T

TerryWighs

Well Known Member
I have no experience with these critters. Are they in fact a functional switch with a built in breaker? Other than high cost, is there opinion on these units? Thanks
 
You are correct. They are a switch and a breaker in on. If the breaker pops, the switch flips the other direction.

The main advantage of using them is that you don't have to run a wire to a dedicated breaker or fuse.

Here is a picture of my sub-panels. The row in the top of the picture is mostly breaker/switches and the lower panel is breakers, with the exception of the right most breaker/switch.



In the upper panel, you can see the buss bar which feeds power to the breaker/switches.
 
panel pics

Bill, I really like the idea of a subpanel for just the switches. Do you have any pics of the subpanels installed in your instrument panel.
Thanks
Steve
 
axlr8r said:
Bill, I really like the idea of a subpanel for just the switches. Do you have any pics of the subpanels installed in your instrument panel.
Thanks
Steve
Click to expand...

Yes, there are pictures on the Instrument Panel page of my web site.

Here's a picture of the finished panel (Before the AP74 was installed):


Under the lip which recesses the switch panel I have a strip of red electroluminescent lighting tape to illuminate the switches and breakers.

Using an Affordable Panels panel made the installation a lot easier. However, you could do it with the standard panel.
 
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One thing I've noticed in fleet operation is that breaker switches don't generally last nearly as long as regular switches properly rated for the load they're switching. Some light helicopters (HU-500, BH-206)helicopters make extensive use of breaker switches and I've replaced more than my fair share of them. I don't know how many cycles they would have lasted before failing, but it's definitely a factor to take into consideration when doing your panel design.
 
Switch Breakers

Another consideration is the tactile feel of the switch breaker when you actuate them. Not nearly as crisp as a good plain toggle switch.
My strategy was to use toggle switches downstream of a breaker for the high useage functions, and use switch breakers for the low frequency functions, due to the behind-the-panel simplicity they offer. - Roger
 
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