Charging station: generator
 

We looking at getting our club out of the stone age. We want to build a charging station. We have concluded a generator is the way to go ( reliable, easy, cheap, cost etc.. ) . Can anyone point me to a club/thread/website that has done this or has information regarding this subjest? Also does AMA have any guidelines on this? Appreciate any help. BTW our budget is around $1-1500, could go a little more if needed. Thanks


Mark

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Check with the One Wing Low Sauadron http://www.onewinglowsquadron.org/. They have a charging station powered by deep discharage lead acid batteries that are kept charged with a couple of solar panels. Seems to work well for them.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

this day and age, i would be thinking that an unguarded genset, well, that might be hard for a thief type to resist. would look into the solar panels and maybe even a home use size wind turbine. both of those could be used, together even, to maintain the battery bank.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Just wondering if you guys have exhausted all the possibilities of getting on the grid?

I know from experience that generators can become costly very quick... They really love fuel! Solar and/or wind might work but demands on what ever energy that can be stored mounts very fast... I know of one club that uses a fairly large solar system and deep cycle batteries. Works ok but when demand is high it fails to keep up.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

I don't know where on the AMA website the subject is, but I do know the AMA does
have a grant program for flying site improvements.
The AMA did give a grant to the club I am a member of for a shade awning
amounting to approx. $20,000.00.

Good luck in your endeavour.

Happy flyin', Oscar

RE: Charging station: generator
 

http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/712.pdf

You can get some very fine generators for less than $1500.

There are small quiet generators. Used my son's to charge power tools and do batteries for hand tools while building his new Deer Stand back in early Oct. Worked fine.
I have two bigger ones that are for storm times."IKE" gave us 10 days without power. I had my 220 well, my garage with extra large refrig. and a Freezer going plus half my house except air conditioning. NOT QUIET!

If at all possible get public power lines. Have it all. Don't be cheap. If fliers can afford multi-Thousand $$$ 3-D models they can afford electric power for their facility.

Nice to have it. Power at all tables under 5000 sq. ft metal over concrete, indoor rest facilities, own well, and an airconditioned kitchen and sitting area. Upgrade to a country club rather than a patch of grass. [>:];)

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Thanks for the replies. We are on an old dump site, way out in the country. We rent from the city, getting on the grid is really not an option (huge$ and acessabilty). Thought about a solar system but decided on a generator for ease, price, and reliability. We've never had anything stolen so not real concerned. The northern tool generators are attractive for price, and you can purchase an extended warranty for 4 more years. It's basically bring it in and they'll replace it. I was hoping someone had a wiring diagram and pictures of there set-ups..

Mark

RE: Charging station: generator
 

I think you're going to get tired real fast of the noise a generator produces. One of the busiest public fields in the country uses a Solar/Battery system for their electric only area, I think they keep a generator around as a back up to the batteries running down,

You should try asking them for details,, http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_839955/tm.htm

good luck

RE: Charging station: generator
 

A shame you cannot get on the grid...that is always the best option if available.

One thing that helps with the generator noise is to locate it as far as possible/practical from the pit area. Also, some type of small shelter with some sound deadening features (foam or similar)would be worth looking into. Have one end open for cooling and access for fueling, but have that end facing away from the pit area.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

If you use a genset the sounds from the planes "dead sticks" ect. You realy may not like loosing the sounds made by the planes to fly.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Might get pricy, but a gen set to back up a couple of deep cycle batteries is probably the ticket. Add solar cells if the first part does not cost too much. Without the batteries, I believe you will build hours far too quickly on a home grade generator for it to last any length of time. Extended warranty or not, you guys will get tired of taking it back. With the batteries, the gen set will only have to run briefly to top up, rather than all day. You could not put that noise far enough away for me.

Good luck. Let us know what you guys decide to do, and how it works out.

