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Plane power

dweyant

Well Known Member
My second plane power alternator in less than five years and six hundred hours has failed.

I need suggestions on a replacement, and any suggestions on what is causing what I’m fairly sure is a bearing failure to happen.

I did get an A&P friend to double check the belt tension and verify it wasn’t set too tightly.

BTW, I paid~$400 for this alternator a little over three years ago at Spruce. They now want over $700 for the same one!!

-Dan
 
Vans has them for $495, mine just failed (regulator) at 300 hours. If it happens again I’m going to replace it with the BNC and external regulator.

It failed quite peacfully prompting me to set some alerts on my ammeter.
 
Vans has them for $495, mine just failed (regulator) at 300 hours. If it happens again I’m going to replace it with the BNC and external regulator.

It failed quite peacfully prompting me to set some alerts on my ammeter.

Bill, voltage is a better indication of charging, why would that not alert you?
 
There's a poll here on VAF that compared failure rated of different brands alternator. You can do a search for it. Plane Power was the worst. The best was B&C.

Dave
 
Vans has them for $495, mine just failed (regulator) at 300 hours. If it happens again I’m going to replace it with the BNC and external regulator.

It failed quite peacfully prompting me to set some alerts on my ammeter.

Did you verify bearings, as in the alternator is hard to turn or the shaft is wobly, or did the output just stop? if it is an output problem, there is a lot of info on just replacing the internal regulator.
 
I replaced this when mine failed: https://www.ebay.com/itm/323737238571


My second plane power alternator in less than five

years and six hundred hours has failed.

I need suggestions on a replacement, and any suggestions on what is causing what I’m fairly sure is a bearing failure to happen.

I did get an A&P friend to double check the belt tension and verify it wasn’t set too tightly.

BTW, I paid~$400 for this alternator a little over three years ago at Spruce. They now want over $700 for the same one!!

-Dan
 
My second plane power alternator in less than five years and six hundred hours has failed.

I need suggestions on a replacement, and any suggestions on what is causing what I’m fairly sure is a bearing failure to happen.

I did get an A&P friend to double check the belt tension and verify it wasn’t set too tightly.

BTW, I paid~$400 for this alternator a little over three years ago at Spruce. They now want over $700 for the same one!!

-Dan

You should contact PP and get warranty on the whole thing.

Or/and you can send it to me an I'll dissemble and tell you what failed. Then I'll scrap it for you.
 
Bill, voltage is a better indication of charging, why would that not alert you?

I just happened to be doing a scan and noticed the ammeter at 0. Battery was still fully charged so it must have just happened. But the ammeter tape is only visible when the full engine monitor is up on the G3X so it’s not obvious. Prompted me to look at the breaker and it was popped. Pushed it back in, worked for about an hour, popped again.
 
Did you verify bearings, as in the alternator is hard to turn or the shaft is wobly, or did the output just stop? if it is an output problem, there is a lot of info on just replacing the internal regulator.

We were headed to Gaston’s the day after so not wanting to reschedule the trip I just overnighted one from Vans. Otherwise, would have installed a BNC with external regulator.

321D3200-72F4-4712-9BD3-9E2910B3F3E1.jpeg
 
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How was the strip at Gaston’s? I have not been there in years and was thinking of going


BTW I went through two PP alternators, the conventional one and the backup accessory case variety. Both failed with less than 500 hours. Purchased two b and c’s and never looked back.
 
2nd Plane Power failure today.

I was 3.5 hours from home at the Pine Bluff Formation Clinic when on the second flight of the day at start up the alternator light came on, I had to call out. After confirming belt, wires and fuse I ran up the engine to see how the voltage reacted (low) and then removed the cowling. The alternator was so hot you could not touch it. After removing the belt the shaft seemed to rotate OK. This is the second PP I have had on my plane in 1200 hrs. The first one failed when the rear bearing spun in the aluminum housing and and destroyed it.

I tied up the disconnected belt and was able to limp home, I arrived with just enough battery power to get half flaps down at landing. I will be removing it tomorrow for more diagnostics.
 
Being a newcomer to experimental, can you tell me why one would choose Plane Power over an auto alternator? Is there a reliability difference?
 
Being a newcomer to experimental, can you tell me why one would choose Plane Power over an auto alternator? Is there a reliability difference?

The Plane Power brand is a copy of an ND auto alternator, made in China by Unipoint, a discount division of Bosch. The only notable change to make it an aircraft alternator is a modified voltage regulator assembly. When I say "modified", I don't mean a design variant. I mean somebody hacks the thing with a soldering iron and jumper wire. The goal is to provide crowbar over-voltage protection; the VR trips an external field supply circuit breaker if output voltage rises above a set point around 16V, IIRC.

Quite a few builders report good reliability with a plain, unmodified genuine ND auto alternator, but the lack of OV protection has become a serious matter in recent times. Today's RV's tend toward stacks of expensive avionics and glass panels, plus OV will melt an unprotected lithium iron battery.

The B&C brand alternators came out waaaaaay ahead in a reliability poll conducted on this forum. They too are modified auto alternators, but clearly B&C gets better results.
 
The Plane Power brand is a copy of an ND auto alternator, made in China by Unipoint, a discount division of Bosch. The only notable change to make it an aircraft alternator is a modified voltage regulator assembly. When I say "modified", I don't mean a design variant. I mean somebody hacks the thing with a soldering iron and jumper wire. The goal is to provide crowbar over-voltage protection; the VR trips an external field supply circuit breaker if output voltage rises above a set point around 16V, IIRC.

Quite a few builders report good reliability with a plain, unmodified genuine ND auto alternator, but the lack of OV protection has become a serious matter in recent times. Today's RV's tend toward stacks of expensive avionics and glass panels, plus OV will melt an unprotected lithium iron battery.

The B&C brand alternators came out waaaaaay ahead in a reliability poll conducted on this forum. They too are modified auto alternators, but clearly B&C gets better results.

I have had very good luck with the 14158 ND alternator. It is 45 amps and externally regulated. I built the knuckles O/V crowbar circuit (schematic is online) with about $5 in parts from Digikey. It has been reliable on my 6A - 700 trouble free hours.

If I wanted to spring for an aviation alternator, I would buy a B&C. I wouldn't take a PP if you gave it to me, given the countless failures that I have seen mentioned here.

Larry
 
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So it looks like general consensus is to go with a B&C alternator.

The B&C requires an external regulator. How big a deal is it to switch from the internal Plane Power to an external alterntator?

Thanks!

-Dan
 
Except...

It may be worth noting that plane power was acquired by Hartzell not too long ago. I think it’s too soon to say if that is a good, bad, or no change.
 
ND

Given that the B&Cs look an awful lot like Nippondenso alternators, which in automotive application last forever, I can't say I'm surprised that they are doing well.

Kind of pricey though...

B&C:
FWF-011.jpg


ND:
Nipp1.jpg
 
Just some data points here - like some others I will never buy a PP unit again due bad experiences.
I now “future proof” installations, for those who already have the PP units (mostly bought with the engine” by taking the ‘field’ wire to a location (adding extra length) where you may install a regulator & then continue it to the switch or bus if using the VPX unit. Adding a volt sense wire & ground to that same location
completes the ‘future proof’ idea.
 
What's the problem with aircraft alternators?

My 86 toyota truck (ND alternator I believe) has 175,000 miles with original alternator , original internal regulator, original bearings and original brushes.

At an average speed of 40 mph, that's 4375 hours.....
 
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