912 floats

[Flightrite]

Anyone seen the insane price of the blue type fuel floats for the 912. 
$940+ for a set with bowl gaskets, $1280+ for ‘certified Rotax’ floats!…..the worlds gone mad!……for a few bucks more I could buy the whole engine, well almost!😂

Edited Saturday at 05:59 AM by Flightrite

[Red]

Ethanol proof floats for the bing carbs are available from a couple of BMW motorcycle specialists.

In fact most Bing parts are better sourced that way, unless you enjoy being ripped off

[skippydiesel]

Rotax Part Number is 861189

 

Aircraft Spruce Australia

The Marvel Schebler MS80-430 blue floats are direct replacements for the existing Bing floats P/N 861-184. $427.90 (AU)

 

SkyShop Australia

Rotax Part Number is 861189 $642.0 (AU)

 

Lockwood USA

Rotax Part Number is 861189 $104.32($161 Au + delivery - say $250Au)

 

Then there is the Chinese 912 - may have floats to fit at a fraction of the price😈

[skippydiesel]

8 minutes ago, Red said:

Ethanol proof floats for the bing carbs are available from a couple of BMW motorcycle specialists.

In fact most Bing parts are better sourced that way, unless you enjoy being ripped off

I tried to find Bing floats the same as the Rotax/Bing, so far no joy😈

[Flightrite]

It’s cheaper to buy from Spruce in the States inc postage than here in Oz!

Lockwood USA don’t seem to ship to Oz🙁

They sure have a captive market!🙁

[onetrack]

Get a U.S. transhipping address, such as Planet Express, and then organise to ship them to your Planet Express address. Plus, Planet Express offers reasonable shipping charges and a choice of shippers.

[skippydiesel]

"..........blue type fuel floats for the 912."

 

I think my recent OM/Flood replacement's are grey/black ???

😈

Edited Sunday at 05:57 AM by skippydiesel

[Flightrite]

Yeah genuine Rotax floats are black, the blue ones are epoxy, made by Marvel Schebler, the carby people. How much were they from Floody’s?

[BrendAn]

i just can't see how a pair of epoxy floats can be more than a few dollars each.  

these prices are crazy.

[skippydiesel]

41 minutes ago, Flightrite said:

Yeah genuine Rotax floats are black, the blue ones are epoxy, made by Marvel Schebler, the carby people. How much were they from Floody’s?

Freeeeee!!!! - due to recall.

 

"i just can't see how a pair of epoxy floats can be more than a few dollars each.  

these prices are crazy."

 

Agreed.

To add insult to injury, my first Rotax 912ULS, 1999 vintage, never needed new floats. Aircraft still flying, assume with OM floats.

 

How can Rotax keep engaging makers of sub standard floats??????😈

[facthunter]

The fuel we burn has some pretty rotten chemicals in it. Plenty of floats have done bad things. Brass floats can leak. Earlier stuff used Cork.  Nev

[onetrack]

Petrol has gone through a big variety of constituents in its formula since 1999 - it contains a different range of chemicals today, as compared to 1999 petrol.

 

The oil company chemists keep on "tweaking" the chemical ingredients to provide lower emissions, and better performance in modern engines, and to meet Govt fuel quality specifications.

 

Petrol is a particularly complex mix of hydrocarbons, and chemists find new hydrocarbon chemicals regularly, to add to it. Petrol primarily comprises isoalkane and aromatic hydrocarbons.

 

Alkanes (Paraffins) = 4-8%

Alkenes (Olefins) = 2-5%

Isoalkanes (Isoparaffins) = 25-40%

Cycloalkanes (Naphthenes) = 3-7%

Cycloalkenes (Cycloparaffins) = 1-4%

Total aromatics = 25-50%

 

Then, individual oil companies add their own "proprietary" chemical additives to try and boost performance, clean out combustion chambers, and to provide so-called "improved fuel economy".

This gives them the ability to add a fancy name to their fuel brand, to try and differentiate it from the mundane start-up brand names.

