Who makes the best power panel?

Wish I could help but I dont use one. If you have a remote nicad you don't need one either. later daveo

Thanks for the Reply...Can anyone give me a good reason TO HAVE A POWER PANEL? I'm new and clueless...

A power panel is handy if you plan to use an electric starter and an electric fuel pump. My Hanger 9 panel shot craps very early on as far as the glow ignitor system is concerned, but I still use it for the other functions. An electric starter can be run from a battery box without a power panel, and many use mechanical fuel pumps. A starter may well be considered a safety matter, so don't lightly decide to do without one. I have been flying these things for over 40 years, and the electric starter is one of the best things to happen to beginners. Hard on engines, sometimes, but......... Good luck, Dzl

I got rid of my power panel. More hassle than it was ever worth. Electric fuel pump goes out and your done for the day. It springs a leak and your box gets full of fuel. You plug a glow lead to it and the wires always find the prop. You plug a starter in and the wires get tripped over, tangled in everything above ground level, and eventually find the prop.

I now use a remote glow driver. The one I have now is in it's 5th season of weekly flying and still going strong. I use a hand crank fuel pump...also 5 years old and still works like the day I bought it. I zip-tied my starter to the top of my battery, and it works like a charm. Simplicity rules. For years I had all the fancy junk because everyone else had it. Not anymore. Simply isn't needed to enjoy an afternoon of flying.

My experience has been opposite of Tattoo. After many years without either electric starter or fuel pump, I built a line box using a lawn mower battery and a tower power panel with a fuel pump and tower starter. I still use a self contained igniter but the box is a real convenience. Everything I need is in one convenient easy to carry unit. If you like, I can send you a picture via e-mail

I was new to the hobby and bought all the gadgets. I wish now I would have talked to a few people. I never use my field box other than for my electric fuel pump, the electric starter sits in the field box and is never used. I use an remote glow starter and I am thinking about scraping my field box all together and buying a Dave Brown fuel system. I think my box and all the toys cost about 200.00.

It was a waste of cash[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

yeah, we only have an electric pump plugged into ours. It's nice, to have it, but only in case your' remote glow start quits, but you can always ask some one to borrow theirs.

It is considered better to run your electric starter directly from the battery, and yeah, keep teh wires away for the moving parts!

Hand crank fueller is fine... A turkey baster even works, but is a little trickier to use!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

If you DO need to buy anything, buy the field charger, where you can charge up your Tx & Rx batteries from your car battery. Both can be fully charged in about 15 - 20 minutes. And teh newer ones come with a remote glow starter charging jack..

ThanksGuys, I really appreciate all your help!

I should have gave you a little more info. My flight box came with a place for a power panel. I just cut a piece of ply to cover the hole and put two brass bolts through it. These are attached to the battery and my starter and
fuel pump clip to them with alligator clips. Very easy and very cheap. later daveo