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Jumper plugs

Just a simple pig tail feeding a 15-20 amp breaker to connect a 30 amp regulated power supply. The perfect solution to hangar flying, charging batteries, or both at the same time. I use it a lot for updating software and databases, entering flight plans into the GTN-650, configuration changes and such.

You can see the pig tail with Molex connector coming out from the bottom right of the panel.

Carl

F575-A3-C7-E8-B6-4-DB7-B23-C-958-B49-CBD5-EF.jpg
 
I shy away from jumping, as you will launch with a low battery charge. A no no for an electrically dependent aircraft. Like Carl, I have a 15A fused connector for a pigtail that I can attach to a battery charger.

Larry
 
I shy away from jumping, as you will launch with a low battery charge. A no no for an electrically dependent aircraft. Like Carl, I have a 15A fused connector for a pigtail that I can attach to a battery charger.

Larry
+1 But I am a little more conservative so mine is a 10A fused connector. :cool:
 
Common: Lighter (accessory) socket in your panel and #10 or 12 wire directly to the battery via a 10A fuse, and a lighter socket adapter for your charger. Doubles as a 12v accessory port.
 
When I built my RV-8 over fifteeen years ago I, I was living in Houston and flying back to Minnesota to visit family several times a year, often in winter. I grew up flying there, and new that a cold soaked airplane (that had sat outside) and battery were no fun to start - and if you cranked enough to get it started, you often had hurt the battery! So I I installed a Piper external power plug that could be used for an external jump start - not for when the battery was dead, but just as normal ops when it was cold so as to get a quicker start, and not use up battery life.

Since then I have built four more airplanes, and while they all have shop power connections (I usually use Andersen plugs), none of them have the capability to jump start because I don’t visit in teh far north in the winter regularly enough in any of them.

Bottom line - if you have a need for using external power at jump-start levels, a Piper plug is very handy. If you are just looking to power the airplane for shop work, you can easily get by with something less.

Built what you need for your requirements.

Paul
 
Thanks Paul, I had a PC680 fail and bought a new one, still would not start. Nothing but a chatter from the starter. Replaced main solenoid,same. Replaced starter solenoid and same chatter. Bit the built and bought a new starter,samecharter. Finally figured out the new starter solenoid was bad. Put a 35 amp battery nand all was good. Flew at least once a week except last two and was back to the chatter. Put on charger for one hour and all was better. Just afraid to go on a trip and gettig stuck with no service.
 
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I suggest you or someone else go back to finding out what's wrong with the airplane electrical system, no reason it shouldn't work normally with a std battery.
 
Did a parasitic test and all is normal, looks like a bad solenoid and new battery. Cannot be that unlucky. Might be for sale soon😁
 
(EDIT: If yiu get an SAE connector as described here with colored wire leads, don't trust the colors of the wires. They change positive/negative positions depending on what side of the charging circuit they are on. Many of these are designed for solar cells so the colors would be opposite for a battery. So check polarity and don't go by the red/black color of the wires.)

I always install a 2-pin SAE type receptacle. The same design most battery chargers use.

Here is the type I use:
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Here is one I put in an RV-3:
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Here is one I put in the belly of a Husky:
RKmxHds.jpg


Every charger out there worth using has the same 2-pin SAE connector on their cord. Makes it very easy. On my RV-8 I leave the EarthX battery on a Li-Fe charger at all times in the hangar.
 
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Powerlet

When I built my -8, I installed a Powerlet socket in one of the cockpit bulkhead pillars. This is a very high quality socket and plug solution. Way better than a 'cigarette lighter' socket and plug. They are commonly used on high-end motorcycles for plugging in heated vests, intercoms, and other portable systems. Mine connects to the battery through a 15A breaker.

Because the rest of the world has so far refused to outgrow the crappy 'cigarette lighter' socket, I do have an adapter in the airplane for that too. Where I worked we had an inside joke that the ISS had hinged panel covers above the instrument racks that revealed row after row of cigarette lighter sockets, essentially becoming the de-facto standard 12V power connection. Of course this is not true, but sometimes it seems like it. Too bad, the Powerlet is a much better system.
 
Charging connector

Jim,

I never even knew these existed, I have my battery in the aft baggage compartment so this will make life much easier.

Thanks for posting!
 
I used the same type of connector as Jim. I put it in the forward baggage area of my RV-8, and used an AWG 10 wire to supply power to the Main Bus via a 30A fuse. You can see it on the left side of this picture, connected to my ground power unit, and the thick red wire running to the fuse block. I'm essentially running power backward through that slot in the fuse block in order to power everything else on the ground.

