DC Power to my hangared plane

[baldcaldwell]

My hangar has 110V outlets. I would like to provide a 110V powered battery tender, as well as run my avionics while static. What are the recommendations for this? I’ve looked at batteryminder, but not sure what I am looking at and what would work best for my application. Is there a product that I can mount to the firewall and just plug into for charging and master switch and avionics on for long periods without affecting the battery? Thanks!

[rwanttaja]

My personal inclination to be to avoid developing something to power the avionics by an alternative power source. If you don't do it right, there's a chance to kablooie everything. Plus there's the question of whether the avionics work the same way under external power as internal.

I'd just have a battery charger, and connect it to re-charge the battery when you're done with the avionics work for the day. I suspect a battery with the capacity to actually start the engine will have more than enough capacity to operate the avionics alone for several hours.

Ron Wanttaja

[baldcaldwell]

I agree with the battery charger scenario. I've looked at several but don't quite know what to select. I would like something that I can plug-in and un-plug without a lot of effort.

[rwanttaja]

I agree with the battery charger scenario. I've looked at several but don't quite know what to select. I would like something that I can plug-in and un-plug without a lot of effort.

Are we talking a homebuilt or a certified airplane?

On my Fly Baby, there's a socket in the belly that I can plug a battery charger into. It's the round thing on the top left of this picture:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/belly_panel.JPG

This is actually a standard 240V socket, mounted kinda flush with the bottom of the airplane. There's a 240V plug in it in the picture...not hooked up to anything, just occupying the holes to keep them clean. I've got a matching plug on the output of my battery charger, and can just pop off the blank plug and plug in the battery charger.

If you've got a certified airplane, you could look into some of the STCs for external power jacks. You might even be able to have your IA install one on a Form 337.

Ron Wanttaja

[Sam Buchanan]

I have a Battery Tender that is a nice little device for charging and maintaining a battery. You can get a ring terminal harness for it so it can be quickly connected without having to mess with clamps. It is not recommended to trickle charge AGM batteries such as the Odyssey PC680, however.

http://products.batterytender.com/Chargers/Battery-Tender-Junior-12V-0-75A.html

[baldcaldwell]

Experimental. Good idea with the plug! Thanks for the pic.

[FlyingRon]

Yeah, the battery tenderizers tend to have a small molex-type plug that you can just let dangle inside the cowl. Plugging mine in was pretty simple.

Ron's rule of connectors however say, anytime something can be plugged together, someone will do it, so you ought to plan it to work or at least be benign. Using a 240V connector seems cool, but it scares the willies out of me. You can probably get a regular aircraft (either two pin or piper) plug from a junk yard.

[vaflier]

Yeah, the battery tenderizers tend to have a small molex-type plug that you can just let dangle inside the cowl. Plugging mine in was pretty simple.

Ron's rule of connectors however say, anytime something can be plugged together, someone will do it, so you ought to plan it to work or at least be benign. Using a 240V connector seems cool, but it scares the willies out of me. You can probably get a regular aircraft (either two pin or piper) plug from a junk yard.

Actually you can get the Piper style plug and socket at most any auto parts store. They are made by Cole Hersee and are also availble under the Standard Ignition brand line of electrical parts. Another smaller plug and socket would be a socket and plug for a Powerwinch boat trailer winch. They come in differnet styles and wil handle plenty of current. They also weigh a lot less.