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Local aviation department

gotyoke

Well Known Member
So the wire terminators used in the automotive industry are not appropriate for aircraft because the crimp isn't as secure. That got me a little shy about what I should be able to use from my local hardware or automotive store. What about:

  • Fuse blocks
  • ATC fuses
  • Heat shrink tubing

Let's start with that.
 
There are some things from automotive and marine world that are as good as or superior to what we consider to be the standard aviation way, so just because it says "auto" or "marine" does not mean that it's not appropriate for our application.

If you buy from a reputable supplier like Steinair or B&C or Van's, you are going to get something that's probably good. If you go to ebay or amazon, you will need to do your due diligence.

The aeroelectic connection book and mailing list has a lot of good advice on tools, parts, and places to buy, and the people there are quite knowledgeable, but perhaps a bit conservative.

Some areas that I personally used auto or marine systems are my fuse block, my fuse between the alternator and the main buss, my USB connectors. There are things I would have used had I known about them like the Deutsch connectors instead of Molex.
 
So the wire terminators used in the automotive industry are not appropriate for aircraft because the crimp isn't as secure. That got me a little shy about what I should be able to use from my local hardware or automotive store. What about:

  • Fuse blocks
  • ATC fuses
  • Heat shrink tubing

Let's start with that.

Of coarse here in the experimental world we can “try” different stuff. But depending on the risk level you are willing to accept, anything that is a “safety critical function”, as we call it at my day job, should be scrutinized to use the highest reliable parts. My personal opinion for general aviation is to tend to not want anything electrical to be truly safety critical. That is reason I believe in a few backup steam gages. Therefore I am a little more accepting to use some automotive electrical components because I can fly safely with a failure.

So without getting into long discussion on reliability and panel design, I would definitely consider using aircraft grade stuff on things you really need to be reliable. There is a long history of failures that have lead aviation to do it differently than things that stay on the ground.
 
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Remember that as the manufacturer of your air raft, you can choose to use whatever you want, and a real manufacturer will do qualification testing on anything from a new supplier (or an old one) - so don’t be afraid to buy extra and do some destructive testing if you think you have found a better, more convenient, more reliable - or more economic - source.

My non-critical paint comes from the Rustoleum aisle at Home Depot….. ;)

Paul
 
My non-critical paint comes from the Rustoleum aisle at Home Depot….. ;)

Paul

But I bet you are not buying from California "aviation aisles". At least aircraft paint is the same through out the country, even in CA. But for Home Depot aviation stuff, like paint, CA is an inferior breed. So when going off the reservation, be careful where you shop.

That being said, I found the Duetsch automotive connectors far superior to the Molex style. I have one more to chanage out on the flaps and then no more molex's in my build.
 
I would not use a fuse panel like this one.
The contacts do not grip the fuses tightly which will lead to a bad connection.
-
 

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I would not use a fuse panel like this one.
The contacts do not grip the fuses tightly which will lead to a bad connection.
-

Are you talking about the ones you buy from hardware stores? The ones I bought from B&C grip the fuses insanely well.
 
Yup not very good

I would not use a fuse panel like this one.
The contacts do not grip the fuses tightly which will lead to a bad connection.
-
The ones from Marine supply are much better, like this one:
 

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I would not use a fuse panel like this one.
The contacts do not grip the fuses tightly which will lead to a bad connection.
-

At the risk of sounding trite I’m shocked to hear this. I, along with many other home builders who have used these exact fuse blocks, have never experienced fuses that are properly inserted feeling loose at all. This after 15 years of service in my 6A.
 
At the risk of sounding trite I’m shocked to hear this. I, along with many other home builders who have used these exact fuse blocks, have never experienced fuses that are properly inserted feeling loose at all. This after 15 years of service in my 6A.

And if there are problems with these then someone should probably tell Stein so he can stop selling them. I have three of these going into my build and my presumption buying them from SteinAir was that they were good. Between that and your comments I suspect that there's no real reason to doubt that.
 
I would not use a fuse panel like this one.
The contacts do not grip the fuses tightly which will lead to a bad connection.
-

That looks like the one I purchased from B and C that has been flying in my airplane for over 24-years without issue.
 
And if there are problems with these then someone should probably tell Stein so he can stop selling them. I have three of these going into my build and my presumption buying them from SteinAir was that they were good. Between that and your comments I suspect that there's no real reason to doubt that.

‘Lectric Bob (Aero-electric Connection) also recommends using these fuse blocks in the book. Fuses are held in very snugly, and if you use the diamond grip spade connectors for the wires, they are firmly attached as well.
 
At the risk of sounding trite I’m shocked to hear this. I, along with many other home builders who have used these exact fuse blocks, have never experienced fuses that are properly inserted feeling loose at all. This after 15 years of service in my 6A.

I have seen a (meaning one) slot on a fuse block that didn't grip the fuse well and caused an intermittent issue. I marked that one "inop" with a sharpie, moved the fuse and connection elsewhere and haven't had any problems since.

That was on the -6. The -10 has fuse blocks too, so I'm still very confident in the overall approach and hardware.
 
Remember that as the manufacturer of your air raft, you can choose to use whatever you want, and a real manufacturer will do qualification testing on anything from a new supplier (or an old one) - so don’t be afraid to buy extra and do some destructive testing if you think you have found a better, more convenient, more reliable - or more economic - source.

My non-critical paint comes from the Rustoleum aisle at Home Depot….. ;)

Paul

Well said, and proven. Just like the Wright brothers did it. You will be surprised at what you learn.

Edit BTW - I have one each of the fuse blocks above. Blue Sea has served me well, as has the Stein sourced block (although not very space efficient). Only 200 hrs so just exiting the early hour reliability range.
 
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