S

s_tones

Well Known Member
Occaisionally my Piper gets a little finicky and doesn't want to start.
I've yet to actually get stuck somewhere though I nearly did one evening in Monterey. Anyway, the thing is, it is jumpable. That is to say you could manage to input the requisite 12V and get her going if you ran the battery down.

Sooo...the question is, how do you jump an RV with the battery sitting up there under the cowl? Do any of you guys put in power recepticles?

Steve
 
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Some people run wires and a plug to a point on the rear of the fuselage. Most that I have seen are behind the left wing.
 
I ran leads off the battery with a plug that connects to my trickle charger. I suppose I could get a slow charge off another charger in a pinch. Couldn't jump start it, though. So far my venerable PC680 hasn't failed me in over 3.5 years.

Roberta
 
Except in Spanish...

Mike S said:
There are no stupid questions.

Mike
Click to expand...

...where there are male nouns and female nouns. Female nouns get female adjectives.

Thus "Pregunta estupida", not "Pregunta estupido." But we native Spanish speaker appreciate the effort!

But I'm glad you asked, because I've been wondering what to do about an external power receptacle. So some of you run big starter wires all the way back to behind the wing?

Otra pregunta estupida: How do you route those big wires?

Thanks,
Martin
 
Piper External Power Jack

I mounted a Piper-style external power jack under the fuselage (rear mounted battery in the -8) so that I could jump it if required, and more importantly so that I can power the ship while working on avionics (all glass - lots of software loading and configuring). Bob Knuckolls has an article on his site about how to modify it to work well - easy and cheap (like $18 for the receptacle!).

Paul
 
Plug accessible via oil door ..

s_tones said:
Occaisionally my Piper gets a little finicky and doesn't want to start.
I've yet to actually get stuck somewhere though I nearly did one evening in Monterey. Anyway, the thing is, it is jumpable. That is to say you could manage to input the requisite 12V and get her going if you ran the battery down.

Sooo...the question is, how do you jump an RV with the battery sitting up there under the cowl? Do any of you guys put in power recepticles?

Steve
Click to expand...
I have a power plug (actually two) attached to the engine mount and accessible via the oil door.

The first one was for trickle charge of the battery during old weather etc. It is a female part of the "cigarette lighter" jack/plug. The male end is attached to the trickle charger and I just plug it in as required.

But ... back in February, while in Punta Gorda, FL with a "weak" battery, an **ICE-STORM** (or was it freezing rain or something) came through overnight with the plane on the ramp. It did not want to start (I knew I had a weak battery ... was going to replace it as soon as I got back).
Had a bit of trouble getting the jumper cables attached for a start. :)

So I vowed to not get caught like that again. Went to a "Marine" store I think and got one of their "power plugs". Flip top cap (spring loaded) and two large prongs. Not much bigger than the 12v receptacle mentioned above but with much bigger wire. Connected that to the battery and attached the other end to a small set of jumper cables that I keep in the plane. I can now get a jump start just about anywhere.

Hope I neve *have to* use it. :)

James
 
This will not help you jump it but...

I wired one of my two "cigarette lighter" jack/plugs on the "Always Hot Bus" so I can leave a trickle charger on it while in the hangar.
 
Hand propping

You guys don't fancy the old fashioned method then?

I don't have a plug but I bet I could get some kind soul'd jump lead hooked up to something hot.

Frank 7a
 
Martin's Spanish...?

mgomez said:
...where there are male nouns and female nouns. Female nouns get female adjectives.

Thus "Pregunta estupida", not "Pregunta estupido." But we native Spanish speaker appreciate the effort!

But I'm glad you asked, because I've been wondering what to do about an external power receptacle. So some of you run big starter wires all the way back to behind the wing?

Otra pregunta estupida: How do you route those big wires?

Thanks,
Martin
Click to expand...

Martin- you are correct regarding verbs having genders in Spanish. However, "Estupido" Is not a verb- Therefore, there is no such thing as "Estupida". :) So, since you are a native Spanish speaker, where did you learn yours? Just curious.
 
prporter said:
Martin- you are correct regarding verbs having genders in Spanish. However, "Estupido" Is not a verb- Therefore, there is no such thing as "Estupida". :) So, since you are a native Spanish speaker, where did you learn yours? Just curious.
Click to expand...

