[Orv Neisingh]

I have a client here with a 162f with Joe Huff’s turbo engine. We have replaced the water pump seal 4 times in 2 years due to leakage of coolant around the pump shaft. We decided to eliminate the pump leak problem altogether by installing an electric water pump to replace the belt driven pump. If anyone is going to do this, please e found that we did not have a port on the inlet side of the new pump plumbing to connect the thermostat bypass tube to. Our solution was to cap off the bypass hose and then we drilled four 1/4” holes in the flange of the thermostat to allow enough coolant to bypass the thermostat which allows us to prime the electric pump.

Here are before and after pictures of the installation.

[Tim Morris]

Orv, what belt number to run the alternator?  I can't make it out in the picture.   Old eyes.

[Orv Neisingh]

Here is the belt that worked for us.

[Tim Morris]

Thanks!

[Lyle Swallows]

for my electric pump conversion i'm a big fan of warning lights and dummy switches, i chose to install a flow switch which is normally closed with no flow so it grounds a warning light for pump flow, its standalone of the pump incase the pump burns out of fails but is still getting power, also will tell if pump is cavitated or fluid loss is substantial, simply teed in. the switch arm is trimable and can be trimmed back to not impede flow but is still effective.

[Geno Mancini]

I like it, also an oil level switch in your oil tank is a good idea.

for my electric pump conversion i'm a big fan of warning lights and dummy switches, i chose to install a flow switch which is normally closed with no flow so it grounds a warning light for pump flow, its standalone of the pump incase the pump burns out of fails but is still getting power, also will tell if pump is cavitated or fluid loss is substantial, simply teed in. the switch arm is trimable and can be trimmed back to not impede flow but is still effective.

[Orv Neisingh]

Lyle that is a great idea and would certainly be a helpful indicator to have on the instrument panel. The same principle applies to installing an amp gauge on the instrument panel to insure that the alternator is putting out the needed amperage and charging the batteries. We had a full engine out due to lithium batteries sucking so much current that they blew the alternator fuses and then when the battery was depleted it just turned off killing all power to the helicopter and I was able to get it to the ground safely from 800' agl.

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