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Ordering wiring

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Latech15

Well Known Member
I’m finishing up my wings and need to install the wiring for the zip-tips. I’m at the point of ordering the wiring, but I would like to try and consolidate the wiring ordering if possible. The zip tips wiring diagram shows what is needed for them, but I don’t want to place 20 different orders for the whole build.

Does it make sense to order spools of wiring that can be used all over? If so, should I order all white wires and just label them well or order spools of each different color and size?

Unless I am misreading, it looks like the wiring kits from vans and Stein contain more tools and connections than wiring. I might need to start with one of those as well.....

I appreciate any advice you guys can provide on what needs to be ordered at this point.
 
It can make sense to order rolls of wire, but it would be helpful to first dig a little deeper into what equipment you plan to have and what your wiring standard is going to be. Also do you plan to wire the panel? A lot of wire is used for the panel, you would be surprised.

As an example I try to use red wire for power and black for ground, and mostly white for everything else. For I'd say 80%, maybe more of the wiring is low current circuits which can use #22 wire. I have a Garmin G3X based system so it requires 2 wire shielding for the Canbus interconnects.

If you were to follow what I did (which I think is pretty standard) then order #22, white for sure, #22 red and black, and 2 wire shielded. Then figure out your high current circuits (flap motor, pitot heat, lights) and what wire they will require. I probably have used a few 100' rolls of white, #22. One 100' roll of each red and black.
 
My plan is to have Stein do my panel.

Planning for a full Garmin g3x/gtn system.

I know the arguement against all white wires is that you can’t identify a particular wire mid stream, but how often are you really needing to do that?
 
Well you have to pull a bundle of wires from the aft fuselage for example and then at the other end you need to connect them. Wire coloring alone doesn't fix that problem but I'm answering your question. I have heatshrink labels too so that I can identify individual wires.

I'll admit I'm carrying a wire color standard from electronic products that I have worked on over my career as a EE. I'm not sure you will be saving anything by not following this convention. You will only need some of the larger wire for power and ground anyway.

At any rate we are all able to do what we want so its just my 2 cents as they say.
 
Latech15 said:
I appreciate any advice you guys can provide on what needs to be ordered at this point.
Click to expand...

One opinion, worth less than what you paid for it...

I'd leave pull strings in the wings at this point and defer any wiring until later in the game. By the time you finish the airplane, what you need to wire in the wings may have changed 3 times, and all of your planning and pre-work *could* be wasted.

But when the time comes, order a bunch of white wire in the appropriate gauges and come up with a plan to label the wires. If you try to approximate how many feet of red 22 gauge power wire and black 22 gauge ground wire and white/yellow/blue/orange/green signal wire you will need, and extrapolate that across other sizes, you're gonna spend a lot on wire and either come up short from time to time or over-order and probably have leftover wire. You'll forever be ordering more wire or waiting on what you've ordered.

So... white wire and a labeling system.

And defer as long as you possibly can, because something, maybe a lot of things, will change.
 
Wiring

Kyle Boatright said:
One opinion, worth less than what you paid for it...

I'd leave pull strings in the wings at this point and defer any wiring until later in the game. By the time you finish the airplane, what you need to wire in the wings may have changed 3 times, and all of your planning and pre-work *could* be wasted.

But when the time comes, order a bunch of white wire in the appropriate gauges and come up with a plan to label the wires. If you try to approximate how many feet of red 22 gauge power wire and black 22 gauge ground wire and white/yellow/blue/orange/green signal wire you will need, and extrapolate that across other sizes, you're gonna spend a lot on wire and either come up short from time to time or over-order and probably have leftover wire. You'll forever be ordering more wire or waiting on what you've ordered.

So... white wire and a labeling system.

And defer as long as you possibly can, because something, maybe a lot of things, will change.
Click to expand...

Agree. I changed stuff and my wiring requirements changed as well. I can still use the wiring pulled through the wings but the connections need to be done differently.
I bought spools. White Tefzel. I use a shrink label machine.
 
If you end up buying a fair amount of wire look into Aerotronics in Billings. A couple of years ago their prices absolutely spanked everyone else on wire...
 
My experience exactly echos Larry's and Kyle's. I tried to do the "multi-color in the correct size" thing, but constantly ran out of the right size or color, and had to compromise on either color or size. And I still have many spools of wire I didn't use. Would have been simpler and cheaper to just use white. And run it "just in time."
 
Latech15 said:
My plan is to have Stein do my panel.

Planning for a full Garmin g3x/gtn system.

I know the arguement against all white wires is that you can’t identify a particular wire mid stream, but how often are you really needing to do that?
Click to expand...

As a second owner: my response is “more often than you’d think!
 
Kyle and Larry

Did you standardize on a wire size? In my day job, we use some wire larger than required to limit the number of sizes we have to keep on the shelf.

If you limited, what sizes did you purchase?

Thanks,
Mike
 
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