Quick question on B17 Battery

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FireRescue85
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Quick question on B17 Battery

Post by FireRescue85 »

Hey guys,

Been flying the B17 for a while, but I'm newly registered to this site. I just have a quick (and most likely obvious) question: After landing and shutdown procedures have finished, I'll usually check the fluid levels in the ctrl+4 window to see if anything needs to be topped of or if there have been any new leaks, and I notice that the "charge battery" button is usually illuminated, which I take it means the batteries need to be charged.

I guess I have a 2 part question:

1) When flying, do the generators charge the batteries from an alternator or is there another way to charge them, since I don't believe the APU charges them

2) To save on battery wear and tear, do you guys usually turn off the batteries while flying and just electric power from the generators?

Any help would be appreciated,

Thank you and happy flying,
-Scott
Fire Marshall, Firefighter/Emergency Medical Tech.

B-17G
B377
L-049

alan CXA651
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Re: Quick question on B17 Battery

Post by alan CXA651 »

Hi.
What colour in shift +4 window is the batt illuminated , if green it means one or more are getting a bit run down , so keep an eye on the hangar , when they need changing it will show there , if illuminated white , they are good.
The APU is fired up to take the load away from batts so they dont get run down during engine start ups.
The batts on any aircraft are left on in flight and get recharged by the generators/alternators.
Regards alan. 8)
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Piper_EEWL
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Re: Quick question on B17 Battery

Post by Piper_EEWL »

Also usually if you turn off the battery connection in flight you won't have any electrical power available. So turning them off isn't an option.

Many GA planes don't even have an extra battery switch. You only have a masterswitch that turns generator and battery on.
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

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WB_FlashOver
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Re: Quick question on B17 Battery

Post by WB_FlashOver »

No worries FireRescue85,
My batteries go from need charging to fulling charged and back again. And yet in over 1000 hours I only replaced one battery. You can also watch the condition of each battery with the following steps. Make sure all power ((including APU) is off. Put inverter to normal and turn on battery one. Read AC Voltmeter on dash to right of Florescent/UV light control. It should read around 20ish (it will fluctuate) but they all should be close to each other in voltage. Now battery one off and battery two on, check voltage, etc.

Roger
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FireRescue85
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Re: Quick question on B17 Battery

Post by FireRescue85 »

The color of the "charge battery" is green, I was just curious as to why it's illuminated after the flight if they're fairly new batteries. Also, does anyone know if there is any way to 'charge' them without hitting the charge batteries button? (off the APU, by generators, etc.)
Fire Marshall, Firefighter/Emergency Medical Tech.

B-17G
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L-049

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Piper_EEWL
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Re: Quick question on B17 Battery

Post by Piper_EEWL »

FireRescue85 wrote:The color of the "charge battery" is green, I was just curious as to why it's illuminated after the flight if they're fairly new batteries. Also, does anyone know if there is any way to 'charge' them without hitting the charge batteries button? (off the APU, by generators, etc.)
The APU will help you preserve the battery life since it can provide the power for startup. This way the batteries don't get strained so much on the ground. The genetayors will charge the batteries in flight.
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

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