Alternator Considerations

A collection of technical articles & attached documents by Neal Wright
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Name: Neal Wright
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Alternator Considerations

Post by 101 »

Originally Posted on Fri Jul 22, 2005 4:03 am

Alternators have advantages over generators with respect to the amperage they can supply to the bus and because they can provide a significant amount of current at low engine RPMÕs, including a fast idle. Run down batteries which have been depleted by loads greater than a generator can supply become a thing of the past. A variety of ÒpackagesÓ for alternator systems can be purchased, along with STCÕs for them if that path is desired. The newsletter carries an ad of one of the members who was awarded the rights to one of the most popular STCÕs for our planes.

One feature that must be understood is that an alternator MUST be provided with an initial exciting current, after which it is self-sustaining. What that means is that there has to be enough battery power to energize the solenoid and feed a couple of amps to the alternator.

The article points out the features of the systems, changes necessary to the wiring, the tools you need to do it, and some potential trip points.

Neal
Attachments
alternator_considerations.pdf
Our planes worked for a lot of decades with power supplied by generators and many will be just fine with them for a lot more years. This article presents details for consideration if power requirements in your plane have gone up such that the generator
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