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Jump starter

I have one (GB40 1000A) and love it. Holds a charge for months and you don’t need a second vehicle for a jump start.

I know for a fact that it’ll jump an IO-360 with a PC680 because I had to do just that for my first engine start after running the battery down turning the engine over to get an oil pressure indication.
 
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Jump Starter

Lkitson said:
I have one (GB40 1000A) and love it. Holds a charge for months and you don’t need a second vehicle for a jump start.

I know for a fact that it’ll jump an IO-360 with a PC680 because I had to do just that for my first engine start after running the battery down turning the engine over to get an oil pressure indication.
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Excellent thanks
Do you have a pigtail on the battery or an external port?
With the protection, it seems safe enough to just reach in through the oil door.
 
wirejock said:
Excellent thanks
Do you have a pigtail on the battery or an external port?
With the protection, it seems safe enough to just reach in through the oil door.
Click to expand...

No pigtail or external port. The battery in my RV-8 is in the back and I have easy access to it through a door I put in the baggage shelf. Since it was just an engine run I could leave the jumper connected but I wouldn’t fly it like that.
 
Lkitson said:
No pigtail or external port. The battery in my RV-8 is in the back and I have easy access to it through a door I put in the baggage shelf. Since it was just an engine run I could leave the jumper connected but I wouldn’t fly it like that.
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Great. I ordered this one NOCO Boost X GBX55 1750A 12V UltraSafe Portable Lithium Jump Starter, Car Battery Booster Pack, USB-C Powerbank Charger, and Jumper Cables for up to 7.5-Liter Gas and 5.0-Liter Diesel Engines https://a.co/d/87WWeZB
A little more boost. Our SUV is a 5L and I'm an off roader. Neighbors are always coming over and asking me to jump their car in the dead of Winter in deep snow. The jump box will save a lot of tromping around in the snow hooking up cables.
 
Last winter I was driving through one of our apartment complexes in Michigan and I used my portable battery jumper to start 4 cars and power for more if needed. It was well below zero and the unit I have is smaller than the one you got.

It will start my diesel tractor or zero turn mowers and I use it to run the pump on my fuel tank.

I keep my Odyssey charge cable attached to my 680 and run to the oil door area and have an adapter to attach the portable battery to it. I havent had to use it on the plane yet but I carry it on every flight.

You will be surprised in how often you use it for everything like outside lights to camping and charging cameras, phones, or tablets.
 
rockwoodrv9 said:
<snip>

I keep my Odyssey charge cable attached to my 680 and run to the oil door area and have an adapter to attach the portable battery to it. I havent had to use it on the plane yet but I carry it on every flight.

<snip>
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Details on the Charge Cable please?
 
It is the standard cable that comes with the odyssey charger. I leave the 12” or so pigtail connected to the battery. I think it is about 12 g. It has a quick connect fitting on it with a cap. I had another short red and black pigtail with the same fitting. I put a ring fitting on it. I use the alligator clips that came with the portable battery to hook to the pigtail coming out of the battery. It worked fine but you have to be careful with the alligator clips they don’t touch each other.

It works but it isn’t perfect. I can make a quick connect that comes off the portable battery but haven’t gotten around to it. If I were home I would take some pics but I’m CA until the 22.
 
wirejock said:
Anyone have a PIREP on one of these?
NOCO Boost X GBX45 1250A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Jump Starter Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.5L Gasoline and 4.0L Diesel Engines
4x4 crowd love this thing. Weighs under 3lbs.
I wonder if it will jump a PC680 ACM, IO-360-M1B.
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Better yet it will start a M1B with no battery at all!!! My 680 was completely dead and it started the engine with no problem. It actually turned the engine faster than the 680 ever does even when new. I recommend having it, it’s a two man job to jump start though.

I also jump started my plane with my F450 which has 2 batteries and massive alternator but with the loss across long jumper cables the NOCO jumps way better.
 
Has anyone put a connector of some type inside the cockpit so this can be done by one person? I have a 7 and would love to have something I can travel with.
 
I’ve thought about how to do this with one person in a RV-8A. It would have to be tied down by its tail at a parking spot with some sort of quick release. Ik some Cubs do this for hand prop. I’d probably just ask someone for help instead. Someone has to pull out the unit from the oil door after engine start.
 
I used mine on my -9A, a 172, and the courtesy car at an unattended airport.
The only peeve is my charger comes with full size battery clamps, so I installed "L" brackets to the battery posts, properly insulated from the engine mount. These brackets came with a PC680 years ago. The brackets allow me to route the jumper cables through the oil filler door to the battery. I've done the cowl R&R at Copperstate a couple of years ago and it wasn't fun.
I'll soon be looking into that adapter harness mentioned in the above post.
www.hulkman.com
 
Most of ALL of these are

1- Not LiFePO4-based, so do not abuse them with heat/cold/drops. Think hand grenade- great when it's the right tool for the job, but takes care until then.

2- most say remove immediately after the engine starts. They are not designed to be charged by the alternator, at all.
 
I got a better idea, if you have to jump start your airplane perhaps you should take a step back and re-evaluate your need to fly with a dead battery (or other issue) that day.
 
