Original Posted By: "Stacy Clark"
Hey guys,I saw Chuck Ganzer's solar panel he uses to charge a small battery which in turnpowers his GPS, radio etc.I thought this was a great idea but am not electrically minded enough to figureit out.I can get a small solar panel and install it in my top wing. Then some wiringto a small battery, which goes back to some plugs for my intercom and gps etc.My question is what is the voltage we need? will these items run off a 12v battery?I can get a nice small 1lb 12v. Also, how do you keep it from overchargingwithout much weight? or do you just have a disconnect switch when the batteryis full?This would clearly be for when one is away from home, but it's clean and alwaysready.Any electric experts out there?thanks,Douwe________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Re: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: Douwe Blumberg
Dont expect too much from a small solar charger. On most of these smaller unitsyou won't get more than a trickle charge, maybe 1/4 amp per hour at about 18volts. Not enough to fry a battery but enough to replace what a handheld radiowould use. How many trips away from home will you fly? And for how many flighthours, with what size battery? If the current draw for the round trip isless than 1/2 the capacity, why bother? On the other hand, the worst possiblething will always happen at the worst possible time, so if you have the space,why not?Dick N. ----- Original Message -----
Dont expect too much from a small solar charger. On most of these smaller unitsyou won't get more than a trickle charge, maybe 1/4 amp per hour at about 18volts. Not enough to fry a battery but enough to replace what a handheld radiowould use. How many trips away from home will you fly? And for how many flighthours, with what size battery? If the current draw for the round trip isless than 1/2 the capacity, why bother? On the other hand, the worst possiblething will always happen at the worst possible time, so if you have the space,why not?Dick N. ----- Original Message -----
Re: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: BARNSTMR(at)aol.com
Model airplane propellers are made to be going quite a few thousand of RPM'snot a few hundred at best, so the pitch would not be correct for your idea.What are the winds at your location? You will have to make this unitweathervane to stay into the wind to get the most from it. I would check outwhat they have for boating, they have been doing it for years and you won'thave to reinvent or prototype a new design.With a solar charger they can be left right in the cockpit on the glareshield or in front of any solar reflector.Wayne>> I've been thinking about a small wind-driven DC motor/generator using a> model airplane propeller mounted in the prop stream. It looks good to me> (sort of). Is there a latent problem there that I need to be aware of?Carl> Vought>>> wrote :>> > >> >> >> > Dont expect too much from a small solar charger. On most of these> smaller units you won't get more than a trickle charge, maybe 1/4 amp per> hour at about 18 volts. >> >________________________________________________________________________________Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2004 11:15:47 -0400
Model airplane propellers are made to be going quite a few thousand of RPM'snot a few hundred at best, so the pitch would not be correct for your idea.What are the winds at your location? You will have to make this unitweathervane to stay into the wind to get the most from it. I would check outwhat they have for boating, they have been doing it for years and you won'thave to reinvent or prototype a new design.With a solar charger they can be left right in the cockpit on the glareshield or in front of any solar reflector.Wayne>> I've been thinking about a small wind-driven DC motor/generator using a> model airplane propeller mounted in the prop stream. It looks good to me> (sort of). Is there a latent problem there that I need to be aware of?Carl> Vought>>> wrote :>> > >> >> >> > Dont expect too much from a small solar charger. On most of these> smaller units you won't get more than a trickle charge, maybe 1/4 amp per> hour at about 18 volts. >> >________________________________________________________________________________Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2004 11:15:47 -0400
Re: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: "Carl D. Vought"
I was going to do the same thing. I did tests using an RC airplane enginestarter bolted to a 12" prop. I managed to get about 13 amps out of it.The only problem I found was that a standard RC prop would begin to spinuntil wind hitting it was over 40mph.A homemade prop made from 1/8" aluminum with a coarse pitch would do muchbetter.you will also need a voltage regulator to keep the voltage down and todissapate the extra energy as heat.DJ----- Original Message -----
I was going to do the same thing. I did tests using an RC airplane enginestarter bolted to a 12" prop. I managed to get about 13 amps out of it.The only problem I found was that a standard RC prop would begin to spinuntil wind hitting it was over 40mph.A homemade prop made from 1/8" aluminum with a coarse pitch would do muchbetter.you will also need a voltage regulator to keep the voltage down and todissapate the extra energy as heat.DJ----- Original Message -----
RE: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
DJ,Any recommendations on which motor/generator to use? I'm using a C-75 on myPiet and would love to dispense with the "engine driven electrical system"but also don't want to depend on separately recharging radio and GPS.Gene-----Original Message-----
DJ,Any recommendations on which motor/generator to use? I'm using a C-75 on myPiet and would love to dispense with the "engine driven electrical system"but also don't want to depend on separately recharging radio and GPS.Gene-----Original Message-----
Re: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: "Hubbard, Eugene"
the RC engine starter is probably not the optimum but it's been used beforeby others with good results. It's cheap to at about $35.You have to experiment with the proper pitch of the prop (on the generator)to get the rpms where they need to be at cruise flight.From there any tractor 12V regulator would work fine. The regulator I'musing on my engine driven generator is from John Deere. Has large aluminmumheat sink fins to get rid of the heat.check this link...... it shows how a guy used an RC engine starter as agenerator on his Cubhttp://www.pipercubforum.com/windgen.htmDJ----- Original Message -----
the RC engine starter is probably not the optimum but it's been used beforeby others with good results. It's cheap to at about $35.You have to experiment with the proper pitch of the prop (on the generator)to get the rpms where they need to be at cruise flight.From there any tractor 12V regulator would work fine. The regulator I'musing on my engine driven generator is from John Deere. Has large aluminmumheat sink fins to get rid of the heat.check this link...... it shows how a guy used an RC engine starter as agenerator on his Cubhttp://www.pipercubforum.com/windgen.htmDJ----- Original Message -----
> Re: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: "Carl D. Vought"
Re: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: Don Morris
Re: Pietenpol-List: Magneto stuff
Original Posted By: "Carl D. Vought"
Re: Pietenpol-List: solar charger
Original Posted By: "DJ Vegh"
DJHow many volts were you putting out at 13 amps? You will need to have about15-18 volts to charge a 12 volt battery.Dick----- Original Message -----
DJHow many volts were you putting out at 13 amps? You will need to have about15-18 volts to charge a 12 volt battery.Dick----- Original Message -----