Just an update on this thread. The shop I took the plane to has been so dang slow, I will not be using them again. Generator was remagnetized and is now charging the battery correctly. I'll make the swap over to an alternator eventually. The Tanis preheater is now installed as well. I noticed a small leak with the fuel valve, so I got them to check that out. They fixed what they could, still has a small dribble. They say the PA-12 valves are crap and that I should eventually swap over to the PA-18 valve. In addition, they noticed a bit of corrosion/rust on a rear jury strut. For some reason, the rear jury struts I currently have installed are the smaller cylinder tube from what looks like comes from the J-4 Cub. I'm going to have them install new PA-12 rear jury struts in place. No telling how long that will take them to do. Quite disheartening to not be able to find a mechanic that is able to get things done in a reasonable time. It's been a month now for what could've been completed in a day.

I think you may find an AD on that fuel valve. Seems to me that one of the aftermarket sources (Univair???) had a good and reasonably priced replacement a few years ago. Gas leaks probably shouldn't be taken lightly.

Finding a well qualified maintenance facility/mechanic that isn’t buried up to their ears in customer “needs” is always frustrating. The good outfits are always inundated, so we get in line.

Those outfits sometimes prioritize based on many factors, like “Is this plane being operated for a living….ie: someone’s bread and butter, vs a recreational plane?”, or long time customers vs new customers, etc, etc.

Believe me, I’ve been on the end of both those. I’ve also been on the “working airplane” end of that scale.

Unfortunately, the demand for good aircraft maintenance has increased, while it seems the supply of good aircraft mechanics has significantly decreased in some areas.

So, before you abandon that maintenance outfit, try to understand some of the pressures they’re under. It MAY be that they are short handed, and backed up with work from “regulars”, but agreed to try to help you out, time permitting. Unfortunately, that may be the best you can do.

I too am currently awaiting some relatively simple work on my plane. Number of mechanics here is very low, compared to aircraft. I understand the conundrum these mechanics face, so patience, while painful, is essential.

Or, that maintenance outfit you’re working with is screwing you, so fire them…..only you will be able to determine that.

But, here’s a clue: You say they fixed your generator. I’ll tell you, a LOT of shops would have told you it was junk, and told you to buy an alternator. In other words: R and R. Remove and replace. The fact that they were willing to trouble shoot that says good things to me…..maybe.

But, before you burn bridges, understand that this ain’t McDonalds: you don’t necessarily get it your way, in minutes.

MTV

CompSciAndFly wrote:.... Generator was remagnetized and is now charging the battery correctly. ....

Never heard of a generator needing to be "remagnetized"...could it be that it needed to be polarized?
Service manual mentions that, it needs to be done whenever the battery has been disconnected.
A momentary jumper between the armature & battery terminals on the Delco regulator produces a big fat spark, then you're done.
On my old Harley, it was a jumper between the B+ (battery) & D+ ("dynamo") on the Bosch regulator.
Some people refer to this as "flashing the field".

hotrod180 wrote:

CompSciAndFly wrote:.... Generator was remagnetized and is now charging the battery correctly. ....

Never heard of a generator needing to be "remagnetized"...could it be that it needed to be polarized?
Service manual mentions that, it needs to be done whenever the battery has been disconnected.
A momentary jumper between the armature & battery terminals on the Delco regulator produces a big fat spark, then you're done.
On my old Harley, it was a jumper between the B+ (battery) & D+ ("dynamo") on the Bosch regulator.
Some people refer to this as "flashing the field".

Aaah yes, that's exactly what they did. "Flashing the field". To be honest, I was completely unaware that this needed to be done each time the battery was disconnected. That would explain a whole lot here.

CompSciAndFly wrote:

hotrod180 wrote:

CompSciAndFly wrote:.... Generator was remagnetized and is now charging the battery correctly. ....

Never heard of a generator needing to be "remagnetized"...could it be that it needed to be polarized?
Service manual mentions that, it needs to be done whenever the battery has been disconnected.
A momentary jumper between the armature & battery terminals on the Delco regulator produces a big fat spark, then you're done.
On my old Harley, it was a jumper between the B+ (battery) & D+ ("dynamo") on the Bosch regulator.
Some people refer to this as "flashing the field".

Aaah yes, that's exactly what they did. "Flashing the field". To be honest, I was completely unaware that this needed to be done each time the battery was disconnected. That would explain a whole lot here.

It does not need to be done everytime the battery is disconnected. They hold polarity for quite a while actually. Sitting for a long time even with the battery disconnected is usually what causes the polarity to go away. The magnets in the generator hold residual polarity for quite some time, which is a benefit of a generator. If you have a completely dead battery a generator will start charging once running the majority of the time, where as an alternator will not. One of the very few advantages of a generator.