Re: switches and circuit breakers
I do have the AeroElectric but I am finding it hard to sit down and read it cover to cover with all the studies I have going on right now. Maybe I will jump ahead to that chapter for now. Thanks for your input. Does he have opinions about fuses vs. CBs?
Re: switches and circuit breakers
He most certainly does.
Eddie
Re: switches and circuit breakers
Bob is a proponent of fuses and not resetting/replacing anything in-flight. Following that advise, I have mounted my fuse blocks on the back-side of my panel (with mostly fuses that illuminate when blown). We'll have to see how that works out in practice.
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Re: switches and circuit breakers
I did the same, essential circuits on the nearside of the panel and nonessential on the farside.
Re: switches and circuit breakers
Re: switches and circuit breakers
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jmodguy
That was interesting, Jeff, but it's a pretty old article (2003) and the author specifically tested 3AG type glass fuses, rather than the more modern ATC type that are obviously much more robust. The result is that some of the negative conclusions he made about fuses don't pertain or are not relevant.
Re: switches and circuit breakers
Then there is the cost factor, CBs are nearly an order of magnitude more expensive and take up more room on the panel. Not that I am biased, mind you.
Re: switches and circuit breakers
My decision to go with CB's was very simply this: I wanted something that did not require having to have spare pieces stored where they could be quickly found. I already have to carry spare batteries for the headset, emergency handheld radio and flashlight, chargers for the phone, you get the idea. Too much stuff to keep track of.
Re: switches and circuit breakers
I had a discussion today with a couple peers about this. We are in the wiring and interconnect business and between the 3 of us there was about 87 years of experience and best practice discussed for close to 30 minutes. Education levels included EET, EE, and Masters in Physics. We discussed test methods for both fuses and circuit breakers, systems installation best practices and what ifs. We also discussed things like standard CB in flight reset procedures, i.e. only once, and fuse practicality with the risk of FOD etc. We could not come up with a reason to use fuses over CBs for any reason other than cost.
Granted fuses are cheap and CBs are pricey at @ $20 each. If fuses are a better way then why do aircraft manufacturers from Cessna to Boeing use CBs instead of fuses?
Re: switches and circuit breakers
My guess would be that Boeing and others will just pass the cost of those pricey objects on to us anyway.:D