My 'Maintenance-Free' Facnor Headsail Furling Unit Needs Maintenance

[monte]

Thanks again Peter. I just dropped the jib and gave the unit a good rinse. It seems slightly better so I'll report back after a sail.

[simmo]

I know it's a while ago now but what was the outcome please Monte?

[beiland]

Interesting subject thread. I was doing a little research on the present state of the art for roller furling/reefing equipment, and Facnor was coming out as a good choice. This subject thread clouded that view, and these two postings stood out:

Originally Posted by neilpride

Well i have bad news for you, if with fresh wáter you dont get better results the internal clips inside of the bottom drum are toasted, take the sail out and try to rotate by hand the drum, if is stiff and hard to turn the clips are the culprit... the clips are mild Steel and QC is not really good with Facnor, so of 1000 clips a bunch are defective, result?? salt wáter enviroment, clips corroded and the bits messing with the torlon balls inside of the bearings races, i change so far this season 2 LS200 with this problem, both in warranty... is posible to dismantle the drum but is a pain in the ass and you end breaking the teflón bearing spacers to reach the clips , also the teflón spacers get lot of wear by the torlon balls, genuine lack of good design by Facnor. Just let me know and i can post pictures here from the LS200 i have dismantled in the shop... so you can figúrate the job,,, by the way sometimes is cheaper to install a new bottom drum...

Originally Posted by Tempo Spars

Hi all,
Facnor do not have a very good reputation in the Australian market, this may be different in other parts of the world. Firstly they only offer a three year warranty and the problems they have had for many years is the bearings. They are simply not good enough. Wichard has now acquired the company and from about a year ago they have been using the profurl bearings so moving forward they should be a lot better.

Don't bother trying to replace or service the unit unless you are mechanically minded and can do the work yourself, contact your local Rigger or service person and get them to negotiate with the distributor a replacement drum at somewhere near cost price. It has been my experience lately that they are trying to look after their customers to repair their brand.
Roland

Have they improved their bearings, etc??

[neilpride]

Actually i think they swicht to SS internal clips but im not sure, so far i dont see any Facnor problem lately apart from bad OEM installation practiques.....Cheers.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by simmo

I know it's a while ago now but what was the outcome please Monte?

Monte passed away a couple of months back simmo..

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by weavis

Monte passed away a couple of months back simmo..

Ohh man!! When? how?

[Sunseeker500]

Hi everyone, I know this is an old thread but I'm hoping for some help. I also have the same problem with a Facnor LS200. I have had the boat (S&S 39) about 3yrs, the previous owner had just fitted the furler prior to sale and it has always been tight/stiff. Have narrowed it down to the halyard swivel. Does anybody know if these are a replaceable item or should I try to remove and perhaps soak in water? I have tried flushing with water and also WD40. However I fear the WD40 may have done more harm than good.

Many thanks
Jamie.



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[stello]

I'm afraid we've also had a few reports of those units being stiff after not too much use. Some even seem stiff from day one. It seems to be a quality control issue.

Unfortunately it's the "catch" with sealed bearing furlers, they're great until they fail, and then they're a nightmare to repair. Facnor and Profurl commonly have this issue.

Sometimes with Facnors the top bushing wears out and it causes uneven rotation that adds a lot of friction. It's a $15 part and fairly easy to remove and replace.

[danmancs]

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to share an update as I have had the same problem and have been working on a strip down rebuild of both the drum unit and halyard swivel. My unit is from 2009 and was very stiff to rotate, particularly the drum unit.

Firstly, it has not been an easy job to strip it down and has required machining out some of the bolts and grub screws and re-tapping holes. Once we got the drum unit apart, what we found was that all the C-clips are carbon steel, while the bearings were stainless. There are two C-clips that sit either side of the bearings between the plastic bushes and the bearings; these C-clips have had a dissimilar metal reaction with the bearings and caused a dry paste of rust and grease to build up in the bearings, causing the problems.

I have sourced new ball bearings and will use the same races as they are in good condition, sourced new stainless C-clips, and will machine new plastic bushes. I am though having trouble sourcing new seals, but am still looking.

A strip down re-build can be done, but it's not a job that can easily be done on the saloon table of your boat, and you'll need to take the parts to a bearing shop to find the right replacements.

[deadliest catch]

My 2012 Lagoon had had this POS furler which totally froze. I bought the boat in 2017, hired my rigger who was able to get under warranty a new furler and swivel with their new design. Also saw on youtube a guy who had the same year/boat with the same problems who also received a new unit for free.

Crapnor obviously knows they had an engineering problem and was doing their best to make good. I dont know if my rigger was as sweet as Apple pie or pulled the bee otch card. It may be worth a try to claim it as a manufacturers defect.

Cheers

Mike

[danmancs]

I've all but rebuilt it now, including machining new bushes from higher grade plastic. It will be better than new once it's complete. All I am missing is new seals, which I emailed Facnor to ask for replacements - the told me that the design had changed and they weren't available, BUT, they'd give me a quote for a new drum assembly.

My response was that based on my experience dismantling this one, and the fact that they are unable to supply spares, I would not even consider buying another Facnor product.

[Captan]

Anatomy of LS 165 sviwel (ss bearings).
It can be done easy only if the factory was kind enough to supply us with some info.

[ChrisseH]

Sorry for a slight thread drift.
Am currently considering changing my Furlex 200S to a Facnor FlatDeck furling system and got worried reading this thread. Looking at the brochure it seems that both models share the same upper high load swivel.
Anyone having experience of the FlatDeck furling system? Am assuming that the support is equally poor for both models...

[Captan]

It is good system as long as it works. And it will work as long as the lubricant inside and seals holds. Other than that unless you are creative enough to source the parts, it is like modern phones ( use it while it works and then throw it away ). The seals are made by Corean factory CHO and the size is 81x63x7 ONLY this factory is making them and you can't find them on the market (I have sent e-mail to factory, no reply). The bearing is cheap custom made for this device with ss balls 6.35mm. The fact that the factory won't sell these two parts make this whole device usseles once it is worn out.

[danmancs]

What you can do is get the seals made by a specialist who machines them; we have such a place in Brisbane and the 4 seals cost me $40 odd each. The ball bearings I sourced at a bearing supplier, mine were 8mm so may be more common. The bushes I machines from UHMW PE.