The unique Octopus piston pump delivers over twice the hydraulic output per watt of input than a standard hydraulic gear pump.

Gear pumps leak oil between the gears, while a piston (such as used in car engines) does not. This means the piston pump will place the cylinder ram exactly where it is required, positioning the rudder accurately. This gives far sharper steering, reducingunnecessary course corrections meaning battery consumption on Octopus pumps is up to half that of other pumps.

Leading autopilot manufacturers choose Octopus pumps for their non RFB pilot systems which do not have a Rudder Feedback unit. Previously, slop in the system caused by gear leakage meant that a Rudder Feedback unit was necessary to tell the pilot the exact rudder position. As Octopus pumps will always bring the ram back to the required position the Rudder Feedback unit is not required, which also greatly simplifies installation.

A professional installation should always have a method of isolating the pump from the steering system - Octopus pumps feature inbuilt shut off valves in the pump manifold.

A pump that does not have variable flow (unless dedicated to a range of cylinders such as our fixed 0.8L pump) will be operating too fast or too slow in 90% of cases. Autopilot manufacturers get around this problem by adjusting the output to the pump to compensate, which either forces the pump to operate for longer periods of time which increases power consumption and wear on the parts, or it will operate at high pressure for short periods of time - also putting unnecessary strain and wear on the system.

Octopus Variable Flow Reversing Pumps precisely control the speed of the ram, reducing unnecessary battery consumption, pressure, strain and wear on the hydraulic syste