Tracking 6 cylinder PMag issues/failures

To start with, I have been very happy with my dual Pmag setup for over two years and 275 hours. However, I realize there have been a few issues come up and decided that I wanted to capture those issues.

I have created a page showing the failures known to me (if you know of others please let me know and I will add them). There is also a poll to learn how many Pmags are in the field and how many hours are on them. Open to suggestions/improvements.

http://www.strikhedonia.com/pmag-p200-6x-lycoming-issues-failures/

my response

Your poll needs to incorporate which service bulletins are complied with. I have had no issues with my dual PMAGs on my RV10 BUT I have quickly complied with the service bulletins and gotten my units ungraded shortly after they were published. If a person had not done that, and had an issue, it could be likely because they did not get there units upgraded. Without that level of detail, I am concerned your data will be misleading.

Excellent suggestion, this has been added.

tommylewis said:

Your poll needs to incorporate which service bulletins are complied with. I have had no issues with my dual PMAGs on my RV10 BUT I have quickly complied with the service bulletins and gotten my units ungraded shortly after they were published. If a person had not done that, and had an issue, it could be likely because they did not get there units upgraded. Without that level of detail, I am concerned your data will be misleading.

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Strikhedonia said:

To start with, I have been very happy with my dual Pmag setup for over two years and 275 hours. However, I realize there have been a few issues come up and decided that I wanted to capture those issues.

I have created a page showing the failures known to me (if you know of others please let me know and I will add them). There is also a poll to learn how many Pmags are in the field and how many hours are on them. Open to suggestions/improvements.

http://www.strikhedonia.com/pmag-p200-6x-lycoming-issues-failures/

Click to expand...

Chris,

I struggle with the reasoning for tracking one vendor specifically with issues/failures. Are you suggesting that Emagair is not supporting their product appropriately? I have dual p-mags in my RV-10 and have nothing bad to say about the support they have provided, I had a small issue (out of their control) that they went out of their way to make right. They are always just a quick phone call away to discuss issues.

I think it's best to leave it up to the vendor to track issues and provide updates as appropriate. If you disagree, then I may suggest you add the other ignition systems (regular mags, surefly, flyefii, electroair, etc...) to the mix. There are other variables in play (shipping damage, installation, field adjustments, etc...) that are out of their control. Every ignition choice has its benefits and drawbacks.

They have a great product...

I'm glad to hear that you have had good success. If I'm being honest, I was in the same boat as you until recently and I have lost a lot of faith in the product since sending my mags in back in January and then reading more about failures other people have had.

I'm trying to get information (and share information) about how reliable they are from actually users. Looking the the poll on my site, currently 75% of the people who voted have had an issue. Unfortunately only two (three counting me) have sent me details on the issues so it is not possible to know if the issues for the others was minor or not. It doesn't help my confidence that Vic and Walt do not recommend their use.

I agree Brad has provided me excellent support, outside of sending me bad firmware - which causes me to worry about their ability to validate software changes.

Cptnmat said:

Chris,

I struggle with the reasoning for tracking one vendor specifically with issues/failures. Are you suggesting that Emagair is not supporting their product appropriately? I have dual p-mags in my RV-10 and have nothing bad to say about the support they have provided, I had a small issue (out of their control) that they went out of their way to make right. They are always just a quick phone call away to discuss issues.

I think it's best to leave it up to the vendor to track issues and provide updates as appropriate. If you disagree, then I may suggest you add the other ignition systems (regular mags, surefly, flyefii, electroair, etc...) to the mix. There are other variables in play (shipping damage, installation, field adjustments, etc...) that are out of their control. Every ignition choice has its benefits and drawbacks.

They have a great product...

Click to expand...

I expect this thread to be short lived.
I’ve been around for long enough to see plenty of threads with negative feedback about advertisers products or services disappear.
It’s Doug’s sandpit so theme the rules. Unfortunately it means there’s a lot of lost knowledge.
This is by far the greatest resource available to RV builders and owners around so we should all be extremely grateful.

However…
If you build and fly and experimental aircraft, your life is in your hands every time you break ground. You probably owe it to yourself to consider that the nature of product reviews here probably isn’t the whole story.

I think what Chris is doing is sensible. Nobody else is going to tell you.
Threads full of “I’ve had 2 pmags (or any other ignition/product) for 200h they’re great!” aren’t of much use.

FWIW I had a single pmag on my RV7 for about 500h and 7y.
I have a standard mag and a surefly now on my 10. But I’m getting more conservative as I get older. I’d maybe consider a single 6cyl one after a few hundred in the wild for 5y without issues.