Auto-Pilot Hydraulic Steering Pump

[SeaEric]

I am in the process of removing an old Benmar auto-pilot. It would operate to steer the boat in "power steering" mode. It would not steer the boat to a course in "auto pilot" mode. In addition to the fact that the Benmar is pre-historic technology, there was obviously something wrong with the nav portion of the system. It was not worth fixing IMO as it was never going to, at this point, perform acceptably.

I am shopping for a new system. Here's my question: Is there a reason to believe that the existing, working steering pump (recognizing it's advanced age) might not work with a new auto-pilot system? Is this not just a pump that starts, stops and changes direction? Any intel or experience would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Vincentc]

Eric,
I had a situation reverse to yours. The pump on my old Navico AP went out and I replaced it with a new Simrad and it worked just fine until the compass quit.

You could try the old pump with a new system and if it did not work then replace the pump. OTOH, the fact that the pump went out first may say something about expected pump life vs system life.

Good luck

 

[Bob Bradley]

I kept and reused my pump from the Robertson when I installed my Simrad AP28. I just had to specify that I had a solenoid operated pump when I ordered the new a/p. As long as it's working, I wouldn't replace it. Then again, I'm cheap.

 

[captddis]

It is much cheaper to buy the pump as part of the package. Don't buy a state of the art pilot and use an ancient pump.

 

[Boatsb]

It is much cheaper to buy the pump as part of the package. Don't buy a state of the art pilot and use an ancient pump.

Unless your cheap.


and foolish too.

 

[SeaEric]

It is much cheaper to buy the pump as part of the package. Don't buy a state of the art pilot and use an ancient pump.

This is the kind of info that I was looking for. I agree about the ancient pump. But, if a pump is a pump.... The Garmin system I have looked at seems to sell the pump as a separate item. I guess it makes sense to replace it all together.

 

[Boatsb]

This is the kind of info that I was looking for. I agree about the ancient pump. But, if a pump is a pump.... The Garmin system I have looked at seems to sell the pump as a separate item. I guess it makes sense to replace it all together.

Garmin needs a garmin pump. It hooks up differently and is well worth the additional cost of getting the larger one that has the bleeder valve

 

[Ross Macdonald]

The previous owner of our 60 Hatt EB installed a Robertson AP 45 pilot and kept the original Wood Freeman pump. The system has worked well for the 11 years we have owned the boat. It looks like a good sized pump. There are actually resources and tech support for the Wood Freemans. The son of Wood Freeman is still around. I had a question about the pump and was able to get his cell phone number from a company in Texas that still has the components of the autopilots in stock. Having said that, if it had been my installation, I would have purchased the Robertson pump. Just my 2 cents...

 

[thoward]

This is the kind of info that I was looking for. I agree about the ancient pump. But, if a pump is a pump.... The Garmin system I have looked at seems to sell the pump as a separate item. I guess it makes sense to replace it all together.

The Garmin pump is much smaller and is setup to work with the Garmin autopilot through a black box. You would have to reverse engineer the wiring and HOPE the Garmin will work with the old circuitry without anything bad happening. To set up the Garmin, you have to input AP pump type, number of turns lock to lock, capacity of steering pump and a few other things. I would assume the software is based on known AP pump parameters.

 

[SeaEric]

OK. I'm convinced. Thanks for the input!