Battery plugs, etc.

Our club uses 4 pin jones plugs for battery plugs, 2 pins positive and 2
pins negative for redundancy. But even this is not fool proof after
passage of time: sometimes they need to be "wiggled" to connect and
they are getting hard to find now too. What kinds of plugs are other
clubs or commercial ops using? I'm not a big fan of the nylon molex
connectors. Someone recommended using PowerPole connectors. Any
experience with these?

On Tuesday, November 27, 2012 11:46:07 AM UTC-5, Don wrote:
Our club uses 4 pin jones plugs for battery plugs, 2 pins positive and 2

pins negative for redundancy. But even this is not fool proof after

passage of time: sometimes they need to be "wiggled" to connect and

they are getting hard to find now too. What kinds of plugs are other

clubs or commercial ops using? I'm not a big fan of the nylon molex

connectors. Someone recommended using PowerPole connectors. Any

experience with these?

Power poles are fine.

But the XT60 connectors becoming popular in electric RC models are even better imo. Compact, cheap, polarized, extremely rugged. That said, I still have Molex connectors in my glider (to do list...)

-Evan Ludeman / T8

XLR. They're the best!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector

Cheers,
Lars Peder, Denmark


"Don" wrote in message
...
Our club uses 4 pin jones plugs for battery plugs, 2 pins positive and 2
pins negative for redundancy. But even this is not fool proof after
passage of time: sometimes they need to be "wiggled" to connect and they
are getting hard to find now too. What kinds of plugs are other clubs or
commercial ops using? I'm not a big fan of the nylon molex connectors.
Someone recommended using PowerPole connectors. Any experience with
these?

On Tuesday, November 27, 2012 8:46:07 AM UTC-8, Don wrote:
Our club uses 4 pin jones plugs for battery plugs, 2 pins positive and 2 pins negative for redundancy. But even this is not fool proof after passage of time: sometimes they need to be "wiggled" to connect and they are getting hard to find now too. What kinds of plugs are other clubs or commercial ops using? I'm not a big fan of the nylon molex connectors. Someone recommended using PowerPole connectors. Any experience with these?

Don,

I have used Jones Plugs and Sockets for almost 10 years. They are very robust and have served me well. I use them both in the glider and for the chargers.

See

http://www.craggyaero.com/electrical.htm

For battery setup recommendations.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

I second the statement on the XLR!
I see them also used extensively in other fields (wind tunnels), and they perform well.

Roel

The 15A PowerPoles are excellent for use in a glider. You'll find all the Williams Soaring fleet have them, so they can't be TOO bad.
Heavy connectors aren't necessary. I use XLRs at work, but they get thrown, stepped on, pulled hard, etc. Doubt you'll do that to your glider electrics. Over time and with turbulence in flight, heavy connectors will stress glider wiring.
Have a look at the RigRunner power distribution systems, which use Anderson PowerPoles. Very tidy.
Jim

Our club and a lot of private owners have adopted Power Poles. They are very reliable, compact, and light. I like the way you can configure their orientation and the fact that they are usable in cold weather (they don't seem to crack like the "Schleicher Connectors" some of us used to use).


On Tuesday, November 27, 2012 11:46:07 AM UTC-5, Don wrote:
Our club uses 4 pin jones plugs for battery plugs, 2 pins positive and 2

pins negative for redundancy. But even this is not fool proof after

passage of time: sometimes they need to be "wiggled" to connect and

they are getting hard to find now too. What kinds of plugs are other

clubs or commercial ops using? I'm not a big fan of the nylon molex

connectors. Someone recommended using PowerPole connectors. Any

experience with these?

I have switched my club and also my own glider to Anderson PowerPoles for power.

No issues with male/female connectors (unlike XLR). One criticism would be that they do not have strain relief on the cable insulation. But that's not been a practical issue. The other would be that they do not screw together to secure the connection (some aviation-grade connectors do), but that also makes is easier to connect/disconnect. So, practically, not a problem..

I will second (3rd, 4th, etc) the suggestion on PowerPoles. Very
robust, light, versatile two part hermaphroditic system. I use 15A
contacts. Currently proprietary so there are no knock offs which
makes them somewhat expensive per connection.

Safety - One reason that I like PowerPole connectors is not that they are simply polarized (nearly all connectors are) but you simply cannot make a disastrous reversed battery to battery connection as you can on some simplistic connector systems. Ask me how I know.
Polarity - There is a "standard" positive/negative orientation for power/ground that should be followed for compatibility with other ships. See http://www.wb3w.net/powerpoleinst.htm.
Crimping - This is one down side to PowerPoles as you should use a special ratcheting crimping tool that runs $30 or so. Watch for a used one on eBay. A regular crimping tool can deform the contact so it will not mate properly to the housing. But there is always soldering... ;-)
Build you own - I have a PowerPole multi-contact block at the base of my instrument panel that has all the power, communications and control wires, each using a different color to aid trouble shooting. See http://www.chicagolandglidercouncil....etterNov11.pdf. When I take the panel home for the annual winter refurb, I can hook up a battery directly to it (same connectors at each end) because I followed the "standard" polarity for the power/ground connections. The individual colored housings have a dovetail system to solidly connect one to another. Cool.

Here are some reference materials;

Crimping Instructions - http://www.wb3w.net/powerpoleinst.htm and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ODI...eature=related
ChicagoLand Glider Council newsletter article - http://www.chicagolandglidercouncil....etterNov11.pdf
Shown in use on batteries in a "Soaring" article - http://aviation.derosaweb.net/batter...ingFeb2012.pdf
Manufacturer Site - http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html
Vendor - http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/

Good luck.

+(1+n) for Anderson PowerPoles and RigRunner power distribution system.

Concur about the lack of stress relief on the wires but has never been a problem operationally in many years of service in several different gliders.