old superflow dyno help

[Strum]

I picked up an old superflow sf-800 dyno at an estate sale a couple years ago. it was already disassembled and i have zero documentation. i think i have most of what i care about figured out, i plan to eliminate the entire console and all electronics and replace with the setup from yourdyno.com
as far as i can tell the dyno was 100% manual, there doesnt appear to be any kind of automated control on the water outlet valve. the wheel on the console appears to directly control the cable that i think connects to the ball valve. i cant find any other valves or actuators anywhere.
i think the serial number is 53. is there any way to identify what absorber it is? im assuming its good for 1000tq/10k rpm but it would be useful to verify.


if anyone has any operation manuals or other info, that would be very helpful.
here are some more specific questions:
the inlet block has a large hose entering from below and a small hose entering from the front. there is no valve or internal material in the block. ive seen the smaller hose referred to as 'pressure boost' and a ball valve on it. what is this for and how does it work?
does the absorber 'suck' the water in through the large hose or do i need that pressurized?




theres some sort of adjustment on the absorber at the 11 o clock position. i have it removed in the photo. i also cant seem to get the cover off. it spins freely with the bolts removed but will not come off.
is the hose hanging off at the 5oclock supposed to be connected to anything?
any info is appreciated.

[PRH]

My suspicion is....... the manual valve/hand crank might be a retro-fit situation after the computer controlled servo valve quit.

I say this because the console appears to have the load control knob and servo/manual control switch used to operate the servo valve.

[Strum]

the other side of that silver wheel just goes to a 90 degree gear to an acme thread that pulls and pushes the cable. but yeah, it does look retrofitted in general. this dyno has lived an interesting life.

another question... im cleaning out the water tank that sits on the cart below the absorber and it has a divider, left side is where the outlet water goes, it has a screen and a connection to the outside. the 'inlet' to the absorber is directly piped to the other outlet fitting. the other half of the tank doesnt appear to serve a purpose? theres a roughly 2" hole near the top of the tank with nothing in it. should there be a float valve there?

im still unclear where the pumps in the system go. should i be pumping water into the absorber, and have another pump pulling water out of that tank? does the tank just act as a reservoir for the absorber and water should constantly be flowing in and out?

[ClassAct]

You have to push the cover off the absorber. Use some long bolts that are the same threads as the bolts that hold the cover on. If you look closely at the absorber you can see four holes (I think it’s four) that are tapped but are blind. Those are the holes you screw the bolts into to push the cover off.

As much rust and crap as I see you can bet everything you have and some stuff you don’t have that both seals will need to be replaced, and probably the impeller or whatever they call it. So the absorber needs to come apart.

Unless you have it somewhere in a box or something, you need a foot valve. You should really get a manual just for the dyno itself and use it. If you aren’t going to use the Superflow console you won’t need the software manual.

Before I ever bought something else to run the dyno, I’d get on the phone with Kevin or Zach at Performance Trends and let them hook you up with their software and hardware. Their stuff is second to none. And their customer service is better than that. I can’t say enough god about Performance Trends. THE BEST.

EDIT: yes there is a float valve you are missing evidently. After going back and looking at the pictures I can say I would stop where you are and call Performance Trends. Kevin will help you sort out what missing. He also has a load controller that bolts right on to your servo. I have the DataMite 4 logger and dyno load controller. The logger itself is small and the power to run the logger, controller and A/F meters is small. I ditched the whole Superflow console (which is for sale BTW) and went with Performance Trends. I’m almost ready to get something on the dyno and run it.

I think at least a call to Performance Trends is the best move you can make.

[rebelrouser]

I will second Performance Trends Dyno software and technical support.

[Strum]

I was considering their stuff as well. I’ll look more seriously at it and see about calling them.
I am confident I can make it all work if I can get an understanding of what all is supposed to happen with the plumbing. I wish I had a manual but I don’t so if you do I’m happy to buy a copy.
Thanks all and looking forward to more thoughts and info

[Strum]

What is a foot valve?
There’s a inlet check valve broken off in the tub I wasn’t sure where it was supposed to go

[ClassAct]

What is a foot valve?
There’s a inlet check valve broken off in the tub I wasn’t sure where it was supposed to go

The foot valve is a one way valve that goes to the main feed into the absorber. Give me an hour or two and I’ll go take some pictures of the absorber so you can see it.

