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Power for Checking Systems Out on the Ground

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:12 am Post subject: Power for Checking Systems Out on the Ground

 	  Quote: 	
		    Can I hook the power supply up to the battery + and - terminals and use it as a "battery booster" (or would this toast the battery)?  Should I just use the battery and charge it overnight with the BatteryMINDer?  Other?  	


    Most power supplies are NOT intended to work

    in conjunction with a battery. The primary

    difficulty arises when the battery is connected

    to a powered down power supply. Output monitoring

    and ov protection in many supplies do not like to

    be "back fed" from an external power source. 



    My favorite technique uses a hefty switchmode

    power supply similar to this:

 

  http://tinyurl.com/4aoszlf 



    Combine this supply with a power diode (to

    prevent back feeding) and a relay to emulate

    the "field control" input on your ship's

    alternator. The relay controls 120 vac going

    into the power supply.



    You can connect this AC mains powered "alternator"

    in place of the ship's alternator. With the

    alternator emulator ON, adjust the power supply

    for a 14.2 volt bus.



    The ship's load meter (if installed) can be

    used to monitor loads on the power supply. This

    will allow you to run the ship's battery in

    parallel to let it pick up any transient loads

    that might exceed the ratings of the power supply.

    

  	  Quote: 	
		  I intend to bring up one circuit at a time and I want to measure each circuit's actual power consumption and I'll need to be careful not to overload the power supply. 	


    If it's a switchmode supply, it will have built

    in overload protection. Further, the supply I

    linked above has a thermostatically controlled

    fan built in that turns on when the supply is

    being taxed to rated output.



 

        Bob . . .    [quote][b]

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:14 pm Post subject: Power for Checking Systems Out on the Ground

 	  Quote: 	
		  I have a BatteryMINDer charger/maintainer and a Radio Shack power 

supply whose output is rated at 13.8 VDC at 15 Amps.



Should I just disconnect the main battery and use the power supply 

in its place?  Can I hook the power supply up to the battery + and - 

terminals and use it as a "battery booster" (or would this toast the battery)?


	


    Forgot to touch on this. Your existing supply output

    voltage is not high enough to hook directly across a

    battery and still have the recommended isolation

    (back feed prevention) diode. So you can use the

    power supply to emulate a battery. Disconnect

    the battery and put the power supply in its place.

    Bob . . .

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:29 pm Post subject: Power for Checking Systems Out on the Ground

At 05:49 PM 2/14/2011, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  This may be slightly off topic but is there anything wrong with 

charging my a/c battery (modern automatic charger) without 

disconnecting from the battery terminals from the a/c? I hook up the 

charger occasionally in order to maintain the battery if I am not 

flying regularly. Also,if I am testing electrical components such as 

radios or lights I have the charger hooked up in order to more 

accurately simulate actual alternator operation. The a/c engine is a 

Rotax 912UL. Is there something wrong with this reasoning?


	


    No, as long as your external power source is INTENDED

    to be connected across a battery (and will not be damaged

    if the input power is disconnected while the battery

    is still attached) then there's no reason not to leave

    it connected during ground ops.



    Bob . . .

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Allen Fulmer

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 79
Location: Alexander City, AL

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:11 am Post subject: Power for Checking Systems Out on the Ground

Bob,

 

I there a drawing showing the circuit you describe below?  And values/part no. for the power diode and relay?

 

Thanks,

 

Allen Fulmer

 

Do not archive

 

From: owner-aeroelectric-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-aeroelectric-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Robert L. Nuckolls, III

Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 11:07 AM

To: aeroelectric-list(at)matronics.com

Subject: Re: Power for Checking Systems Out on the Ground

  	  Quote: 	
		  

  Can I hook the power supply up to the battery + and - terminals and use it as a "battery booster" (or would this toast the battery)?  Should I just use the battery and charge it overnight with the BatteryMINDer?  Other?  	




   Most power supplies are NOT intended to work

   in conjunction with a battery. The primary

   difficulty arises when the battery is connected

   to a powered down power supply. Output monitoring

   and ov protection in many supplies do not like to

   be "back fed" from an external power source. 



   My favorite technique uses a hefty switchmode

   power supply similar to this:



http://tinyurl.com/4aoszlf 



   Combine this supply with a power diode (to

   prevent back feeding) and a relay to emulate

   the "field control" input on your ship's

   alternator. The relay controls 120 vac going

   into the power supply.



   You can connect this AC mains powered "alternator"

   in place of the ship's alternator. With the

   alternator emulator ON, adjust the power supply

   for a 14.2 volt bus.



   The ship's load meter (if installed) can be

   used to monitor loads on the power supply. This

   will allow you to run the ship's battery in

   parallel to let it pick up any transient loads

   that might exceed the ratings of the power supply.

   

I intend to bring up one circuit at a time and I want to measure each circuit's actual power consumption and I'll need to be careful not to overload the power supply.



   If it's a switchmode supply, it will have built

   in overload protection. Further, the supply I

   linked above has a thermostatically controlled

   fan built in that turns on when the supply is

   being taxed to rated output.



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  [quote][b]

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_________________
RV7 QB Fuselage
Eggenfellner H6 on orde
N808AF reserved
Alexander City, AL

Tundra10

Joined: 14 Jun 2010
Posts: 102
Location: Scarborough, Ontario

Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:00 pm Post subject: Re: Power for Checking Systems Out on the Ground

I tried to order one of these power supplies, but the vendor in the example was not willing to ship to North America.



I found what appears to be the same product, from anna758595 for $40 which included shipment by mail.  I received the product in three weeks, nicely packaged.  It is a little smaller than I imagined from the photos, which is nice.  I haven't powered it on yet, but I expect it works as advertised.  I ended up buying the 13.5V unit, since it can be adjusted upward to simulate battery charging voltage, or down to 12V if I wish.  The adjustment is easily accessed without opening the case, tucked in with the terminal strip.  Looks like a pretty decent product at a very attractive price.



http://cgi.ebay.ca/13-5V-DC-25-8A-350W-Regulated-Switching-Power-Supply-/150471439243?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2308cbf38b



Jeff Page

Dream Aircraft Tundra #10

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