that they make a point that you have to prime the pump before each flight. I didn't do that w/the Sullivan at all and it seemed to work fine. I guess there is the possibility that it lost its prime and I didn't check carefully enough before flying.

I'll let you know what they say when I send pump back.

[sweetpea]

I almost never prime the pump before a flight on mine. If it has sat for 2+weeks though then it may need to be primed as smoke oil can become gooey and clog up the gear train.

[dougpeck]

	Quote: Originally Posted by sweetpea
	I almost never prime the pump before a flight on mine. If it has sat for 2+weeks though then it may need to be primed as smoke oil can become gooey and clog up the gear train.

Well, I didn't either for nearly 40 flights and it failed. I am trying to send the 3 that failed here in Vegas back and am in communication w/Sullivan as we speak. Hopefully they will fix them and let us know what is going on.

My friend had a new one and on the second flight it failed.

[bruno]

Hello there ,
My muffler keeps smoking for at least 10 seconds after I shut it off with transmitter ?
The line is about 10 inches between pump and intake to cannister with the check valve 1 inch from cannister .
Pump is placed behind the tank .
Lipo battery (3S) .
How can i solve this problem ?
Can I place the pump in front of the tank ?

Thank for the advice ,
Bruno .

[Fred]

I took mine apart and found that is a cheap motor the plastic that holds the winding had melted onto the brush contact area and stopped all together,,I was using a 6v nicad and they say it is good for 12v ??

Here is what I got from them


Hi Fred:

We apologize for the problems with our S753 Skywriter.

Our motors comes from Czech Republic. They should last many years without having to service them or replace them.

Your Skywriter might be under warranty if you can provide us with a receipt. Otherwise the motors are available separately for $13.95.
Their part number is S980511752.
If you want to send the skywriter for repair you can send it to:

Sullivan Products
One North Haven St.
Baltimore, MD 21224

Let me know if you are interested in purchasing or if you want to send it in.

regards,

Alex
Sullivan Products

[MrT]

I also fitted one to my 50cc Pilot RC Sbach. After running it in according to the instructions I wanted to test the setup. ran for another 3 seconds until the motor burned as well. This is very disappointing because it took a long time to find the problem after trying everything possible from switching batteries testing the channel on the receiver etc.

Luckily this did not happen in the air, because as the motor seized it interfered with the receiver as well and could have cost me to have to replace a brand new plane. ........ Not a happy camper

[Rick1999]

	Quote:
	They should last many years without having to service them or replace them.

BS


Me to, had one lasted 4 flights sent it back, its on 55 flights to date, power is a 7.4 lipo. Next pump will be a powerbox a few bucks more but far less $$it

[show366drive]

I have two of the Sullivan smoke pumps. One is going on two years old and the other is going on one year.
Both pumps had to be sent back to Sullivan for motor replacement and Sullivan replaced the motor for free!!!! (had my receipts and sent them a copy and got the pumps back within a week)

I think their choice of motor could be improved. The second smoke pump that went bad was just several weeks ago. The plane was "put to bed" last fall after cleaning everything up for storage and was this Spring I discovered the pump wasn't working when I pre flight tested everything in the workshop. Pump motor was getting voltage but nothing. I wrapped a piece of dental floss around the exposed shaft and the pump moved freely! What the heck!!!!! How can a motor go bad just sitting for seven months???

Just glad Sullivan stands behind their product and has a fast turn around!

[ram360]

I put a skywriter in my Beast. This is the first plane I put smoke in. After testing it on the ground everything was working good. I turned it on in flight and smoke only lasted for about a minute. After landing and checking things out the motor is just humming and not moving at all.