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Erich_Weaver(at)URSCorp.c
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 Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 10:37 am Post subject: ground power jack |
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Anybody gone to the trouble of installing a ground power jack on their RV?
I have the materials to do this, as outlined at
http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/grndpwr.pdf
but havent made up my mind. Not quite sure where to mount it / how to
access it, and its kind of an ugly fixture to have showing on the outside.
Has anyone done any spiffy access doors for one of these? Did you put it
on the cowling or back on the aluminum skin?
regards,
Erich Weaver
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rhdudley1(at)bellsouth.ne
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| Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 11:22 am Post subject: ground power jack |
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Erich,
I used Bob Nuckolls suggestions for jack modification, installation and
circuitry per the article you cited. I sent a photo of the jack
installation to Photo Share. The location of the jack is a my compromise
to keep the heavy cable short. Others have placed the jack farther away
from the front of the aircraft for safety reasons. To date, I have not
used the connection for engine start. It is especially handy for running
the electrical system on the ground to save the battery and for charging
the battery. I have a battery charger that I use for the power source. I
connect it to the mating plug when I want to charge the battery or run
the electrical system.
I don't have a close-up photo of the jack area after painting. I find it
unobtrusive after painting. You can judge whether it is obtrusive before
painting.
Regards,
Richard Dudley
-6A flying
Erich_Weaver(at)URSCorp.com wrote:
| Quote: |
Anybody gone to the trouble of installing a ground power jack on their RV?
I have the materials to do this, as outlined at
http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/grndpwr.pdf
but havent made up my mind. Not quite sure where to mount it / how to
access it, and its kind of an ugly fixture to have showing on the outside.
Has anyone done any spiffy access doors for one of these? Did you put it
on the cowling or back on the aluminum skin?
regards,
Erich Weaver
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mstewart(at)iss.net
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| Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 11:22 am Post subject: ground power jack |
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http://tinyurl.com/kyrdt
do not archive
Mike
--
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danbergeronham(at)aol.com
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| Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 3:41 pm Post subject: Ground Power Jack |
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Erich:
I too am at the stage in fuselage construction where I've been thinking about placement of the ground power jack. I suppose, like so many other things w/ airplanes, it's a compromise, in this case among length of cable, size of cable, weight and safety. I have definitely decided not to place it anywhere forward of the wing leading edge for safety reasons. That leaves the side or bottom of the fuse further aft. Jacks are not terribly attractive and unless you're real clever w/ sheet aluminum (and I'm not) and can fabricate a neat looking, unobtrusive access panel for the side of the fuse, I guess I'd put it on the bottom somewhere near the trailing edge of the wing. I'm leaning in that direction. Of course that means a bit of voltage drop or a heavier cable (the compromise thing) and going down on your hands and knees every time you want to use it; but then how often is that going to happen? Probably only when the airplane is parked in the snow, wet grass or mud.
Happy building,
Dan Bergeron
Chicopee, MA
RV-7A (fuse completion targeted for Christmas 06)
N-307TB (Reserved)
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Larry Bowen
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 802
Location: NC, USA
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| Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 4:39 pm Post subject: Ground Power Jack |
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Another alternative is to wire a Battery Tender type trickle charger to the
battery and secure the plug near the oil door. It wouldn't provide a
instant jump to a dead battery, but after 30 minutes you would have enough
umph to crank (personal experience). It also provides juice when working on
avionics for extended periods. No other special connectors needed, just an
extension cord. I keep the tender plug in my travel tool kit.
-
Larry Bowen, RV-8 180 Hrs.
Larry(at)BowenAero.com
http://BowenAero.com
[quote] --
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Larry Bowen
RV-8 SOLD,
RV-7QB in progress... |
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luckymacy(at)comcast.net
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| Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 4:56 pm Post subject: Ground Power Jack |
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I did a hybrid. I bought the piper ground power jacks and in the end decided not to put then in as they were just massive, heavy. But I have my battery in the back (RV8) and my battery tender maintenance connector was not going to work out like it would have if the battery was on the firewall and one could get access through the oil service door.
So I bought a heavy duty 12 volt all weather, spring loaded door cigarette style power plug and mounted it on the bottom of the fuse in the bay just behind the battery. I modified the battery tender output chords to use a cigarrete ligher style plug and now I plug my battery tender in all the time at the hangar and can still close and lock the canopy.
Odyssey battery stays in top form this way.
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Larry Bowen" <Larry(at)bowenaero.com>
[quote]
Another alternative is to wire a Battery Tender type trickle charger to the
battery and secure the plug near the oil door. It wouldn't provide a
instant jump to a dead battery, but after 30 minutes you would have enough
umph to crank (personal experience). It also provides juice when working on
avionics for extended periods. No other special connectors needed, just an
extension cord. I keep the tender plug in my travel tool kit.
-
Larry Bowen, RV-8 180 Hrs.
Larry(at)BowenAero.com
http://BowenAero.com
> --
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cgreimer(at)mts.net
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| Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 5:00 pm Post subject: ground power jack |
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I agonized over this, as with so many other building decisions, and decided
it wasn't worth it to install a ground power jack. If you install one you
have buy it, do the extra work, and then carry around a pound or so of
useless weight for the life of the plane.
I've flown my plane through three Canadian winters without a starting
problem. That's in an unheated hangar at -30F with preheat prior to starting
and a number of sub-freezing parking ramps at distant airports with NO
preheat. It helps to have a good quality battery, and to change it often. I
hope my new PC680 does as well as my old Concorde 25RG-XC that I just
retired.
One trick to avoid the dreaded left-the-master-on is to always leave your
strobe switch in the on position as a "master power warning". Never left my
master on once since I started doing that (thanks Doug Rozendahl). Also gets
people's attention at start up.
But okay, what if? If the time ever comes that I have a dead battery, and
I'm sure it will, I can bear pulling off the battery cover to gain access.
Or I can slow charge the battery through my accessory jack. In my tool bag I
carry a 12V cigar lighter plug with short wires attached so that I can hook
up a battery charger. The plug weighs maybe an ounce. The battery charger
I'll borrow or buy, or even hook up jumper cables to a car and slow charge
it off the car battery. There are multiple ways to revive your plane in a
pinch.
To paraphrase Henry Ford, parts left off the airplane cost nothing, weigh
nothing and don't cause future service problems. If you are going to invest
time and aircraft weight to cover for some rare contingency, at least make
it an airborne contingency.
Curt
RV-6 C-GACR
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ronlee(at)pcisys.net
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| Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 6:24 pm Post subject: ground power jack |
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My plane just has a HOT lead to the battery positive (ground is the frame).
Just hook up to the wire that hangs down at the lower cowl opening and
the frame.
Ron Lee
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aerobubba(at)earthlink.ne
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| Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 3:26 am Post subject: ground power jack |
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Hi Erich-
Re: Anybody gone to the trouble of installing a ground power jack on their
RV?
I assume from your note that you have a fwd bat installation. Mine are aft
on my -8 so this may well not help you, but I put a ground power receptacle
on the belly just aft of the bulkhead aft of the rear bat installation.
The mounting bracket I made is attached to the skin as well as the
bulkhead. When it will be used I will need to get on my knees to plug it
in, but I won't have any college kid ramper in close prox to the prop to
pull it out. With the available space between the wing and the prop, and
the presence of the main gear (TD), I couldn't conscience putting the
receptacle fwd.
FWIW-
Glen Matejcek
aerobubba(at)earthlink.net
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