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Master cylinders
On Jul 15, 2:28 pm, wrote:
Well I guess that's the definitive answer. From now on it's DOT3 for my bird's brakes, not that dangerous flammable stuff the spamcan drivers are stuck with. The only potential downside I can see is water absorption, which is more than handled by an annual flushing with a couple bucks' worth of brake fluid. And a few hundred bucks to fix the rubber bits. DOT-3 is a vegetable-based fluid that is used with natural rubber. 5606 is a mineral oil that is used with synthetic rubber. 5606 attacks natural rubber, and DOT-3 attacks synthetic rubber. The flammability of 5606 is not an issue. I have no idea why anyone would risk trashing their brakes and maybe the whole airplane when they either seize up or fail altogether. The manufacturers of various vehicles specify certain fluids for certain applications for very good reasons. A quart of 5606 would last the average owner about 10 years. I spent 12 years building up and managing a machine shop that rebuilt air brake equipment for trucks and earthmoving equipment and hydraulic brake boosters for medium-duty trucks and some autos. We made a LOT of money off people who put the wrong fluids in their brake systems. We found motor oil (which is mineral oil) in systems designed for DOT-3, and evidence of DOT-3 in air brake systems. Some of those air brakes had alcohol injectors (for methyl hydrate) to prevent freeze-up of the controls in cold weather (caused by condensation in the compressed air) and guys would occasionally use anything handy that had "alcohol" in it, like DOT-3 does. Wrong alcohol, though, and boy, did it get expensive. The o-rings and other rubber bits would swell and crumble and blow out and get into absolutely everything. If you've had anything to do with modern air brake systems you'll realize how extensive the damage can be. Those systems aren't simple. Just drop some DOT-3 on your car's synthetic paint sometime and see what happens. Dan |
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