• If You Are Having Trouble Logging In with Your Old Username and Password, Please use this Forgot Your Password link to get re-established.
  • Hey! Be sure to login or register!

New Edo Floats

I

Indabush

Registered User
Interior Alaska
I got a flier in the mail from Kenmore offering brand new floats for my cub for $17K. Anyone see these new floats that are made in China?
 
edo

They are very tempting at that price! I've had 2 new sets of US made floats in 5 years that have not been very good. I am on my 3rd set, a different brand of new US floats however. Time will tell on these, the edo's will will hold up better than most other brands. But China??
 
One of my buddies here in Homer has a set of new Chinese EDOs on his PA-18. I gave them a real good look over while he was installing them.. They were just fine..

His performance off the water is much better now, compared to when he had Baumann 2100s on the same SC..
 
edo's

Alex
The edo's are built tough and perform well, i've run many hours float training on them on several planes. I just replaced my 172 with Baumann 2550's and they do much better than Wip 2350's, time will tell on durability, i had them commercially built for me. My Wip 2350's fell apart after the first season, 500 hours of training and rental, the flush rivets will not hold up. Better to have a little more weight and structure to them and have them last. I saw a set of 4930's at our base and they looked very nice, but again - China?? If the Baumanns don't hold up?? Fiberglass!
 
Brian I had heard you got a set of them composite tufffloats. Also that Champ of Karpiks is for sale again.
 
edo

Don't let the word out but i'm building a new set out of marine plywood and going for approval on the Scout with a TSIO 540 lycoming on it with Bushwheels as backup floatation and or amphibs if needed! How much $$ for that nice Chump? Come on down and piss off some gators after you thaw out up there!
 
I think I am going to wait and see how the new Aerocet 2200 works out. Any one have any first hand experience with them?
 
edo

Aerocet did the most of the cub float testing from our lake place in North Idaho. All I can say is that they were alot of fun. One big giant step. To me, a cub on a set of straights is as good as flying gets.
 
I've always figured that EDO 2000's are the standard for performance for small airplane floats. They are incredibly tough, and they simply out perform every other float I've met of comparable size.

I'm not wild about sending the work to China, but...

The other issue with EDO's on Cubs is GW limitations and round tops which equals small hatches.

But, their performance is really hard to equal.

MTV
 
edo

Aerocet floats are made in USA, extremely well built, and complete with huge hatches. High price will be an issue. Mike, as you say, the EDO is the classic. The China bit really gets me. We have to invest here at home. I better stop before it goes to the Rant page.
 
edo

Totaly agree with you Mike and Pat about 2000's and all their other models. Wip may have the 2000 gross on a cub but i know of 2 sets of 2100's and 3 sets of 2350's locally where the flush rivets on the bottoms are pulling through, not to mention breaking the super glued bottom cross braces between the keel and the chine. My C172 2350' Wips disintegrated after 1 year and 500 hours, plus would not steer worth a darn! My new Baumann 2550's are much better, time will tell on them! Wip told me they did not design the floats for commercial use, but the personal use floats are doing the same after 800 hours! Would Ford, Chevy and Dodge sell any trucks if they were built for highway use only! Too bad Edo, Aerocet, Aqua and PK can't get 2000 lbs on a cub, they have the floatation, we would have better choices.
 
Interesting thread- specially since I'm in the market for floats for a 182 Seaplanes West conversion I'm considering. My mechanic says its hard to beat a good old set of lacquer painted 2870s. Sure do like the idea of the big hatch flat top Aerocets. I'm willing to put the money into the "right" float up front, as I plan on keeping my next plane a long time, and am going to set it up the way I want it, rather than junk a set of floats five years from now and then spend more to get the float I should have got right away. Wish the crystal ball would tell me how Aerocets will look/work 20 years from now. Haven't heard any owner of Aerocets speak bad, but most have only run them a few years. Any Baumann 180/182 floats in the works?
 
hey all, i havent posted here in a long while, but couldn't resist after reading in this thread about the Chinese edo's. this really is a bummer, especially with the current events of late. its too bad to see them ship the work over there. i know the older ones were always good quality - has any one had any issue's with the chinese one's?
 
RE: Chinese imports = I needed finish light rings for recessed lights i put in my house recently - the American made ones at home depot were $9.44 each - I found Chinese made ones on the Internet for $1.22 each. So I basically have $328 more cash in my pocket. Anyone who thinks Chinese imports don't do more good for this country than bad are idiots in my opinion anyway. Take a free trade class and you will find you can mathematically prove free trade makes more sense. People often say the Japanese auto industry is government subsidized - and so it's not fare - well suppose they produced cars for half the cost of American cars due to government subsidies - so what - that's a gift to Americans - imagine if we could all buy a Japanese car for half what they cost today.

