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Securing Wiring From Wing Conduit

B

bsvantho

Active Member
Hello,

I am looking for some feedback on properly securing wiring from the wing conduit.

Here is an example of how I secured the stall warning wiring:

1pgwwm.jpg


I am having trouble finding some solid examples based on acceptable practices and did not find any guidance from VANs.

I cut a slot in the conduit and protected the wire at the slot with heat shrink and routed it as you see with tie-wraps.

Does this look acceptable? Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 
My only concern is that particular tubing has very sharp edges when cut. You will probably be ok with the heat shrink protection and the Tefzel insulation is pretty tough. I am not a big fan of the double stick zip tie mounts. I prefer the type that has a hole in the center to secure them to structure.
Being pretty nit picky here. I think overall this is pretty clean and would probably not present any problems down the line.
 
Wing conduit

Welcome.
Only my preference, but I don't care for adhesive anchors or tie straps. Over time the plastic hardens and cracks.
I use adel clamps secured with a platenut. On my conduit, I used a pencil soldering iron to drill holes for wires.
That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with your solution. I've seen others do similar.
 
Maybe a slight highjacking of the thread, but what are the best methods for securing wire inside of the conduit? I'm in the process of installing a heated pitot and will run wires for power through the conduit. Eventually there will be other wires pulled for lighting, etc. Do you secure the various bundles (pitot, lighting) separately then pull them through? Do the bundles just flop around inside the conduit?
 
One potential problem..

..is that the location you've chosen for your wire to penetrate the spar web might conflict with your aileron pushrod. You don't want the wire (or anything else) rubbing or potentially catching the pushrod.
 
aeroaddict said:
Maybe a slight highjacking of the thread, but what are the best methods for securing wire inside of the conduit? I'm in the process of installing a heated pitot and will run wires for power through the conduit. Eventually there will be other wires pulled for lighting, etc. Do you secure the various bundles (pitot, lighting) separately then pull them through? Do the bundles just flop around inside the conduit?
Click to expand...


I do not believe there is any specific standard. Conduits are allowed in lieu of wire bundles. AC-43xxxx does have wording that would lead one to believe the wires are bundled when in conduit, and you must allow a minimum of 25% extra space in the conduit for "future bundles". However, there isn't anything very specific that I found.
I chose to bundle mine, de-rated appropriately, and used short bands of heat shrink instead of type wraps. You could also lace them. Tie wraps get in the way inside the conduit if you want to pull more wired or bundles later.
However, I do not think any harm would come from loose wires moving around in the conduit. What is important is that your conduits are faired properly or use appropriate anti-chafing techniques at the entry and exits, like heat shrink or a Heyco bushing glued in.
 
ppilotmike said:
..is that the location you've chosen for your wire to penetrate the spar web might conflict with your aileron pushrod. You don't want the wire (or anything else) rubbing or potentially catching the pushrod.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but there should be no reason to route your tubing back behind the spar since it is already in front of it.
 
Thanks Jon

I was also thinking of heat shrink tubing to combine the wires of the various bundles and will use something for anti-chafing.

So basically the bundles are ok to flop around in the conduit.

A lot to learn as I move forward towards the fuss build and panel/firewall.
 
ppilotmike said:
..is that the location you've chosen for your wire to penetrate the spar web might conflict with your aileron pushrod. You don't want the wire (or anything else) rubbing or potentially catching the pushrod.
Click to expand...

The spar web penetration is per the plans, but you are right there is a potential conflict with the aileron pushrod since it runs right through the largest lightening hole in the ribs. The plans show the wiring wrapped around the pitot tube to pull it clear of the aileron pushrod. I will not be using the stock tube, so I will need to rethink the routing a bit.

I am also reconsidering the use of the double sided tape mounting bases. I will probably use #6 screws with adel clamps or a tie wrap base with a center hole.

Thanks everyone for the comments.
 
ppilotmike said:
..is that the location you've chosen for your wire to penetrate the spar web might conflict with your aileron pushrod. You don't want the wire (or anything else) rubbing or potentially catching the pushrod.
Click to expand...

Sorry Mike, I mis-understood and got a pitot tube routing question I was answering mixed up with this one. Gotta love getting older.........
 
I have found that the cable tie mounts work quite well if you remove the double sided tape and substitute a dab of shoe goo/E5000 adhesive.
 
bsvantho said:
I am also reconsidering the use of the double sided tape mounting bases. I will probably use #6 screws with adel clamps or a tie wrap base with a center hole.
Click to expand...
I used a couple of the square nylon ty-wrap bases, but drilled a #30 hole and used a pulled rivet to make sure they stay where I put 'em. Cheaper and lighter than an adel, screw and nut.

Edit: Actually, I just thought about it... I didn't even drill the hole where I did this, there was a convenient unused #30 rivet or tooling hole that just happened to be in the spot where I needed it.
 
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The sticky back nylon squares will fall off much sooner if the aluminum surface is not first cleaned with solvent.
 
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