I’ll throw my approach into the mix. After checking out the price of a one-man bleeder at ACS I went by the other AC hardware store (Home Depot) and bought a 1 qt “Hudson” sprayer. A $3 stop at Pep Boys for push on adapters for the fittings on the wheel cylinders and some left over Tygon tubing and I was set. The filled the sprayer with fluid after removing the spry nozzle end and replacing it with the appropriate push on fitting. I then attach the Tygon tubing to the overflow from the brake reservoir at the bottom of the firewall and catch the overflow in a small paint bucket. I pump up the sprayer, hold the fitting on the bleed screw (it will pop off under pressure) loosen the screw and push fluid through the system until the overflow runs clear. I do the left side first (longer run) and then the right, but I’m not clear if that makes any difference. ~$20 and I store the whole assembly in the paint locker in the hanger. I just leave the fresh fluid in the sprayer, but I blow off the air pressure after each use.

 

It seems to work OK, but the one time I had the local FBO bleed the brakes they felt a little firmer. They used the tried and true two-man approach, and were of the opinion that the bottom up bleeding worked well on some planes but not all. They had no opinion on why that would be.

 

Paul Bricker

N63PB