Engine dehydrator/dehumidifier 12V system

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yuriytymo

Filing Flight Plan
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Nov 19, 2023
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yuriytymo
I built a really good dessiccant bead and fish tank pump system for my plane that is operates on 110V plug. It worked really well, kept my crankcase humidity at 10-20% humidity.
However, hurricane Milton had damaged my hanger and I have to sit on the open tie-down until it gets fixed. I'm planning on building 12V solar system to run a pump, but I don't want to invert the voltage.
Question: Is anyone aware of fish tank like air pump that runs on 12V?
 
Can’t comment on Production but I DO believe they protect engines well!
 
Look for a live-well aerator pump for fishing. Some come built-in for the boat (12v) and get hardwired, others are portable for a 5 gallon bucket and use batteries. Find a local bait shop or try Academy or Cabelas/Bass Pro, maybe Amazon.
 
For a lot more money, you could get a nitrogen generator and pump that into your engine.
 
If you do the solar right, you will have a USB port on the charge controller available to run a USB powered pump.
Even the cheap PWM type controllers include a USB port or two. (Edit: I'm laughing about this statement now because the one that came in the kit below does NOT have a USB port.)
Any idea about sizing?
Battery and panel are your two big ones. You could use the plane's battery as the battery and have it shut off when battery voltage drops to 12.6Vdc. Essentially that would have the system only operating when the sun is shining. You could lower that voltage as you see fit.

I have one of these and an extra panel:

The photo is from my first try. It is a 10 watt, 24Vdc panel that proved too small.

The panels are 12Vdc, 20 watt panels wired in series for my application. My plane has a 24Vdc battery. It keeps my battery fully charged year round. (Gill 242.) I have toyed with the idea of a peltier junction style dehumidifier in a box, with an aquarium pump, to keep the engine and/or the cabin of the plane. It would need a small heater in the box to keep it above freezing so the water would drain year round.

141BA115-EEB5-4124-A996-321557A2C977.jpeg
 
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