Does anyone have a copy of the instructions for replacing the gaskets/fluid? The kit came with the three gaskets and the fluid, but no instructions.

Hmmmmmm...no instructions are provided as instrument repair shops have to do the dirty deed. A&P's apparently are excluded from that Club.

However.......some years ago this was apparently common knowledge to some enlightened Alaskan Bush drivers in need of flight direction. I heard about it via the Bush radio one winter's eve while listening to Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album "Rumors" under a full Aurora. Where's Stevie Nicks when we need her?:

https://www.dugbert.com/flying/rans-s-1 ... ss-rebuild

If's there a fill plug on top use that. Then submerging the instrument in the supplied liquor will remove any bubbles then cap the home brewed container I heard.

Gary

Buy a vertical card compass and you will never get leaked on again.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/vertcard_compass3.php

Yes, it's more expensive but whiskey compasses will leak from more places than the gaskets. And nobody likes wearing the compass fluid on a long cross country. Just think of it as the opportunity to upgrade to a better device.

niente qui

Dogpilot, did you bolt it down or use the adhesive mount? I need a new compass and that one looks good; the reviews all seem positive as well. If you got the lighted option, do you find the blue light to be obnoxious, or is it dim enough that it isn't a nuisance at night?

niente qui

+1 on the S.I.R.S compass. It's fantastic. It replaced a vertical card compass that had serious issues (it would spin around and around at certain engine rpm). I put in the S.I.R.S. and haven't looked back. A close friend of mine tried rebuilding his airpath compass, replacing seals and refilling while immersed in fluid, but could never get the seals completely tight, so the leak persisted. He, too, went to a S.I.R.S. . . .

CAVU

I put a S.I.R.S. Compass in my 170 a number of years ago. Mounted with the stick on to windshield mount......and did it stick! Thing swung great, simply the best aircraft compass out there.

MTV

niente qui

DeltaRomeo wrote:Buy a vertical card compass and you will never get leaked on again.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/vertcard_compass3.php

Yes, it's more expensive but whiskey compasses will leak from more places than the gaskets. And nobody likes wearing the compass fluid on a long cross country. Just think of it as the opportunity to upgrade to a better device.

I have had terrible luck with VC compasses. Nothing internally to take any shock or vibration. The S.I.R.S. looks like the way to go, and will be going in my 206. If I had a good whiskey compass I'd just rebuild it and use it. I've not had much trouble with them leaking all over me.

I'm game for a SIRS; I haven't purchased the VC compass yet; I'm just not going to give my "whiskey" compass any more ammo to puke on me with

After reading the responses and thinking this through, I think I will not entertain repairing the 60 year old compass (that never compensated worth a darn). Time to replace.

And, for thos naysayers who argue that a compass is totally useless in this era of GPS, I have, on two occasions, had a GPS check out for more than an hour, and with no other means of navigation than a compass. Those times, that S.I.R.S. compass saved the day handily.

MTV

X2 on the SIRS. Adhesive mount to windshield 6 years ago. 4 of those years were the freeze / thaw variety in Alaska before I became a hangar softy. I’ve hit it hard many times accidentally grabbing the v-bracein turbulence. Sucker is stuck!

For the older compasses, getting the air out is really easy with a small vac chamber. A syringe tip is jambed in the fill port with a couple cc's of fluid, put the mess in a vac chamber and run the pump for a minute to expel the air, then slowly let it come back to ambient pressure to get the compass to suck in fluid. Repeat once or twice as needed.

Okay, I just gotta ask: What line of work or hobby are you involved in that results in having a “small vacuum chamber” handy?



MTV

While waiting for a reply regarding vacuum assisted devices (hopefully not just those used for personal pleasure), I use charcoal lighter fluid as the fill medium. Cut the top off the container and drop the compass in and roll it around to fill. Then use same fluid for a BBQ to celebrate the repair.

Gary

niente qui

Just a simple question.....no need to get into your favorite suction device. My question was about a “vacuum chamber”.

MTV

Kingsford odorless charcoal lighter: http://sds.chemtel.net/webclients/chene ... 654SDS.pdf

AKA deodorized kerosene via Chemical Abstracts Service #64742-47-8 (https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng1379.html). We used to call it or similar products Stoddard Solvent or Varsol which is used for washing parts and engines.

Note the link to use as a compass filler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit

I hope MTV eventually gets his vacuum figured out.

Gary