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Does anyone run a single Pmag along with one Surfly electronic mag combo?

C

CFItom

Member
First, can one run with this combo? if not why not?

If yes, do you use a non impulse Surfly and start on the Pmag or start with ignition switch on “both”.

Is there any efficiency gain with this combo over one Pmag and a traditional magneto?

Airplane I am looking to purchase has one Pmag and traditional magneto. Wondering about changing out the traditional mag with either another Pmag or the Surfly as they are about the same price. Or leave it as is and fly!

Thanks for your thoughts
 
CFItom said:
First, can one run with this combo? if not why not?

If yes, do you use a non impulse Surfly and start on the Pmag or start with ignition switch on “both”.

Is there any efficiency gain with this combo over one Pmag and a traditional magneto?

Airplane I am looking to purchase has one Pmag and traditional magneto. Wondering about changing out the traditional mag with either another Pmag or the Surfly as they are about the same price. Or leave it as is and fly!

Thanks for your thoughts
Click to expand...


Dual Pmags give you the best efficiency and power. Running one PMag with a standard magneto is not a very efficient situation since the PMag has variable timing and the regular magneto has fixed timing. With a dual plug cylinder, you want both spark plugs firing at exactly the same time for proper flame propagation across the piston. Toss the standard magneto and replace it with a second PMag. You’ll be amazed how much smoother your engine will run. An added benefit is dual PMags will improve engine starting since they both follow the same timing curve.
 
My Lancair buddy flew with one SureFly and on six cylinder pMag. It worked but he eventually replaced the SureFly with a second pMag.

Carl
 
Emag claims about 75% of efficacy and benefits compared to dual Pmag. But that could be marketing hype and not reality.

I have also read all sorts of rave lovers of Pmag, and others have repeated issues with reliability with very few hours and remove them and go back to std mags or another electronic ignition product. Therefore I am not So not sure what to believe of the reliability of the Pmag.

Surfly and Pmag are about the same price (non impulse Surfly) at least as listed in my aircraft spruce catalog.

If I did go to dual Pmag. I believe the single Pmag has about 150 hours on it give or take. I thought waiting until it got to 250 hours. Then I would have each Pmag on alternate 500 hr inspection cycles.

I was just wondering if having two separate Electronic ignition manufacturers would add a level of redundancy with likely separate failure modes.
 
CFItom said:
Emag claims about 75% of efficacy and benefits compared to dual Pmag. But that could be marketing hype and not reality.

I have also read all sorts of rave lovers of Pmag, and others have repeated issues with reliability with very few hours and remove them and go back to std mags or another electronic ignition product. Therefore I am not So not sure what to believe of the reliability of the Pmag.

Surfly and Pmag are about the same price (non impulse Surfly) at least as listed in my aircraft spruce catalog.

If I did go to dual Pmag. I believe the single Pmag has about 150 hours on it give or take. I thought waiting until it got to 250 hours. Then I would have each Pmag on alternate 500 hr inspection cycles.

I was just wondering if having two separate Electronic ignition manufacturers would add a level of redundancy with likely separate failure modes.
Click to expand...

CFItom said:
First, can one run with this combo? if not why not?

If yes, do you use a non impulse Surfly and start on the Pmag or start with ignition switch on “both”.

Is there any efficiency gain with this combo over one Pmag and a traditional magneto?

Airplane I am looking to purchase has one Pmag and traditional magneto. Wondering about changing out the traditional mag with either another Pmag or the Surfly as they are about the same price. Or leave it as is and fly!

Thanks for your thoughts
Click to expand...
I've been running that combo for over five years now, 1053 hours on the Pmag, and 767 hours on the SureFly. Very happy, no problems with either. O-320E2A running NGK Iridium's on 90 Octane non-ethanol.
 
MiserBird said:
I've been running that combo for over five years now, 1053 hours on the Pmag, and 767 hours on the SureFly. Very happy, no problems with either. O-320E2A running NGK Iridium's on 90 Octane non-ethanol.
Click to expand...
Does one of the mags fire differently or have different advance?

Was this your original set up? If not what was the original set up and what did you notice for benefits etc by switching?

Do you start on the Pmag, the Surfly or with switch to “both”.

What made you decide to use this combination?

Inquiring minds wants to know!

Thanks
 
CFItom said:
Does one of the mags fire differently or have different advance? Both installed per OEM manuals

Was this your original set up? If not what was the original set up and what did you notice for benefits etc by switching? Replaced Slick mags that were installed as purchased, variable timing, smoother operation, no more pricey certified aviation plugs required

Do you start on the Pmag, the Surfly or with switch to “both”. Both

What made you decide to use this combination? Installed Pmag to get rid of impulse coupling and added SureFly when the Covid price reduction happened, and moved to all NGK auto plugs

Inquiring minds wants to know!

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
CFItom said:
Does one of the mags fire differently or have different advance?

Was this your original set up? If not what was the original set up and what did you notice for benefits etc by switching?

Do you start on the Pmag, the Surfly or with switch to “both”.

What made you decide to use this combination?

Inquiring minds wants to know!

Thanks
Click to expand...
I have been running the combo for a couple of years
Originally I was running a pair of slicks. Went over to a Pmag on one side. When my mags needed to be serviced I found a used Surefly for a decent price.
Easy starts hot and cold. Can lean much better.
I’m pretty sure they don’t fire at the exact time but it hasn’t been an issue.
I’m running a Continental 0-200 so performance is not really an issue for me. Looking for reliability, easy starting.
Surefly easier to maintain, Pmag requires removal at every annual, and I had a bearing issue once that required a trip to the factory at a cost of about $500
Surefly requires nothing for 2000 hours.
 
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