It's been useful in the building process to check each component as I install them. Although I always check continuity with an ohmmeter, I did find an issue when I wired my map lights in series but they wouldn't illuminate under power event though there was continuity.

I plan to use the ground power for panel updates once the plane is flying. I'll have a separate connector to charge my EarthX battery.
 

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I also really like the Powerlet ports for charging and for a ground power input if your power requirements are within the specs for the port (15amps, I think).

If you're searching, many people refer to these ports as "Hella Ports/Plugs". This is technically incorrect because Hella is just a manufacturer. I've purchased different brands and styles of the plugs and ports on Amazon. I don't know what other brands of motorcycles use them, but they've been OEM equipment on both my BMW motorcycles, but weren't installed on either of the Goldwings I've owned.

EDITED TO ADD: Wow, Rob K, that's some nice looking and tidy blade fusebox wiring. Nice job!
 
Industry Standard

Is there a common type of plug that's industry standard for 12/14 volts? Something that the average FBO will have available?

Not that I'm planning on flying away with a dead battery either, but the ability to fix something on the road or the extra cranking power would be fantastic.
 
Is there a common type of plug that's industry standard for 12/14 volts? Something that the average FBO will have available?

Not that I'm planning on flying away with a dead battery either, but the ability to fix something on the road or the extra cranking power would be fantastic.

An FBO is most likely goign to have either the single-pole Piper plug or the three-pin Cessna plug. Or most likely, if they have a start-cart, they’ll have both....the trick for homebuilders is that the Piper plug is also used in big trucks, and you can buy the sockets Waaayyy cheaper from a truck parts store than buying the aviation-unique Cessna style.....
 
Where is the best place to tie the plug into the system?
Battery?

That is what I did on my planes. 14 ga wire directly to the battery, through a 15A fuse and to a female connector that shields the hot pin from accidental shorting to ground. Mine are well protected and also have a rubber cover on the 10, as it is in the baggage area and wanted to avoid any metal parts getting into the connector. You want to be able to put a charger on the battery without turning on the electrical system. At least I wanted that. Then make a pigtail on the male connector. On the 6, the connector is just tie wrapped to the engine mount and accessible through the oil door.

Even if you have a battery problem on the road, you can buy a 10A battery charger and extension cord at 1000's of different stores.

Remember if the battery is dead (left master on for example), you can't engage the contactor and therefore MUST have direct battery access. If you are really concerned, you could wire in a 15A switch before the connector.

Larry
 
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Anderson trailer connector

When I first got my 6A I spent some time learning how to hot start an injected engine. The learning process unfortunately entailed draining the battery a couple of times, and getting at the battery to jump start the engine was nearly impossible.

I ended up modifying a set of 4 gauge, 500 amp jumper cables to create a short pigtail from the battery to an Anderson connector which was accessible from the oil access door on the top cowl. I put another Anderson on the remaining section of jumper cable. When I drained the battery (which I did a few more times before I got the whole hot start sequence down) I could just connect the jumper lead to the pigtail and jump start.

I still cary the jumper whenever I go on cross country trips, but it mostly gets used to keep the battery topped off.


Heavy Duty Jumper Cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AETUVM4
Battery Lugs for 4 AWG Cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NI3C9K
Anderson Connectors: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JMTS14
 
Is there a common type of plug that's industry standard for 12/14 volts? Something that the average FBO will have available?

Not that I'm planning on flying away with a dead battery either, but the ability to fix something on the road or the extra cranking power would be fantastic.

Where is the best place to tie the plug into the system?
Battery?

Here’s how Bob Nuckoll’s suggests doing it - with a relay so that you don't have big conductors energized all the time.

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/grndpwr.pdf

Paul
 
Here’s how Bob Nuckoll’s suggests doing it - with a relay so that you don't have big conductors energized all the time.

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/grndpwr.pdf

Paul

While this approach will work well for traditional ground power, jumping applications, it may not work with modern automotive style battery chargers (microprocessor based vs old school transformer style). Many of these chargers will look for voltage and proper polarity on the battery before engaging the power and it appears from the diagram that the contactor uses power from the ground plug to energize the contactor. If you want to use a modern battery charger and concerned about hot connector, a simple switch may be a better approach.
 
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While this approach will work well for traditional ground power, jumping applications, it may not work with modern automotive style battery chargers (microprocessor based vs old school transformer style). Many of these chargers will look for voltage and proper polarity on the battery before engaging the power and it appears from the diagram that the contactor uses power from the ground plug to energize the contactor.

Absolutely true. Nuckolls designed this system for use with external power supplies (start carts or, like I use, a big bench DC power supply), not battery chargers. So....need to design for your application.
 
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