Originally posted by lslewis
Exactly what I was looking for. Now I got to come to grips with the $ and the weight.
I'm still putting the finishing touches on mine. I don't have the fueling "stuff" installed yet (the electric pump just arrived yesterday) and I'm going to add some external tool holders to the side panels as its a bit of a hassle to root through the deep drawers whilst looking for the right-sized balldriver.
As for weight - its OK so far. Mine is made out of maple, (not plywood) so it isn't terribly heavy to begin with.
I'm going to use a 10-cell nicad pack for power instead of the usual 12V 5A motorcycle battery. I've been using a similar pack in my 'sailplane' field box for a while. 1000 mAh weighs 10 oz. and is plenty powerful enough to power a quick charger.
I also use nicads on my starter - 12 1700 mAh cells. Tons of power and only needs charging once every other week.
These are great as they only weigh about a pound-and-a-half as compared with the 4 - 6 pounds of the ever-popular 12V gel-cell.
I haven't decided whether to use a gallon-sized fuel bottle or just a 2-quart-sized one. The guy at planepals.com recommends that you use a 1-gallon can as the fueling caps that fit onto fuel jugs don't give you a lot of clearance at the top and are wide at the bottom. (sounds like a girl I knew once.
) I use one of the slimline fueling caps which connect through the side as opposed to the top; it fits fine.
Gonna work on the plumbing issues to-night. For those of you that PM'ed me I'll post a couple of pics later.