Battery / Starter wire

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ahramin
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Battery / Starter wire

Post by ahramin »

Thinking of switching to an Odyssey battery and moving the battery from the tail to the firewall for w&b reasons. Currently the battery and starter wire is 2 gauge as it's a good 7 or 8 feet from the battery to the firewall. Talking to homebuilders and reading online everything says 2 to 4 gauge wire depending on how far away the battery is. When I go to order it on Aircraft Spruce, type in battery cable and all you get is 6 gauge:

http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/el ... cables.php

I'm thinking 6 gauge will be fine as I have no high use electrical devices in the aircraft (only thing over 5 amps is the pitot heat) and while the alternator is a 50 A I've never seen more than 30 A coming out a few times for a short period after start. The starter is a Skytec with a max draw of 220 A so I'm planning on leaving the existing 2 gauge wire in the starter circuit but for the rest, anyone out there using Aircraft Spruce's 6 gauge battery cable? Or since I'll have lots of old 2 gauge wire left over should I just reuse that?
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GyvAir
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Re: Battery / Starter wire

Post by GyvAir »

You probably only have a foot or two to run from the new battery location to your bus. Although 2 gauge is a bit overkill, switching to a smaller gauge won’t save significant weight. Sticking with same gauge as is already there and same as the starter circuit that you’re modifying, also means less tooling and consumables needed for crimping, clamping, etc.
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photofly
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Re: Battery / Starter wire

Post by photofly »

SIgn up for the Aeroelectric mailing list (http://www.aeroelectric.com/consulting.html) and ask there. Very helpful source of advice on exactly this kind of question.
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