Battery box ID?

[senior]

I recieved this battery box with my Taylorcraft BC.
Would it be an original Taylorcraft Deluxe box??
I have no need for it & it's in good shape so looking for a reasonable value to put on it?

It's aluminum
L 10-1/2"
W 6"
H 8-1/4"

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Battery box ID?

pretty certain that is a piper box. deluxe or any early box would be 6 volt and square. i have an original from the deluxe i redid a few years back

[senior]

Re: Battery box ID?

Never thought of that.
Does that mean the Wind generator & VR that came with it would also be 6V?
Which brings up another question, I assume I can not use the bulbs that came in the running lights?

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Battery box ID?

I think what he is saying is the original Taylorcraft Deluxe had a square 6V Batt box (I made a replica of that box for my Deluxe). The box you are asking about looks like a 12V Piper box. If you make a copy of the original Taylorcraft box you can put a more modern 12V battery in it and you don't need to take out the original bulbs. They will blow as soon as you turn the switch on. The sockets in my plane took either 6 or 12V bulbs so I made sure all of mine were 12V bulbs. If you are using a Ward Aero generator it is 12V so you will need to change your bulbs if they haven't been already.
Hank

A quick and dirty check for a bulb you can't read the numbers on is to put 6V on it. If it glows bright, it is probably 6V. A 12V bulb will be very dim on 6V. If you DO have 6V bulbs, put them on the shelf as a conversation piece. I doubt they are very common any more.

[Ron Coleman]

Re: Battery box ID?

Hey Hank! don't talk about 6 V. bulbs that way, Most of my Studebakers, all of my Indian motorcycles and my Taylorcraft use 6 Volt bulbs. I get them at the auto parts stores.

RonC

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Battery box ID?

I knew you could order them, but had no idea they were still on the shelves! Nothing wrong with them, it's just that the higher the voltage for the same Watts the smaller the wire is. That's a major reason most planes are 24V now. High voltage low current makes wires, generators, batteries and everything else lighter for the same power. That's one of the reasons when you use a 120V household switch on a 12V circuit it catches fire. (Don't ask) The contacts in the switch can't handle the current load.
Hank

By the way, the car WILL start by the time the switch catches fire! Not fun to turn it off.

[Bird]

Re: Battery box ID?

LOL Hank, when I was a 10 year old kid I wanted to make a super electro magnet, 1 piece of wood, 2-16 penny nails, alot of wire good for a flashlight, then cut the cord off a old lamp in the basement.
Thank god for circuit breakers.

[lawheelock]

Re: Battery box ID?

Hank,
The real reason why the 120v switch may catch fire on a 12V circuit is that the contact spacing when the switch opens is inadequate.
The 120V household voltage is 60 cycle alternating current. With alternating current, the current passes through zero 120 times per second and so that the arc from breaking the circuit is extinguished. When used on 12 V (which in the example is DC) and the switch is opened under load especially if the load has an inductive component, the ensuing arc will not be extinguished and a fire is likely. To be used on direct current, DC, a switch has to open with more physical spacing of the contacts than if the same switch is rated for AC.
Menial, but important facts when obtaining switches or circuit breakers for use in our Taylorcrafts. They need a DC current rating that is adequate for the load. The same switch or circuit breaker will have a much higher AC current rating not because of adequacy of contact material but physical spacing on the break.
Larry Wheelock, N96179

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Battery box ID?

Good info Larry! I'm not an electrical engineer so all I knew was it makes a lot of noise and burns nice an hot.
Hank

Good to know why what happens, happens.