Pilots want vacuum pumps that are reliable, clean running and without ongoing surprise maintenance costs. They have been deprived of these features for 40 years by manufacturers who offered only fragile dry vacuum pumps.

Dry Vacuum Pump Hazards
Dry Vacuum pumps, as the only new pumps manufactured for more than 40 years, are a costly hazard to safe flight, failing catastrophically, without warning and generally when away from home where the associated costs of replacement and getting to the destination are quite high. They are a continuing cause of fatalities when their failure occurs in the clouds.

Safe, Clean, Fixed Cost Breakthrough
M-20 Oil Separators has engineered a change with their LifeTime Vacuum Pumps , a breakthrough which might be considered sensational. They represent the “last pump you will ever buy” as compared with the common dry pumps which self-destruct without notice at any time from their first hour of life onward. More on this later. Copied from the out-of-production Garwin and Pesco “wet” pumps which had spent their dependable, long lives making airplanes filthy with oil discharge, the LifeTime version features both long durability and clean, mostly oil-free effluent. These features are covered by a warranty that runs for the life of the airframe, not limited by engine changes. This warranty, believed to be the first in General Aviation, seems sensational, but it is just proof of the quality available only from M-20.

Examining Wet Pump Design
In the course of our research into our Model 600WP Air/Oil Separators for wet vacuum pumps, we discovered a few of the test aircraft equipped with either Garwin or Pesco vacuum pumps were continuing to get a small amount of oil past our separators. The characteristics of this oil passage ruled out a functional deficiency in our separators and led us to examining the vacuum pumps. We found these to be well engineered to a degree of sophistication beyond what we expected in light plane design.

Why did such good pumps discharge so much oil and why did the manufacturers avoid making the corrections to clean them up? Why did the manufacturing turn to the dry pumps? It is only a guess as to why Pesco and then Garwin failed to improve their product performance, but we think it was the engineering cost. We spent a portion of our time every day for a year in studying and finally correcting the wet pump problems. Possibly the engineering cost was too great a burden for Garwin and Pesco. In small companies, such as ours, costs are not formalized. Looking back, we spent at least 500 hours of engineering time and about $30,000 in parts and equipment to find our results --- and that was without a vacuum pump business to support our curiosity. Large companies are too smart to do this sort of thing, which is probably why most development originates with the small companies or individuals.

3,000 Dry Pump Failures
We were in part energized by the dry pump history. Records show that of the last 3,000 failures of vacuum pumps, all were dry pump designs. Approximately 25% of these pumps had fewer than 100 hours of flight time. Another 25% had fewer than 200 hours. 70% fewer than 300 hours and almost all of the remainder failed within 700 hours. In my greater than 6,000 logged hours I have had 4 failures: 1 at 700 hrs, 1 at 400 hours in turbulent IMC; 1 at 300 hours and 1 in the first hour while still on the ground. These were in 2 of the 5 airplanes I have owned. None were in twins where I had redundancy. Go figure that out.

Curious about the bad dry pump history, I learned a little about the pumps manufacturers. In trying to interest them to go into wet pump manufacturing to rid themselves of the liability burden of the dry pumps, I offered my engineering findings free. Their answers can be summarized as, “Are you nuts? We live on the profits of the replacement business with dry pumps. With the wet pumps there is no replacement market”. Profit outweighed any concern over the annual loss of lives from dry pump failures.

LifeTime Overhauls or Newly Manufactured M-20-STC
So we suddenly find ourselves in the vacuum pump business with a design that competitively “takes no prisoners”. Our pumps continue the best features of the wet pumps (durability by recirculating engine oil) and exceed the cleanliness of the dry pumps, leaving the effluent as oil-free clean air --- no Greasy Belly . (Yes, dry pumps are dirty, too. That black streaking out of the cowling after flying through rain is graphite dust expelled into the engine compartment by the dry pump wearing itself out). We are currently rebuilding wet pumps to our LifeTime standards and looking forward to manufacturing new LifeTime Model 500 with STC approval.

Prices For Remanufactured Wet Pumps

Remanufactured Pesco 194 or Garwin 450 Series wet pumps from our inventory cost $1,058.   If remanufactured from your wet pump the cost is $680.  Large pumps for pumping both instruments and boots, like the Pesco 207's cost $1,308 from our inventory, or $780 if overhauled from your pump.  When converting from a dry system it is necessary to swap out your plastic drive gear for a steel one, $280, and most pilots will want to include the high pressure Air/Oil Separator Model 600WP, $360.  Packaging the three items together reduces the cost to $1,600.  If your package, also, includes the Model 300 Breather Separator, the price is $1,925.  Marketing of our Model 500 is being withheld because it is exactly the same as our re-manufactured pumps, but $400 more expensive.

Life-of-the Airframe Warranty
Following a 50 year history of Garwin and Pesco wet vacuum pumps never having a catastrophic failure, and adding our improvements to the internal parts, we are able to extend our warranty, beyond engine life, to the life of the airframe. The warranty covers both vacuum performance and cleanliness. I do not find an equal warranty anywhere in General Aviation. We really mean that this is the last pump you will ever buy.

Check-up Service
When engines are changed out, overhauled or torn down for any reason, like prop strikes, valve or piston replacement, there is a risk of contamination of the engine oil lubricated pump. To avoid unintentionally voiding the warranty, we provide a check-up service. This service is a rigorous performance test run on our test stand at these times. It will reveal any damage or excess wear. Correction of any defects will be at our expense with a Certificate of Renewed Warranty returned with the pump, unless we find abuse, misuse or harmful wear due to contamination. No one need ever worry about vacuum pump performance.

There Are No Equals to M-20 Products
Our LifeTime Vacuum Pumps continue the tradition of providing excellent products where there is no acceptable other choice on the market.

Bill Sandman
M-20 Oil Separators, LLC

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