Backcountry Pilot • Straight tail 182 alternator conversation weight savings?

Straight tail 182 alternator conversation weight savings?

Have you modified your aircraft? STC? STOL Kit? Major rebuild from just a data plate?
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Re: Straight tail 182 alternator conversation weight savings

I get a kick out of watching people have no problem spending money on the "in your face" upgrades. Engine monitors, G5's, tablet mount's, big tires, traffic avoidance systems, but then keep justifying to themselves that there is nothing wrong with the old hidden stuff under the hood. As was said above, yes all is great until your fancy electronics keep going offline on a dark stormy night. Unfortunately so many people need to have that experience before they will change their way of thinking. Great, use your generator until it fails, but when it does I would throw it in the metal bin and install an alternator kit.
Mark Y. offline
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Re: Straight tail 182 alternator conversation weight savings

Mark Y. wrote:.... Great, use your generator until it fails, but when it does I would throw it in the metal bin and install an alternator kit.


"when it does..." ….let's see, a 1953 airplane.....so the generator's been working fine for 65 years now.
Excuse me if I'm not too worried about it going gunnysack now.
But if you feel an alternator is a must have for your airplane, more power to you.
(pun intended :wink: )
hotrod180 offline
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Re: Straight tail 182 alternator conversation weight savings

Ha...but, .I don't feel the need for a G5 though. My old HSI and DG work just fine. Same argument. Lol
Mark Y. offline
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Re: Straight tail 182 alternator conversation weight savings

If your looking for a real weight savings, use the restroom before flight, about the same. I do like alternators for reliability and power out. Alternators are quite a bit simpler. Then since most, frankly all, are common to some sort of ground unit, parts are rather easy to come by. Not that smaller generator brushes are quite like the starter/generator on the Caravan, but hose brushes just set me back $800. The standby alternator is a Motorcraft, if you needed parts an entire alternator costs $45, not that I would approve or condone that. Just saying. The other issue with generators, especially old ones, they tended to use carbon pile regulators, with pile being the correct description. They vary their output with temperature. That and they never seem to want to stay adjusted as the old contacts get fuzzy.

So, I do like their reliability and maintainability and ease of adjustment. They tend to be less noisy, especially if you install the capacitor. If you install one, you most likely will never touch it again, aside from the belt. That would be my driving force, not the weight.
dogpilot offline
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