AeroElectric Alternative?

[John DiStefano]

Builders;

 

 

Greg Richter Created a guide to aircraft wiring. It is entitled "Aircraft wiring for Smart People...A Bare Knuckles How to Guide".(see the link below) An obvious dig at the author of the Aeroelectric Connection. But, I read it from cover to cover anyway. Greg makes some compelling arguments that seem to be a contradiction to the "Connection".

 

Such as:

 

using a 24V system

1 alternator

PTC fuses vs CB's or fuses

teflon wire

 

 

But then I stumbled across this:

 

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/richter/response_1.pdf

 

it is a critique of Greg's guide, page by page by Bob Nuckolls. Seems like Bob and Greg are in a pissing match.

 

So, why bring this up you ask. Well, I liked Greg's simplistic approach, kind of boiling down Aeroelctric Connection down to its nuts and bolts in just 37 pages. But, after reading Bob's critique...I don't know.

 

I am NOT an engineer, I am a pilot. To me, the "Connection" is great, but sometimes more than I NEED to know, You know?

 

So, my question to you all, If you have read the "connection" and Greg's guide (and Bob's response) what do you think? Are there 2 ways to skin the cat here? Are both acceptable, safe reliable methods and techniques ETC? or should one be ignored...

 

Thanks and I look forward to your responses

 

JD

[Dan Tomlinson]

They are two different approaches, both with merit, but for different reasons.

 

Color coding is good, but so is labelling.

Teflon, Tefzel, whatever non-noxious, nonwearing insulation.

Switches or no, simple vs flexible.

 

 

Greg's is great for the simple "plans method" which will give you 90% of what you need with an acceptable reliability. Simple, effective and standardized - although I don't agree with the 24 volt requirement. I saw a dozen single failure points I don't want!

 

Bob's is a recipe book with proven examples to take you the rest of the way.

Note Bob's "guarantee" - everything is guaranteed to fail - plan the failure so it's only an inconvenience.

 

I'll be basing mine on Bob's, with double redundancy built in, with auto-failover. Simple to use, more complex to design and build.

[Jon Matcho]

But then I stumbled across this:

 

http://www.aeroelectric.com/article.../response_1.pdf

Just thought I'd attach this here, just in case something happens to the "Internet".

 

What's the reasoning for or against a 24v system vs. 12v?

response_1small.pdf

[bferrell]

Just thought I'd attach this here, just in case something happens to the "Internet".

 

What's the reasoning for or against a 24v system vs. 12v?

24V equipment is often slightly more expensive and slightly harder to find, but with V=IR, if you up the voltage you can drop the current, and use smaller and lighter wires. The problem is, as Bob points out, there is a practical limit to how small you can go (I think he argues this is 16 or 18 awg) before the wire becomes suceptible to mecahical damage (something, a cable pull or whatever, grabs it or pinches it against something hard and breaks it).

 

Bob's stuff is very well thought out, sensible, and practical. I am an engineer (ME) and I really like most of his points. Greg is very bright and slightly unconventional, and that's great, but sometimes I think he does things differently just because they're different. There's not a lot wrong with his suggestions, and I really like Greg, though I think he does a bit of hand-waving rather than doing the calculations, which lends itself to attack (like "24V wiring will save you 20% of the weight" that Bob takes issue with) but there are things in there that I don't want to be the one proving will work in an airplane. But that's me. Your mileage will vary.

 

B

[Jon Matcho]

24V equipment is often slightly more expensive and slightly harder to find...

That's enough to stop me in my tracks right there.

 

I did read through the Blue Mountain paper, and did notice this:

 

If you’ve got to go 12 volts, that’s fine, no biggie. We’ve just got to allow for a small backup battery for your avionics to keep you up during engine start.

I'm sure the two approaches are different, but it also seems that both have valuable ideas worth considering and not necessarily incompatible.

 

I attached the full paper, again, in case the Internet blows up (definitely check the source for updates).

 

I plan on consulting both when the time comes, or as casual reading.

 

Thanks for the feedback Brett!

aircraft_wiring_04december2004small.pdf

[John DiStefano]

The Matcho Man said.."Just thought I'd attach this here, just in case something happens to the "Internet"."

 

Funny!!

 

 

I thought the PTC fuses were interesting too.. 24V equipment might be more expensive, but we are building Cozy's right? How much stuff are we putting in here. Not like we are building a B-777

 

Just thought it was an interesting alternative

 

JD

[cozy1bh]

I have a AeroElectric System in my Cozy III--and it works perfectly. It has worked well in my bird since first flight in 1997. It is one of the few systems that has worked correctly from day one. I've never had to do a thing with it. I am no electrician. I just followed the AeroElectric Connection advice and wired a system shown in one of Bob's schematics for a composite aircraft. As far as understanding everything is concerned, this C+ student was able to follow the text of the Connection. I didn't mind learning some of the theory. But you don't have to understand the theory to install the system using Bob's guidelines and schematics. It works.

 

Cargo....