Lynn—
I have a 13B NA which has previously been
converted to propane by Rotary International Enterprises (?) and has to be
reconverted to mogas/avgas. It allegedly has 17 hours of runtime on it and
also was claimed to have been rebuilt using “ceramic seals”. When we
do a tear down on it for inspection, at the risk of sounding totally naïve, how
do we ascertain that it truly does have ceramic seals on it and would
you recommend that we simply just go ahead and replace them with more
traditional seals regardless? (Comments from not only you but also anyone else
would be greatly appreciated.)
Paul Vermillion
(partially completed BD-4)
From: Rotary motors in
aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Lynn Hanover
Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 12:46 AM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Ceramic apex seals
There are one piece carbon / aluminum seals, not too expensive,
great for racing. Good sealing
never hurt the rotor housings. Can handle some boost. Very light
and can do monster revs over 10,000 RPM. You have to be a memebr of the Mazda
competition program and provide pictures of your race car and finish sheets
from a number of events.
The very best are ceramic one piece seals. Scary light. Strong
enough for high boost. Not affected by engine over temps or detonation. Run
with two springs for tracking at scalding high revs and still have less drag
than stock or carbon seals. No downside until you try to buy them.
About $330.00 each seal, (you need 6). This is a bolt on 6 HP
just from reduced drag. No rotor housing wear. From Mazda comp. and after
market vendors. Carbon as well.
Newbie Question---for the "normal"13B NA engine, how
do the ceramic apex seals compare with the other types of seals you all
are using? (I've rarely ever read anything about their use in this
forum.)
Paul
Vermillion