I couldn’t get Superflow to get me the owners manual so I got one from John at Dynohelp.com. I think he raped me for 250 bucks for the damn thing, but I had to have it.

[ClassAct]

Here are several pictures for you. A couple of the foot valve and one of the ball valve.

DAE77630-5B31-478D-98C4-08D609661E3D.jpeg

A88579CA-9440-4D6A-B3AE-C5B5EEA27013.jpeg

F5ACFFAD-976E-4BE5-8C31-2D45ACC19387.jpeg

49C3C945-4C1B-4AD0-9B8F-D07A24E15FDB.jpeg

[Strum]

thank you for the pictures, though now im just a little more confused.
this inlet check valve has been broken off a piece of pvc pipe, it was in the sump but i dont see where it should have connected


im looking at yours, and i have a few questions
first, definitions: the 'inlet' of the brake is the center and the outlet is on the bottom, a little more toward the engine side, correct?
the inlet on mine has a large hose connected through the sump directly to a pipe fitting on the side, it isnt exposed to the sump for suction.
the inlet also has a smaller hose, where you have a ball valve.

your inlet has a foot valve. does that mean the dyno sucks water out of the sump rather than the water being pumped into it?
what is the ball valve for?
the only valve i have found is on the 'outlet' of the brake.

i am going to draw up a diagram today to post to hopefully clarify this. i am very confident i can get everything up and going if i can just confirm what is supposed to be connected where.
thank you for the help.

[PRH]

As designed by SF, the absorber draws water in from the tank.

If you got the cover off the absorber, it wouldn’t surprise me if you found the impeller for that side of the unit was corroded/eroded to the point where it would no longer draw water from the tank........ and what you’re seeing is another retrofitted system to help get water into the inlet side of the absorber.

A shop I worked at in 90-91 had a 1987-ish vintage SF-901, it didn’t have the boost valve.
I believe it’s standard on a 902, but it was an option back then.

[PRH]

Looking at the pics again.......
I’d say the strainer was on the end of the hose with the broken pvc pipe, going to the inlet of the absorber.

[ClassAct]

The brass valve with the strainer is the foot valve. It hooks up to the inlet of the absorber, which is in the middle. PRH is 100% correct. The absorber needs to come apart so you can inspect the impeller or whatever Superflow calls it. Mine was exactly as PRH described it. Pitted and used up. And it will probably need both seals.

It’s not worth the hassle of getting it all up and ready to go and have the absorber need seals.

There should be a hose coming off the inlet to the ball valve that sends direct pressure to the absorber. That’s the hose that has the shut off on it.

[PRH]

There should be a hose coming off the inlet to the ball valve that sends direct pressure to the absorber. That’s the hose that has the shut off on it.

Only one of the 3 901’s I’ve operated had the boost valve.
Without it, there is no direct connection from the supply pump to the absorber.

The water is drawn into the absorber through a filter that’s hanging on the end of the hose that’s connected to the inlet.

The boost is only used for testing engines with higher tq values at lower engine speeds, where the absorber is operating out of the optimum efficiency range.
Without the boosted inlet supply, you may not be able to load the motor at as low of an rpm as desired.

For the typical stuff we test here, it’s normally not used.

[Strum]

i took the absorber apart and it was kinda crusty but not too bad i guess. i have almost everything figured out now i think.

a few things im unsure of: should i leave the inlet plumbing alone or switch back to a float valve and foot valve?
how much pump do i need? based on superflow's numbers its a pretty huge pump just to feed a float valve?

the impeller looks good on the blade side but the back side is a little eaten away. i dont see how it would have killed the effectiveness of it, so i think it was working fine. not sure why the float and foot valve were removed.