Glider Batteries and Chargers

One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some place
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:
One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some place
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

And Evan, why do we put fuses on the batteries and why do we use
aircraft wire? I wonder if the aircraft in the following report had
a fused battery and aircraft wire?

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...01X51612&key=1

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

On Aug 24, 11:39*am, rlovinggood wrote:
On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:

One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some place
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

And Evan, why do we put fuses on the batteries and why do we use
aircraft wire? * I wonder if the aircraft in the following report had
a fused battery and aircraft wire?

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...01X51612&key=1

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

Yeah, there's one convert, for sure!

Btw, if anyone wonders where to get them, McMaster Carr is a good
source of Molex connectors and crimp on terminals. Get a good quality
crimper and a wire stripper while you are at it. They also sell
teflon insulated wire. Mouser Electronics is another source for good
quality electrical bits, including circuit breakers (but not teflon
wire IIRC). Some of the glider supply guys have a pretty good
selection of stuff too.

-Evan Ludeman / T8

On Aug 24, 11:39*am, rlovinggood wrote:
On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:

One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some place
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

And Evan, why do we put fuses on the batteries and why do we use
aircraft wire? * I wonder if the aircraft in the following report had
a fused battery and aircraft wire?

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...01X51612&key=1

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

We put the fuse right at to the battery so there is never a high
current running through the rest of the circuitry.
Wire short anywhere- fuse blows.
This simple protection prevents having to deal with the consequences
of many sins, including the PVC insulated wire many production gliders
are incorporating.
This is a simple and very useful safety enhancement which costs about
$3 and takes 20 minutes to accomplish.
Unless something falls on the battery terminals, you're pretty well
covered.
FWIW
UH

On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:
One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some placeer Moxex-type connectors
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

For any battery connections I highly recommend Anderson Powerpole
connectors: http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html.
They are hermaphorditic (sexless) and are being used as a defacto
standard in the Amateur Radio community for battery connections. This
article:
http://www.westmountainradio.com/supportrr.htm gives details on their
application. There was a recent article in one of the ham magazines
discussing their advantages over
Molex-type connectors. The use of 30-amp size connectors has been
suggested as standard due to their rugged construction and low contact
resistance.
Don.

On Aug 24, 9:01*pm, Donald S Brant Jr wrote:
On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:

One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some placeer Moxex-type connectors
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

For any battery connections I highly recommend Anderson Powerpole
connectors:http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html.
They are hermaphorditic (sexless) and are being used as a defacto
standard in the Amateur Radio community for battery connections. *This
article:http://www.westmountainradio.com/supportrr.htmgives details on their
application. *There was a recent article in one of the ham magazines
discussing their advantages over
Molex-type connectors. *The use of 30-amp size connectors has been
suggested as standard due to their rugged construction and low contact
resistance.
Don.

We also use Powerpoles for the same reason. They will take much more
abuse than Molex connectors and have virtually no power loss. Can get
them at any hobby shop that handles RC cars. Note these are not hobby
products, they are industrial connectors.
UH

On Aug 25, 9:25*am, wrote:
On Aug 24, 9:01*pm, Donald S Brant Jr wrote:



On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:

One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some placeer Moxex-type connectors
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

For any battery connections I highly recommend Anderson Powerpole
connectors:http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html.
They are hermaphorditic (sexless) and are being used as a defacto
standard in the Amateur Radio community for battery connections. *This
article:http://www.westmountainradio.com/sup...tmgivesdetails on their
application. *There was a recent article in one of the ham magazines
discussing their advantages over
Molex-type connectors. *The use of 30-amp size connectors has been
suggested as standard due to their rugged construction and low contact
resistance.
Don.

We also use Powerpoles for the same reason. They will take much more
abuse than Molex connectors and have virtually no power loss. Can get
them at any hobby shop that handles RC cars. Note these are not hobby
products, they are industrial connectors.
UH

I'll have to check these out.

FWIW, my Molex recommendation was intended for the spade lug
connectors that attach directly to the battery -- these are bullet
proof. I agree that the Molex disconnects are a little light duty.

-T8

On Aug 25, 7:28*am, T8 wrote:
On Aug 25, 9:25*am, wrote:



On Aug 24, 9:01*pm, Donald S Brant Jr wrote:

On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:

One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some placeer Moxex-type connectors
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

For any battery connections I highly recommend Anderson Powerpole
connectors:http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html.
They are hermaphorditic (sexless) and are being used as a defacto
standard in the Amateur Radio community for battery connections. *This
article:http://www.westmountainradio.com/sup...givesdetailson their
application. *There was a recent article in one of the ham magazines
discussing their advantages over
Molex-type connectors. *The use of 30-amp size connectors has been
suggested as standard due to their rugged construction and low contact
resistance.
Don.

