Looking at replacing my old dud Wagner autopilot pump. It has several issues, parts are hard to come by. By the time I buy the needed parts and put in the time to fully rebuild it, I figure it is worth looking into buying something in current production. The Simrad pump and Octopus gear pump look similar in build, but a couple hundred dollars price difference. Furano has their accu steer pump that is bit cheaper than the Simrad, but more power hungry. Octopus also has a piston pump that looks to be the most power efficient, but is reportedly on the noisy side. While I am not easily bothered by noise, my wife is. Got a big old barn door rudder, so need plenty of hydraulic power, while hopefully not using too much electric power. So what are people's experiences and thoughts and these autopilot pumps? Pros and cons.
Hydraulic Autopilot Pumps
- Thread starter billsreef
- Start date
Check what Lecomble & Schmitt offer
www.pyiinc.com
PYI Inc. | Lecomble & Schmitt Reversible Power Packs
PYI Inc. offers Lecomble & Schmitt hydraulic reversible power packs with adjustable flow in 12V or 24V for pleasure, fishing and work boats.
www.pyiinc.com
- Thread starter
- #4
Check what Lecomble & Schmitt offer
PYI Inc. | Lecomble & Schmitt Reversible Power Packs
PYI Inc. offers Lecomble & Schmitt hydraulic reversible power packs with adjustable flow in 12V or 24V for pleasure, fishing and work boats.
One more to add to the list
Looks well built and has adjustable flow rate which can be a plus.
Some difference in the flow rate specs between the size for my ram, but otherwise look pretty much identical.
As I am digging into specs and installation manuals, I notice that the Simrad and Octopus pumps specify the need for lock valves installed in the system, while the Furano and Lecomble & Schmitt have lock valves in the pump heads. I will have to check when I go to the boat today, but I think the old Wagner has lock valves. So that might narrow the selection down if there aren't lock valves elsewhere in the system.
Octopus makes the pumps for Simrad, and you noticed that Furuno uses AccuSteer. HyPro makes the pumps for Raymarine. It is cheaper to buy from the OEM than from the branded. We just Installed a Hypro. It is dead silent and energy efficient. Oddly, it was cheaper with shipping to buy from the UK (from the US) than anywhere else. Might have been the exchange rate at the time. We got it here: https://www.echomasterdirect.co.uk/index.php?route=product/search&search=hypro pump
I'm pretty sure all reversing pumps have to have check valves to work. The HyPro pumps do have check valves.
I'm pretty sure all reversing pumps have to have check valves to work. The HyPro pumps do have check valves.