Want better quality - pay more - it's simple. I don't give a dam about high quality on finish light rings for recessed lights - and I'm surely better off with $328 more in my pocket. think about how many landing over a 10 year period your typical float pilot really does - many float planes sit at the dock most of the time - if I can buy a set of floats for $10K less - so what if they aren't going to last quite as long. If the Chinese made ones start killing people - sure I'll reconsider - however, I'd sure like to see more floats made in china so more people can afford them.
my 2 cents for the day
cliff in Maine
 
OVEREASYGUY said:
RE: Chinese imports = I needed finish light rings for recessed lights i put in my house recently - the American made ones at home depot were $9.44 each - I found Chinese made ones on the Internet for $1.22 each. So I basically have $328 more cash in my pocket. Anyone who thinks Chinese imports don't do more good for this country than bad are idiots in my opinion anyway. Take a free trade class and you will find you can mathematically prove free trade makes more sense. People often say the Japanese auto industry is government subsidized - and so it's not fare - well suppose they produced cars for half the cost of American cars due to government subsidies - so what - that's a gift to Americans - imagine if we could all buy a Japanese car for half what they cost today.

Want better quality - pay more - it's simple. I don't give a dam about high quality on finish light rings for recessed lights - and I'm surely better off with $328 more in my pocket. think about how many landing over a 10 year period your typical float pilot really does - many float planes sit at the dock most of the time - if I can buy a set of floats for $10K less - so what if they aren't going to last quite as long. If the Chinese made ones start killing people - sure I'll reconsider - however, I'd sure like to see more floats made in china so more people can afford them.
my 2 cents for the day
cliff in Maine
Click to expand...

Cliff-

I don't want to turn this into a rant & rave subject.

Please educate yourself before posting though:

(you have to click the red at the top to get to the article)

http://www.americanmachinist.com/Cl...px?HBC=Issue&NIL=False&CID=83699&OASKEY=Issue
 
Do not forget one thing: before they can be mounted legally on a certified plane. the FAA has the last word! Or are you able to mount anything on your cub without approval?
 
RE: "please educate before posting"
I did - and this country is screwed up - that's why all the manufacturing jobs are leaving. We should all be Ranting and Raving at our government!
Lower taxes and less government regulation would keep manufacturing jobs here. Less welfare might produce young people who aren't so dam lazy.
you and I aren't going to change the way things are. However how you spend your money can make a big difference in where you end up later on in life. Five minutes on the Internet looking for recessed light rings saved me $328 - made in china. if you want to pay through the nose for what you call high quality American made produces go for it. I think it makes way more sense to evaluate the product first and think about what you are saving. $10K is a big chunk of money - if you think the America made floats are worth it - go for it. My guess is EDO felt they could give you more for you money if they made them in China - and they know way more about floats than you and I ever will.
cliff in Maine
 
So, Cliff, are YOU willing to work in a boring repetitive factory job for $25.00 per WEEK with NO benefits? When that happens, things will start getting back on an even keel here re: the cost of things. You CAN'T
have your cake and eat it too. :roll: :bad-words:

John Scott
 
This is a tough situation but with the money Cliff saved he might eat out at some high end restaurants. Also the Chinese might buy some American beef or pork chops. Maybe they could buy some milk products also----just read where Congress is thinking about a dairy cow buy out since we have too much milk now----funny how things change is a year. From starvation to surplus.
 
Several years ago (maybe when Kenmore first bought the Edo line?) they were gonna subcontract float manufacturing to W.E.Aerotech Services in Shelton WA, who did alot of Seabee mods & rebuilds. Sometime after that Aerotech went kaput, don't know if trying to make a buck building floats did them in or not, but they're gone. I don't know if kenmore had an interim American float builder or if that's when they went Chinese.

Eric
 
Two Questions if anyone out there knows:
- What is the current situation with the water wing STC, it isn't listed on crosswinds website and I can't seem to get in touch with anyone there
- Does anyone know where to get sealer for the inside of floats (slosh kind)? Lake and Air supplier went out of business.

thx
Tedd
 
Tedd,

I used fuel tank sealer for float sealant. It's called sloshing compound, last I checked. I would imagine A/C Spruce carries it, or?? Call them or Chief.

MTV
 
Marty,
I think, and I emphasize think because I'm not 100% certain, ACF 50 helps to eliminate the "electrostatic" build up between metals to aid in corrosion prevention? I use it on the exterior pieces of my floats, ie rigging, water rudder, etc and it has good penetration but I don't think it actually has "sealing" properties to it. The sloshing compound helps to cut down on the seepage that occurs in most floats.

I probably need to change out gaskets as well but finding those will be interesting.
Tedd
 
The procedure I've heard that makes most sense to me is to use your shop vac to pressurize the individual compartments & check all seams with soapy water, mark the leaks, then (when dry again) switch to vacuum & dribble/paint the sealer on the leaky spots & let it suck in until it sets up. Whew, howz'at for a run-on sentence!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Scouter
New Edo Floats
Replies
8
Views
7K
SteveE
SteveE
Bill Ingerson
Latest on Edo Floats
Replies
16
Views
10K
ground loop
G
Bill Ingerson
Edo 2000 Floats
Replies
7
Views
3K
NQuinn
N
Jake
Edo 2000 attach help
Replies
4
Views
2K
Jake
Jake
swedishcub
Grossweight on EDO floats
Replies
1
Views
1K
harneymaki
harneymaki
Back
Top