I'm with Bruce and I can count on 3 fingers how many times I have left the master on since 1973. Two times were with a generator and one with an alternator.Bruce Fenstermacher wrote:There are those with piano keys that have never left the master on and there are those that haven't yet done so. I'm in the later camp and I have good company.wabuchanan wrote:One of the truly nice things about having Piano switches, is not leaving the Master on. Just a quick glance at the switches confirms all are off. If any doubts, just run your hand under them. I've never left it on since buying the plane.
The two times with a generator were non-events. I simply secured the plane, hand propped it, got it, and continued my flight. The battery was recharged when I landed.
With the alternator, it was a different story. It hand propped ok but the battery was dead enough that it would not excite the alternator so I had to shut down, open the cowl and battery box (no small effort), connect battery charger, wait awhile to see if the battery (Concord AGM) would take enough charge to excite the alternator, disconnect and close up everything (did not want to start the engine with everything open), hand prop the engine, still no charge. Repeat everything and wait about 1/2 hour for the charger to get enough into the battery to excite the alternator, close everything up, hand prop the engine, FINALLY it started charging and the battery was recharged at the end of the flight and was fine for another couple of years.
That's when I had the idea of using a 9v battery to excite the alternator but never went any further and I haven't left the master on again since then either.
Also, as noted in the F&M oil filter adapter thread, my alternator was too large to allow the new Tempest filter adapter to be installed, another unintended consequence of STCs that the installer has to deal with.