Ground Power vs Trickle Charger connection
 

One of my 45 items of unknowns is if I'm going to do ground power or just have a connection for a trickle charger... or both.

I've read a number of previous posts on the subject but I'm not sure I grasp it in it's entirety. It seems ground power is best used to jump start the plane and run avionics without the engine turning. If I ever need to jumpstart the plane with the battery being in the back seems easy enough to get to it without a ground power socket. However since I plan to go full glass I would like to configure and mess with the avionics without having the engine running.

Last annual I installed a battery tender and dongle on my 172 and it was really painless and is easy to use. Would like to do the same but would I still be able to run the avionics with the tender attached or would it pull power faster than charging, either damaging the battery or forcing a long recharge period before starting the plane?

Weight is a bit of a concern for me since I'm installing an AC unit back there. Would it make since to just have a dongle for the trickle charger and then buy something I can physically attach to the battery while testing or configuring Avionics?

Thanks!

My opinion:

I have found the ground power outlet on my Cherokee to be very useful on several occasions. I intend to install a ground power outlet as well as an option for trickle charging on my -10.

The trickle charger jack can be mounted in the baggage area and won't take up much weight at all. The ground power outlet should be easily accessed from outside the airplane in a safe location should jump starting be necessary. You don't want to have to try to jump start an airplane by stringing temporary cables to the battery. Of course you should always be thinking (especially in an all electric airplane) "is it really smart to jump start this thing? What do I plan to do once it's running?"

You will get lots of opinions on the subject and each will have reasons for tailoring their configuration to a specific need or certain anticipated circumstances.
If your biggest concern is running your electronic equipment and spending
time configuring and tinkering with your avionics, you really don't need a ground power plug. An easily accessible cigarette lighter plug or designated plug for a trickle charger would be more than enough.
Your fully charged battery will keep your electronics running for a considerable amount of time while you configure avionics and after that exercise you can simply recharge your battery via charger, trickle or other.
If you anticipate flying to remote places in cold climates with a weak battery,
you might be better off installing a ground power plug. You'll add quite a bit of weight and complexity with such a heavy duty plug.

My installation includes a designated plug in the baggage compartment for a
trickle charger but heavy enough wiring to accommodate a regular battery charger, not enough to jump start the engine though.

I did install pigtails for the trickle charger (Battery Tender) in our 10.

When doing the EFIS config work, I just plugged in the trickle charger, and turned on the battery master.

I have spent hours doing the config work, never had a brown out.

I suspect if you start with a hot battery, and the charger going, you will be just fine for pretty much you want to do with ground setup.

I have a pig tail for a trickle charge just like Mikes. It goes through the Flightline Interiors panel and is a snap to plug in when needed. I also have a standard auxiliary power plug (cessna style) right next to it for jump starting and glad I did because I needed it once away from home and a nice man at the airport pulled his truck through the gate and gave me a jump. Thats accessible by removing a small cover on the trim panel.

Appreciate the responses and it answers my question. I'm not overly concerned about jump starting the plane, again if it happens I can take the panel off to get to the battery. I'll just plan on having an interface kit for my batteryminder much like what I have on the 172.

On using a standard battery charger do you just use alligator clips on the battery itself?

Also Mike notice you have a Main and Aux charger. Do you run two batteries in your 10?

I went the simple, straightforward route with a trickle charger extension accessible through the oil fill door. I'm in the habit of opening the door anyway after a flight to let the heat escape more quickly.

You can get one of these at Walmart. This is for a Schumacher float charger, but you get the idea:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/15140206?w...579832&veh=sem

I did that on the 172, because I do the same and the battery is up there. My RV-10 battery will be in the back and don't like the idea of running a line all the way to the front for it.

Yes, I have dual batteries, dual alternators.

Odyssey 925 and 60a alternator make up the main system, 680 and 8a alternator make up the backup system.

Thanks, assume you run electric ignition. Looking into that is on my 45 item list... Hoping by the time I get to that someone releases some type of E-mag for the Lycombing 540.