Mauledriver(at)nc.rr.com
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 Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:26 pm Post subject: Should a tripped circuit breaker be reset in flight? |
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On 10/12/2014 3:58 PM, Robert L. Nuckolls, III wrote:
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Bill "happily flying with a fully equipped kitchen and sink" Watson
Addendum: One other thing that breakers can do for you is to visually indicate what circuit popped. LED equipped blade fuses can do the same and do it quite well. My fuse panels are installed in the passenger seat foot well and have transparent panels. While not easily reached by the pilot in flight, they are easily visible. Combined with a panel diagram (or transparent panel labeling) it is easy to see what fuse is popped.
Are there fuses that could be popped and go unnoticed during preflight? I.e. is there potential for latent failure that goes unnoticed beyond preflight?
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I don't think so. I must admit that checking the fuse panel for a popped fuse, i.e. a red LED, is not part of my preflight checklist. However, experience indicates that it catches my eye nonetheless, just like any other red light in the aircraft. I think I'm going to add it to my checklist anyway.
| Quote: | Bill, Thanks for sharing your observations and deductions from lessons learned. I am curious as to your load distribution configuration that drove the 'fuse pulling' incident. Z-14 offers some pretty robust engine driven power sourcing supported by two batteries. What are your battery sizes and which one is 'critical'?
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It is very robust. I have (2) PC680s. Either will start the engine under normal conditions but you pointed out that using both for start will extend their life a bit and running them unlinked together during flight should be SOP.
It has taken some 'tuning' to get to the point where I am no longer concerned about a 'critical' battery. Nor do I feel the need to add (3) on/off switches for the (3) EFIS units though I continue to wish they had an integrated on/off function.
Before my 'tuning', the battery that doesn't run the (3) EFISs was critical. That is, I depend on it being fully charged and in good shape so that it is capable of starting the engine without being linked to the other battery. If the EFIS battery is discharged by pre-start flight planning activity, a linked start would force a re-boot of my EFISs and sometimes the G430. To avoid that, I would do the start using only the critical battery. In cold temps with a cold engine and a less than fully charged and healthy critical battery, a single battery start may not be possible (IO540 with a Skytech LS starter) . It happened.
The 'tuning' involved several changes:
- The GRT units had an always-on clock circuit. One or two units; perhaps no problem. Three units slowly degraded my battery. The clock circuit is no longer needed since the GRTs now pickup the time from the GPS signal so they were eliminated.
- I added TCW Technologies Intelligent Power Stabilizer to the EFIS and G430 circuits. This has completely eliminated reboots during linked engine starts.
- The above items allow me to always start with both batteries linked and then operate them unlinked... all with confidence and consistency. I've even gone back to turning on the strobes before starts.
As always, thanks for your insights.
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