Sale today on 12 Volt flexible solar panel

(and lithiums are not an option)

Tom

Why might that be? Just curious ....

Uli
AS

On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 3:47:29 PM UTC-8, AS wrote:
(and lithiums are not an option)

Tom

Why might that be? Just curious ....

Uli
AS

The DGs use 6 volt batteries - AFAIK there are no 6 V lithium batteries. You might be able to assemble a custom battery pack, but that isn't adviseable for safety reasons.

Tom

On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 6:47:29 PM UTC-5, AS wrote:
(and lithiums are not an option)

Tom

Why might that be? Just curious ....

Uli
AS

4-6 volt batts ( 20 ampH), wired so that they supply both the engine and the avionics. Toggle switch chooses either just avionics, or both motor and avionics.

Unique wiring situation, I have studied the wiring diagram, and wiring in the plane and not figured out a safe way to wire in batteries to just the avionic side so that there would be no possibility of drawing high current also for motor start. This would fry normal avionic sized wires.

Ideally, it would be wired so you could feed the avionics from lithiums, and then have the ability to save the main batteries for motor start, but also use them as back up for avionics if the need occurred.

If anyone has come up with a good and safe solution please email me.

Kevin
92
Kevin Soar AT Gmail dot com

Typical lithium is 3.2VPC, so, 2 cells in series should yield a working voltage within the input power range.

On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 5:27:24 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 6:47:29 PM UTC-5, AS wrote:
(and lithiums are not an option)

Tom

Why might that be? Just curious ....

Uli
AS

4-6 volt batts ( 20 ampH), wired so that they supply both the engine and the avionics. Toggle switch chooses either just avionics, or both motor and avionics.

Unique wiring situation, I have studied the wiring diagram, and wiring in the plane and not figured out a safe way to wire in batteries to just the avionic side so that there would be no possibility of drawing high current also for motor start. This would fry normal avionic sized wires.

Ideally, it would be wired so you could feed the avionics from lithiums, and then have the ability to save the main batteries for motor start, but also use them as back up for avionics if the need occurred.

If anyone has come up with a good and safe solution please email me.

Kevin
92
Kevin Soar AT Gmail dot com

Kevin,

One would think it would be doable using a diode isolator (Schottky diode for low forward loss) - insert diode ahead of the avionics buss on current wiring set up. Then simply wire the new aux battery to the buss side of the diode. No back feed from the AUX to the system.

No help for the DG, but this one works well as a replacement for the 12V 18AH in ships like the ASH26E, as it can provide enough current for the starter and is a direct replacement. http://www.batterypete.com/batteries...ab-description

On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 6:57:09 PM UTC-5, 2G wrote:
On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 3:47:29 PM UTC-8, AS wrote:
(and lithiums are not an option)

Tom

Why might that be? Just curious ....

Uli
AS

The DGs use 6 volt batteries - AFAIK there are no 6 V lithium batteries. You might be able to assemble a custom battery pack, but that isn't adviseable for safety reasons.

Tom

Thanks for that explanation! I had no idea that 6V packs are still in use. I thought they died out with the 6V Beetle. ;-)
Uli
AS

On 11/26/2016 8:27 PM, wrote:
Unique wiring situation, I have studied the wiring diagram, and wiring
in the plane and not figured out a safe way to wire in batteries to
just the avionic side so that there would be no possibility of drawing
high current also for motor start. This would fry normal avionic
sized wires.

Ideally, it would be wired so you could feed the avionics from lithiums,
and then have the ability to save the main batteries for motor start,
but also use them as back up for avionics if the need occurred.

This sounds like an application for a battery isolator. Available in
the aircraft parts department at Home Depot. ;-)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cooper-Bu...-206793207-_-N

On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 5:27:00 PM UTC-5, 2G wrote:
On Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 5:39:58 AM UTC-8, krasw wrote:
Why bother with solar panels when you can buy light weight lithium batteries with enough juice for anything you can imagine? Solar panels are from age of lead batteries.

Besides effectively increasing battery capacity, they are very useful for recharging the batteries between flights. We are continuing to add electronic devices (transponders, flarm, foot warmers, etc.) while on-board battery capacity is stagnant. In some gliders, like the DG80x, battery capacity is already at a critical level (and lithiums are not an option). If I ordered a new glider I would definitely go with the solar option (assuming it is available with Strobls closing).

Tom

Yes, maybe more electronics are added, but aren't electronics more efficient now and draw less? I don't know, but what is the power consumption of 70-80's electronics compared to today? But....

And wiring a new glider for a solar panel and especially a motorized glider is one thing, but adding to a older glider has to be almost impossible or at least for anyone that I could find locally or readily. I do not believe in redoing an older glider to modern specs of adding the flarm, and glass displays, and twin batteries, and solar panels, and ADS-B, and ballistic chutes....bla, bla, bla......My point is there is only so much that can be added or changed that effects weight and balance, performance, and being cost prohibitive....Am I correct in saying that? The old saying KISS has to come into play at some point. Instead of figuring out how to run wiring for a solar panel, I would settle for easy replacement of TE tubing in the boom. And I will just keep charging my Lion battery every 2- 3 or so flights.

Casey

On Saturday, 26 November 2016 17:16:00 UTC+2, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Not exactly. I know a guy who has a radio, transponder, Butterfly vario, LX9070, S80, Flarm, V3 vario and a strobe built into the vertical fin, that can either act as a strobe or only strobe with a Flarm alert. All that stuff takes about four hours to go through one lithium battery with two factory installed solar panels topping up the battery. Good thing he has two and possibly three batteries (if he is not going to use the engine).



Hmmm. One could also install small generator in glider to drive set of christmas lights and espresso machine in cockpit.

I have e-vario, flarm, radio, PDA power and flarm display with small 8 Ah LiFePo4. It takes 11 hrs to run dry. Other similar battery is waiting in reserve. I could easily install similar physical size LiFePos with 30-40 hrs of current. That would be a week of gliding.

So... Your glider has less instruments and current draw than the one mentioned above in this thread. I also know several pilots who do not have batteries in their glider at all, and only use a handheld radio. Point being the new LiFePo4 have not rendered solar panels obsolete.

I do like the espresso maker idea though!

On Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 12:03:48 AM UTC-8, krasw wrote:

Hmmm. One could also install small generator in glider to drive set of christmas lights and espresso machine in cockpit.

I have e-vario, flarm, radio, PDA power and flarm display with small 8 Ah LiFePo4. It takes 11 hrs to run dry. Other similar battery is waiting in reserve. I could easily install similar physical size LiFePos with 30-40 hrs of current. That would be a week of gliding.