 

Benzene was largely eliminated from petrol decades ago when TEL was introduced (subject to refining processes, as some benzene always gets through the process) - but it has been re-introduced as TEL has become banned.

 

 

 

 

[Underwood]

They re-introduced Benzene?, isnt that stuff about as nasty as TEL?

[flyhi]

19 hours ago, Flightrite said:

Yeah genuine Rotax floats are black, the blue ones are epoxy, made by Marvel Schebler, the carby people. How much were they from Floody’s?

Rotax Pn 861189 $123.05 each  $246.10 for a pair from Floods last April 2025

 

[facthunter]

Benzine (a Cyclic ring hydrocarbon) and tetra ethyl lead work entirely different ways. Both are bad for you. Paraffinic hydro carbons are a chain. Gases (short ones ) to Oils tars and waxes  at the other end. Greases are soaps with oils added. often Lithium..Nev

[Flightrite]

31 minutes ago, flyhi said:

Rotax Pn 861189 $123.05 each  $246.10 for a pair from Floods last April 2025

 

Tried to contact Floods the other day but the email goes to Rotax in Austria!🙂🙁

[skippydiesel]

Going back to the erly floats that did not seem to have a fuel absorption/logging problem.

 

Rotax have engaged a few (No. ?) diffrent manufactures since then and all (not counting the current which I hope will be a return to the original standard) have been a failure - how can this be?😈

 

 

[BrendAn]

1 hour ago, Flightrite said:

Tried to contact Floods the other day but the email goes to Rotax in Austria!🙂🙁

I went to their warehouse in Lilydale on Wednesday to buy a carb socket.

There were 3 people working there.

[facthunter]

It's a fairly "Ordinary" Carburetter for an aeroplane. You won't accept that but it's a fact. What cars run carburettors these days? They are also in a bad spot. Floats are always a risk. If the fuel foams they sink and flood the Motor and use a lot of fuel.  Nev

[Red]

5 hours ago, skippydiesel said:

Going back to the erly floats that did not seem to have a fuel absorption/logging problem.

 

Rotax have engaged a few (No. ?) diffrent manufactures since then and all (not counting the current which I hope will be a return to the original standard) have been a failure - how can this be?😈

 

 

I think its more down to the changing fuel chemistry in the last 20 years, especially the ethanol introduction.

One thing that confuses me is the reccomendations for these epoxy floats, I had a shadow wwhich had fibrelam tanks held together with epoxy (Araldite), when Ethanol started to be introduced the tank started falling apart at the internal epoxy joints...I guess this epoxy must be very different?, I'd wait a bit before rushing to this new 'solution'

[skippydiesel]

"I think its more down to the changing fuel chemistry in the last 20 years, especially the ethanol introduction."

 

Not a chemist, however I draw your attention to my experince;

 

A 1999 model 912ULS, run almost exclusively on ULP 98 RON. The OM floats were still in use, when the 20 + year old aircraft & engine passed from my hands. I speculate that they are still in service today. This would suggest that any petroleum changes, in that time, did not adversely effect these floats. 

My 2019 model 912ULS once already😈

[Red]

29 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

"I think its more down to the changing fuel chemistry in the last 20 years, especially the ethanol introduction."

 

Not a chemist, however I draw your attention to my experince;

 

A 1999 model 912ULS, run almost exclusively on ULP 98 RON. The OM floats were still in use, when the 20 + year old aircraft & engine passed from my hands. I speculate that they are still in service today. This would suggest that any petroleum changes, in that time, did not adversely effect these floats. 

My 2019 model 912ULS once already😈

Out of interest, when did Ethanol start being introduced at the pumps in Australia?

 

[BrendAn]

1 hour ago, Red said:

Out of interest, when did Ethanol start being introduced at the pumps in Australia?

 

who puts ethanol in an aircraft

[Red]

Maybe I should clarify for the hard of thinking, when did Fuel with a proportion of ethanol become available at the Pumps in Australia?

[onetrack]

On 08/06/2025 at 6:26 PM, Underwood said:

They re-introduced Benzene?, isnt that stuff about as nasty as TEL?

Only in relatively small percentages, up to 1% in some cases.