We also use Powerpoles for the same reason. They will take much more
abuse than Molex connectors and have virtually no power loss. Can get
them at any hobby shop that handles RC cars. Note these are not hobby
products, they are industrial connectors.
UH

I'll have to check these out.

FWIW, my Molex recommendation was intended for the spade lug
connectors that attach directly to the battery -- these are bullet
proof. *I agree that the Molex disconnects are a little light duty.

-T8

And good advice.

If you want to be fancy, Molex, 3M or Amp/Tyco FASTON brand fully
insulated *nylon jacketed* female 1/4" blade aka "Faston" or "quick
connect" connectors. You normally want the standard "non-locking"
type, unless you battery terminals have a small hole/depression in
them designed to catch the dimple on a locking style connector (most
do not). The nylon jacket is more robust then the common PVC style.
The really cheap PVC jacketed blade connectors you find in auto parts
stores can be pretty bad. Some PVC jackets are so poorly attached they
can slide off, move up the wire if damaged slightly when crimping on
the connectors.

Other sources for all this stuff is DigiKey (www.digikey.com) - search
for "quick connects", or Mouser Electronics (www.Mouser.com) although
Mouser tend to be more expensive. Buy a bulk bag of them and they'll
last forever.

Darryl

On Aug 25, 7:52*am, Darryl Ramm wrote:
On Aug 25, 7:28*am, T8 wrote:



On Aug 25, 9:25*am, wrote:

On Aug 24, 9:01*pm, Donald S Brant Jr wrote:

On Aug 24, 11:14*am, T8 wrote:

One other thing... DO include a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery
and do make certain that the connections between the CB and the
battery are absolutely as reliable as you can make them (as mentioned
on another thread, problems here aren't covered by your CB). *I
recommend a 5 amp push to reset CB, provided that you have some placeer Moxex-type connectors
to mount it correctly, teflon insulated aircraft wire of 18ga and
Molex or equivalent industrial quality crimp on connectors which are
*far* better than consumer grade stuff at your hardware store. *This
is a great area to solicit some help if you aren't completely
confident in your ability.

That's my public service announcement for the day :-).

-T8

For any battery connections I highly recommend Anderson Powerpole
connectors:http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html.
They are hermaphorditic (sexless) and are being used as a defacto
standard in the Amateur Radio community for battery connections. *This
article:http://www.westmountainradio.com/sup...detailsontheir
application. *There was a recent article in one of the ham magazines
discussing their advantages over
Molex-type connectors. *The use of 30-amp size connectors has been
suggested as standard due to their rugged construction and low contact
resistance.
Don.

We also use Powerpoles for the same reason. They will take much more
abuse than Molex connectors and have virtually no power loss. Can get
them at any hobby shop that handles RC cars. Note these are not hobby
products, they are industrial connectors.
UH

I'll have to check these out.

FWIW, my Molex recommendation was intended for the spade lug
connectors that attach directly to the battery -- these are bullet
proof. *I agree that the Molex disconnects are a little light duty.

-T8

And good advice.

If you want to be fancy, Molex, 3M or Amp/Tyco FASTON brand fully
insulated *nylon jacketed* female 1/4" blade aka "Faston" or "quick
connect" connectors. You normally want the standard "non-locking"
type, unless you battery terminals have a small hole/depression in
them designed to catch the dimple on a locking style *connector (most
do not). The nylon jacket is more robust then the common PVC style.
The really cheap PVC jacketed blade connectors you find in auto parts
stores can be pretty bad. Some PVC jackets are so poorly attached they
can slide off, move up the wire if damaged slightly when crimping on
the connectors.

Other sources for all this stuff is DigiKey (www.digikey.com) - search
for "quick connects", or Mouser Electronics (www.Mouser.com) although
Mouser tend to be more expensive. Buy a bulk bag of them and they'll
last forever.

Darryl

Darryl ,
another source of very high quality crimp-on connectors, if you just
want to drive to a local store, is electrical supply houses. They
stock UL listed (to 600 volts) terminals by companies like Turner &
Betts and Panduit. They have to meet a performance spec and they are
not cheap, and they are quite good. I share your frustration as
everyone in my club has one of those kits they got at Sears or Radio
Shack with the bogus tool. The terminals fail over and over so you
tend to see that kit come out quite often.

Brian