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NUMATX setup

tyconnell

Well Known Member
So I took the plunge and have this puppy in hand. I've bled the system, and it's working well, but I have another question not covered in setup.

I'm starting to like the foot pedal actuation, but the hose situation is a little distracting. Anyone have any photos of their setup?
 
Ditch that ugly hose and talk to TS Flightlines.

Their clear coated braided lightweight hose it the way to go.

Otherwise, the board mount is what I have, fiddle with pressures and sharpy the gauge for 3/32 and 1/8 and you are good to go.

No looking back !
 
Ditch that yellow guard too. Move the foot control forward on the board where your heel is comfortable giving you leverage to depress the pedal. Also, I put a small one by one block on the back of the board , near the center, so I could move the board around on the floor with my foot.
Lastly, ditto the lightweight hose. Wished I had one.
 
Ditch that ugly hose and talk to TS Flightlines.

Their clear coated braided lightweight hose it the way to go.

Otherwise, the board mount is what I have, fiddle with pressures and sharpy the gauge for 3/32 and 1/8 and you are good to go.

No looking back !

Ditto on the hose upgrade. I didn’t even realize this was an upgrade until recently. So much more flexible than that black hose. And longer too.
 
I did the same with the board set up, and have the light weight hose and it’s great! I also got rid of the foot guard, and it makes life easier.

I also wrote the pressures for the various rivet diameters on the board in sharpie.

So far it’s been a fantastic tool!
 
Ditch that ugly hose and talk to TS Flightlines.

Their clear coated braided lightweight hose it the way to go.

Otherwise, the board mount is what I have, fiddle with pressures and sharpy the gauge for 3/32 and 1/8 and you are good to go.

No looking back !


Or talk to Blake at www.flyboyaccessories.com He carries the Numatx AND the MUCH nicer SS braid, flexible hoses.
 
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Foot Valve and Intensifier Proximity

I still have a unit mounted to a board as TIMS88 shows, and that is a perfectly fine way to keep things tidy.

Also, I didn't think to mention it when I wrote the manual, but the pressure intensifier and foot valve do not have to be very close to each other. They can be 8 feet away from each other, using longer 1/4" tubing. It will not overly impact the speed. This can allow for fixating the intensifier to the rear of a work bench if you happen to be using the hand squeezer mounted on a C-frame, and need to route the hydraulic hose to the rear of the workbench.
 
I still have a unit mounted to a board as TIMS88 shows, and that is a perfectly fine way to keep things tidy.

Also, I didn't think to mention it when I wrote the manual, but the pressure intensifier and foot valve do not have to be very close to each other. They can be 8 feet away from each other, using longer 1/4" tubing. It will not overly impact the speed. This can allow for fixating the intensifier to the rear of a work bench if you happen to be using the hand squeezer mounted on a C-frame, and need to route the hydraulic hose to the rear of the workbench.

That's good to know - I'm assuming, then, you can shorten those lines if need be. I may just put a loop or two in the lines to shorten them up.

I purchased from flyboy accessories, and went with the upgraded line from TS Flightlines. I can confirm that's the way to go.
 
Air line length

Yep, within reason you can make the lines as long or short as you want. Of course from a pressure drop standpoint, shorter air lines are always better, but if the two air lines were 8' long to remote locate the intensifier it would not really adversely affect performance.
 
Electric Switch

I don't like using the foot pedal so much, and wanted to strap a button onto the handpiece for an electrically activated air switch. Has anyone done this? I have a lot of choices at McMaster-Carr for switches to do it.

Having the small handpiece with a button, or even a key switch in the other hand, would be desirable a lot of the time.
 
As to the line length of the air hose, length affects flow, but not static pressure. So you would see the same force of action with any length of air hose. It might take longer to get it, but the hose would have to be really long to notice.
 
electric switch

Yes, electric switches have been done. But you can not feather with an electric switch, it is all or nothing. I have also built wireless options using car key fobs. Same issue with feathering.
 
Static pressure drop

Yes, you are correct about static pressure. When I mentioned performance I was referring to actuation speed. If someone wanted to install 100' long 1/8" air lines, they will ultimately get the same force, just need to wait much longer.
 
Good point on the feathering.... The foot switch is inconvenient sometimes... Its the only thing I'm not super excited about.

I wonder if an orifice in the line would give the effect; slower but with same end pressure.....

I've also noticed that my black hose seems to flex a bit when I actuate. I wonder if there is a loss of driving pressure when that happens. Like a mild air-bubble effect without the bubble. My system is well purged but takes slightly higher pressure than some on here quote.

I'm thinking of getting the lightweight braided hose....
 
flow control valve

A flow control valve can slow the action down, if an electric switch is employed. But of course it works in both directions, slowing the retraction as well.

Personally, I prefer the foot valve, having made hundreds of the squeezer systems, for both homebuilder and commercial types. The only time I can think of when having hand control was desirable on my -7 was crawling into the tail or avionics bay under the fuselage top skin. For those rare times, I could ask my wife or another trusted helper to push the pedal when I so instructed. Or use a cherrymax blind rivet.
 
I suppose if the orifice was on the air supply but not the vent that it would open quick.... good points tho
 
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