Bedford

RE: Charging station: generator
 

My kids high school marching band made a gen set for the sound system and amplifiers they use.  You could not hear it from the stands even when during pauses between sets were they were not playing.  Standing on the field waiting to move the equipment you could hear it but still very quite.  They bought a generator advertised to be very quite, and put it in a plywood box lined with rubber insulation.

If only used for charging batteries, I would consider a solar panel charging some car batteries.  But the generator will allow you to add other AC powered equipment as well.

Don't count out power.  Even many dumps have power, and even if it does not presently have power it may have at one time.  I would call the electric company rather than assume it is not available.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

I've lost track. Why, exactly, is this in the AMA Discussion Forum?? So far I have not really seen the tie in with the AMA.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

TORKS in OKC is using a solar cell set from harbor freight and deep charge batteries. We can charge over 20 packs at a time. Has worked quite well for a year now.

Oh, the last time we tried to use the generator, it took two weeks to get it fixed because the fuel had gunked up the carb because someone forgot to run it once a month.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

bill,
for no other or better reason than, that is where the op put it.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

looks like an AMA question right there

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Got it. So that brings me to something I have been wondering about for sometime. if 11 dimensional space has indeed obviated string theory in favor of M theory and now allows for the previously incongruous results of Big-Bang reverse extrapolation to be reconciled can we now assume that UFOs have visited our universe? And also, does the AMA have any guidelines on this?

Wow, I never knew it was so easy to make something AMA related!!

RE: Charging station: generator
 

M theory is an extension of string theory and has nothing to do with UFO's. Finding new dimensions with their math is a bit like finding new earth planets. Nice to know but you can never go there. At least with the new planets found we know they are real. The string and M theory dimensions are just that theory's.

Though there are many P-Brains here who are obviously from the dimension with weak mental force.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Geeze guys,, why so off topic and sarcastic??,

Why is it so hard to answer a simple question, does AMA have any guidelines or recommendations on Electric charge stations for clubs? Gotta be something in that Rag they send us every month. No?

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Seems like a legit question to me. MAhas run some articles about flying site improvements and rightly so - AMAwouldn't exist without chartered club sites.
Major Tomski scooped me on the topic, as what his club uses was just the ticket for a club flying site Iuse: solar panel from Harbor Freight (abt $750 IIRC) and couple of marine deep cycle batteries that were donated by a member that is in the boat business. Adistribution panel inside a lock box has ports for half a dozen chargers (easily expanded if/when the need arises), and usage of club members numbering about 100 (80-90% electric flyers now) has never run it out of capacity in two or three years we've had it. Iagree with others that commented about the noise and maintenence of a generator, and in our case there is the additional issue of fueling - the site owning agency won't allow fuels to be stored on site. Solar is working best for us.

CJ

RE: Charging station: generator
 

String Theory and aliens?

I dont recall articles on that in the AMA's magazine,
however I do recall field charging stations (solar iirc) being in AMA's magazine.

AMA sees fit to have guides on so many things we do at the clubs
(like paintball or field layouts for example)
it seems a logical question as to what guidance AMA has for field power, and even going so far as to get info on insurance and funding assistance that AMA provides

RE: Charging station: generator
 

So anything ever mentioned in MA is suitable for a thread in this forum?? Previously it seemed that Ken was pretty tight about threads here having to do directly with the AMA as an organization. But it seems that is no longer the case.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

Well, there's AMA's own forum, if that's more to your liking - how's that medium doing BTW? It seems more restrained as to what is acceptable as to what topics are adjudged as fit for discussion than what RCKen allows. Perhaps this topic should only be discussed in the AMALeader Member's secret forum. You are a LM, no?

RE: Charging station: generator
 

So string theory is not an allowed topic here?  I guess the CL guys will be disappointed.

RE: Charging station: generator
 

You completely missed my point. I think generators and charging stations are wonderful topics, I was just curious how they relate to the AMA? Other than the single question about if there is an AMA guideline, how do you see this being a topic for the AMA discussion forum as opposed to say the Clubhouse forum or a battery/charging forum, etc.?