Replacing Battery Tray & Battery

[Chopper206]

Maule makes an STC'd auxillary power add-on. It's a Piper power male plug up on the starboard side of the fuselage in front of the struts and connects to a long fat cable running back to the battery. My battery on my M5 is in the back behind the cargo wall. It's a convenient way to trickle charge the battery when I want to, without having to climb into the tail. I rigged my aux Piper female plug to a set of booster cables and clamp the battery charger on to those clamps when I use it. Otherwise I've got a big truck battery that I can clamp onto to boost the Maule when we have used it down to -39°C. I imagine it would be a simpler installation for a firewall-mounted battery.

I Have a MX-7-160 with the battery mounted to the firewall. Are there options for an external power plug that I can install. This would make it easy to plug in a battery tender to provide a trickle charge when I'm not flying.

When I bought this Maule a dozen years ago, the previous owner had overcharged the battery and the acid ran down the belly, creating a weak strip in the fabric. The first few months I owned the plane it split and we had to replace the belly fabric.

My cigarette lighter is disconnected. The co-pilot headset connectors come out of the same area on the dash. There are better DC connectors than a cigarette lighter and your AME can rig it so it's hot to the battery for trickle charging with a solar panel.

[maules.com]

Aerobatix, on the Maule models with firewall battery, I reach in through the oil door and affix aligator clamps to the battery terminals BEFORE plugging in the charge system.

Chopper206, a little shorter run to the flyin for you this year.

[Aerobatix]

Jeremy,

Good suggestion. I only hope my big hand and arm will fit in there!

Thanks!

Rob

[210TC]

Chopper206,

-39 degree's Holy Moly I would require more than a truck battery to fire me up.

[xwildcat]

In my M-5 the battery is under the seat. I hook right to the battery posts. The collector rests on the V pipes in the front wind screen.

Where did you get the solar charger? I followed the link above, but there was no reference to a solar source. I'll bet this works great, so I'm very interested...

[TomD]

A while back we set up a group purchase of SunlinQ 12V folding solar panels. At that time they were about $75.00/ set w/ cables.

They are great for charging batteries of all sorts in remote locations.

I just Googled for them and the price has doubled, but you might be able to find them for a decent price if you shop around.

This product folds into about a 11" x 6" x 2" packet and weighs about a pound.

The rigid panels are far less $$ and if you are going to set them up at your hanger or tie down could be a good choice.


TD

[xwildcat]

Thanks! I found them for $156... yeah, more than they were when you bought, but still a good price:trade off.... I think.

Thanks for the good pirep!

[TomD]

I just found my original info on the folding solar chargers:

http://www.globalsolar.com/index.php?op ... &Itemid=67

I set up a group purchase of a case ( 25 ) of them through Global Solar and got a decent deal. I figure if anyone else is up to this task then the group could benefit. Maybe the backcountry folks would be interested.

If not there is a "Where to Buy" link on their page.

TD

[xwildcat]

Awesome. However, getting 25 people together will likely take longer than I'm willing to wait. "I didn't know I wanted one 'til now... and now I want it yesterday."

[Green Hornet]

I'm ready to get the sunlinq 12W after having a dead battery today. The question I have is how are you hooking it up? are you using the 8 ft trailer plug or does it work via the cigaret lighter? Since the battery is in the tail and the only opening to the outside world in a M-7235C is the air hole in the front windows is the 8 Ft enough? I need input as what works best if your tied down overnight and want to secure the aircraft.
Thanks

[Maule 9V]

* Where did you get the solar charger? *

Sunsei Solar Panel SE-135 It cost me $30. Goggle to a find source. I saw at Pep Boys yesterday a 350 mA charger, about 15 inches square for $80. Though my charger is rated at 135mA, by the time the sun gets through the plexi and shines on an angle, my battery receives only 30-40mA. That is still enough to keep my battery at 12.8 Volts.

[xwildcat]

I got the Sunlinq 12W with all it's accessory cables and I'm impressed. I put a volt meter on it and it's putting out exactly 12volts DC in direct sun. The amorphous cells keep that output even when angled less than 90 degrees.

I'll use the heck out of this thing... iPhone, wife's cell, Maule's battery, PDA, Garmin 10, etc. I think it will prove to be worth every penny.

Folds up to an unbelievably small size too. I'm amped up.

[TomD]

If you are looking for a solar charger for a fixed location like a hanger, rigid solar panels might be a better and cheaper option.

The beauty of the flexible sets like the Sunlinq is they are ultra portable and can charge most anything that is on 12V. GPS,hand held radio, rechargeable AA or AAAA batteries for other electronic goodies, etc.

If you want to trickle charge your airplane battery with the Sunlinq, it will work but you have to access the battery through the window or door.

TD

[Green Hornet]

I installed my Sunling 12V solar panel today.

http://www.batterystuff.com/solar-charg ... PF12w.html

I also used the automatic solar charge controller in order to prevent overcharge. Since my battery is in the tail section I replaced the alligator clips with ring terminals and 10 ft of extra dual wire so I could place the panel in the front window on the dash board. The solar panel easily disconnects from the charge controller. It was a straight forward install but pay attention to polarity. I don't forsee any negatives unless anyone else who has done the install has something to share? Now (murphy) I'll get the perfect hangar