Walt said:
I got a better idea, if you have to jump start your airplane perhaps you should take a step back and re-evaluate your need to fly with a dead battery (or other issue) that day.
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Could not agree more. Obviously if someone is dying and you need to fly them to medical help, I can see taking risks to jump start the aircraft. Mostly, just get a charger, connect it to the battery, have breakfast/lunch/dinner, and then fly later.
 
Walt said:
I got a better idea, if you have to jump start your airplane perhaps you should take a step back and re-evaluate your need to fly with a dead battery (or other issue) that day.
Click to expand...

Actually, and with all due respect, you should get out of the city more! There are lots of places that we go out west where you ned to be self sufficient because there isn’t electricity for a charger for fifty or a hundred miles, and the walk out is very long if the airplane has a problem.

I don’t disagree that if your plane is sitting in your hangar with all the tools, chargers and electricity you need - then charge and fix the problem before you fly. But recognize that there are lots of folks that use their airplanes in different ways than you might, and for whom the topic of this thread can be very valuable.
 
Very true, some aircraft don’t have batteries at all and people fly them somehow just fine.

Ironflight said:
Actually, and with all due respect, you should get out of the city more! There are lots of places that we go out west where you ned to be self sufficient because there isn’t electricity for a charger for fifty or a hundred miles, and the walk out is very long if the airplane has a problem.

I don’t disagree that if your plane is sitting in your hangar with all the tools, chargers and electricity you need - then charge and fix the problem before you fly. But recognize that there are lots of folks that use their airplanes in different ways than you might, and for whom the topic of this thread can be very valuable.
Click to expand...
 
Ironflight said:
Actually, and with all due respect, you should get out of the city more! There are lots of places that we go out west where you ned to be self sufficient because there isn’t electricity for a charger for fifty or a hundred miles, and the walk out is very long if the airplane has a problem.
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My bad, didn't realize this was an RV Back Country/Bush Flying thread :eek:
 
Try a call to EarthX

AcroSmoke said:
Has anyone put a connector of some type inside the cockpit so this can be done by one person? I have a 7 and would love to have something I can travel with.
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EarthX makes a cable for such purpose.

I installed one in my RV6 for that rare case where I am alone, with a dead battery (maybe I left something on), at a place with no ability to charge without cranking up.

Hope to never need it but if I do ....
 
EarthX also makes a very nice jump pack which seems expensive until you do a little math and compare real numbers. Have not used it (probably wouldnt) for aircraft but does a great job with tractors and heavy equipment, cars, mowers etc.

==dave==
N102FM
 
Cockpit access

I have mounted a piper plug (female) under my panel and have wired a piper male plug to the connectors on an auto emergency start battery. I can start my engine solo while inside my cockpit which I believe to be a great deal safer than having someone outside and near my firewall mounted battery. I have started the engine on several occasions testing this method and have started it once when on a trip where I allowed my battery to become partially discharged because I left switches on at an unattended airport.
 
jclark said:
EarthX makes a cable for such purpose.

I installed one in my RV6 for that rare case where I am alone, with a dead battery (maybe I left something on), at a place with no ability to charge without cranking up.

Hope to never need it but if I do ....
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I have the EarthX jump pack *and* an EarthX ETX680 for my airplane's primary battery.

The EarthX kit includes alligator clamps and direct wire pigtails (10AWG) with "EC3" or "EC5" type connectors which are rated for 80 or 120A.

Because of this, I wouldn't use the jump pack to attempt to crank the engine. Rather, I would use the system to charge the primary battery over the course of a couple hours...have a coffee, breakfast taco...read the FBO's copy of Trade-A-Plane from 1994....
 
I have an Anderson plug wired directly to my Full River HC20 (680 clone) and accessible from the drivers seat, I use a 2000 jump pack on just about every 12v device I have, never leave home without it, part of my fly away kit👍
 
I use the ASPERX AX4500 Jump Starter, 4500A Peak. Amazon for $69.00. Turns a 10.5 to 1 compression IO-360 like a spinning top. You could probably taxi with it if the engine didn't start.
 
I would ‘assume’ anyone that has wired aux power/high current leads into the cabin also installed a contactor/disconnect close to the battery.
 
Charge cable for PC680

wirejock said:
Details on the Charge Cable please?
Click to expand...
I have an Odyssey charger/maintainer, and I connect it to my battery with a dedicated cable. I used an FT60 connector and soldered the wires for the battery side to it. I then soldered the other side FT60 connector to the maintainer side cable. I used the same gauge size for the cable to the battery as the maintainer used. I hope this is clear enough to understand. If not, DM me and we can discuss over the phone.
 
NOCO Boost X GBX55 1750A 12V UltraSafe Portable Lithium Jump Starter

Heads up.
If you purchased one, I just got a refund from Amazon. After some time on the phone they said there were problems with the device and refunded customers. It wasn't 100%. About 85%. I could not find any documents on line describing the problem. Next call is to Noco but I doubt I'll get info from them either.
NOCO Boost X GBX55 1750A 12V UltraSafe Portable Lithium Jump Starter
 
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