I didn't say anything about verbs. I said nouns have gender. "Pregunta" is a noun. So the adjective is "est?pida," to go with the gender of the noun.

Other examples:
"A stupid girl" = "Una ni?a est?pida"
"A stupid boy" = "Un ni?o est?pido"

I learned Spanish in Argentina, where admittedly it's spoken a bit differently from Spain or other Latin American countries, much like English is spoken differently in the US and the UK. On this subject, though, I think they all agree.
 
Who/Why

So who re-named this thread, and why???

It attracted a lot of attention as it was, plus provided a bit of humor, not to mention the educational value as Paul just said.

Mike
 
mgomez said:
I didn't say anything about verbs. I said nouns have gender. "Pregunta" is a noun. So the adjective is "est?pida," to go with the gender of the noun.

Other examples:
"A stupid girl" = "Una ni?a est?pida"
"A stupid boy" = "Un ni?o est?pido"

I learned Spanish in Argentina, where admittedly it's spoken a bit differently from Spain or other Latin American countries, much like English is spoken differently in the US and the UK. On this subject, though, I think they all agree.
Click to expand...


10-4! I learned more Spanish today then in my entire life! :)

Another day in the life of the Vans Air force website! Hasta lechuga, and vaya con queso!
 
Fair's fair

WSBuilder said:
...arguing Spanish with someone named "Gomez." I'm impressed.
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Well, fair's fair: I'm not above arguing English with someone named "Smith!" :)
 
Under or over

Mike S said:
Con muy cautela.

Mike
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On the RV-7, I have 3 choices for routing them: under the canopy rails, or through one of two paths through the spar, a couple near the center and two more outboard . Given that these are beefy wires, I was wondering which those who have done it would recommend.

Thanks in advance. Oops, sorry, I meant "Gracias por adelantado."

And it's "Con mucha cautela."

"Con muy cautela" is more like "With very caution," whereas "Con mucha cautela" means "With much caution."

Man, if I can pay for all the free RV-building advice with Spanish advice, I'll feel like I'm getting a bargain. After all, there must be a few hundred million Spanish-speakers in the world, but only a few thousand RV builders.
 
Martin, I am building a 10, so I am dealing with a rear mounted battery that requires the cables to run forward. Similar issues, but electrons marching in a different direction.

First off, I would use the airframe as a ground leg. This leaves you only needing one run forward.

In the 10, the canopy if fixed, and we have doors, so again a slight difference.

The cable runs under the rear seat, and then to the sidewall just under where the door sill is. There are already lightening holes in place that are used, snap bushings and caterpillar grommet as needed for anti-chafe.

Good luck,
Mike--------soy gringo
 
Mike S said:
First off, I would use the airframe as a ground leg. This leaves you only needing one run forward.
Click to expand...
Great advice, thanks, Mike. I've been pretty fussy about using explicit wires for lights, trim, etc, but for something that's a) huge current, b) only used occasionally, using the airframe as ground is a good idea.

Mike S said:
Mike--------soy gringo
Click to expand...
Yo tambien.

Saludos,
Martin
 
Battery

I ran a postive lead to the side of the oil tank door. When I need to charge or jump start I ground to the engine. Before that I had to pull the top cowl to get to the battery. I had a PCS680 Battery that would not hold a charge. The Vender exchanged the battery and even paid the shipping.
I am a old school pilot and have hand propped alot of different engines. I would not recommend this procedure to anyone unless they have had instruction. I have hand propped both of the RVsI have built with out any problem, again don't do it unless you have been instructed on how to prop a airplane.
Gerry
RV 9, N92GC
J-3, NC88583
 
Mike- You might want to check with a real expert like Bob Knuckolls. IMHO using the airframe as ground in a high-current circuit is not a good idea.

Pete Hunt, San Diego
 
Pete, the highest current draw is the starter, and Vans plans for the -10 do not have a separate ground run-----they only use the airframe, with a jumper around the motor mount rubber isolators.

Any other current is pretty minor compared to the starter, so if it can handle the starter load, all the rest should be moot.

As far as I know, this is just about universal for rear battery setups in aluminum or steel tube aircraft.
 
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