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stein master kit vs Vans harness kit

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prkaye

Well Known Member
I'm trying to decide between buying the Stein "Experimental Aircraft Master Kit", and Vans wiring harness kit. The vans kit has the advantage that more is done for you (terminals already done, wires labelled), but the Stein kit contains more stuff (like tools) and is more flexible.
The Vans kit is $350 and the Stein kit is $550.
Suggestions? Others who have used eitehr of these kits and would or would-not do it again?
 
Phil,

I bought the Van's wiring kit, cut it up, and used what parts I could. If I were going to do it again, I wouldn't bother. However, I would buy the heavy stuff (starter wires, battery wires, etc.) from Van's.

The standard wiring harness is really set up for the pre-punched Van's panel with their selection of instruments. If you do something different, then you will be changing the wiring.
 
Vans kit

Phil
I've used Van's wiring kit on the last 4 planes I've built. They are well thought out, complete and make wiring your plane very easy. You can modify the kit like I have, by replacing a screw terminal binding post with a fuse block for things like an avionics buss, etc.
Then again if you fail to read and utilize the "Aero Electric Connection" your electrical system won't impress any electrical engineers.;)
 
I had ordered Van's prefab'd wiring kit, thinking I could use most of it. Well, I was wrong.

I built a -6A. If you exactly follow the build plans for your 7 (or whatever a/c)...AND...you use Van's instrument panel...and you follow all of Van's suggestions for the electrical system...then the prefab'd wiring harness may be ok.

Of course, I did not follow anything like that for my slow build -6A. Plus, I put in a full Garmin stack, Advanced engine monitor, Dynon EFIS, bells and whistles, as well as the standard steam gauge six-pack. I have used very little of the wiring kit, and really only try and find a length of wire with a pre-installed ring terminal. I usually cut off the other end because the wire is too long.

For my next a/c, I will just order lengths of wire and terminals by the 20's. Bottom line...the more you deviate from what Van gives you, the more you get to do on your own.
 
I bought Steins kit

I bought the kit from Stein's and while I have not yet wired my Rocket, I have used some of the kit rewiring my -4. I like having the assortment of terminals, grommets, fuses, snap bushings, wire, and heat shrink at my disposal. It allows complete flexibility in how you want to wire you airplane. You can also modify the kit to meet your specific needs so you are not buying things you will not use. The "kit" is really just a bulk purchase that allows you to save 10% off Stein's regular pricing. Note that the wires in the standard kit all come white, so if you want coloured wiring you would have to specify that.

I have bought other items (Dynon, Trutrak) from this supplier, and while I have not needed to test their "customer service" their reputation precedes them and I am comfortable that if I do have a problem I will be looked after.
 
I used vans kit with two dynons, and the normal stack. it worked well and i didnt change much. I added C/Bs to all the switches.

Getting started is the pain cause all the wires are bundled and tied and i changed them some. It would have been simpler to run the wires one strand at a time and if i do it again thats what i'll do.

I still ended up buying loads of terminals, tools, and wire from stein and B&C. they all worked great.

in a nutshell if you are going to follow the plans exclusively, then use vans, if not then go with steins.
 
I also bought the Stein kit, when I started wiring my wings and didn't really know what I needed. Not everything in the kit will be useful to me (short battery cable won't work on the -10 and, whoa, that's a lot of snap bushings).

In my case, the real value of Stein's kit is having mostly everything you need in one place, from the start.

-Rob
 
We bought the Van's kit - useless !

The problem is usually a reluctance to dive in with a new skill.

Well, you learned to rivet didn't you - well learn to wire :D

Get the Aero Electric manual, read it, take an aspirin, read it again - repeat until it makes sense.

Then buy decent strippers for Tefzel wire and a little schnickler for the co ax cable, proper crimpers, get correct terminals and get stuck in.

We are building together. My Bro and I do different skills so we don't duplicate and dilute. If you are building with a buddy - one does the terminals, the other does the routing and sheathing. Both get a buzz out of doing their bit and your progress.
 
It may depend on the a/c model

Part of why you are getting differing opinions here may be because of different aircraft models. For my -8, Van's kit was a huge help getting started.

For the -8, most everything goes to a long terminal strip (that you fab from the kit) so it doesn't matter what your panel layout is, etc. You use those terminals to branch out to everything you need. I made a few minor mods, but mostly used it as the framework to expand on. You will still be adding tons of wires of your own.

So, the -9 may be very different, can't advise on that.

Its amazing, even for a simple VFR airplane, how many wires it takes.
 
Wiring Kit

I ordered the Van's wiring kit early in the build process and discovered before I had run my first real wire that it was not going to be usefull if there were any deviations from Vans very simple wiring design.

My design was much more complex, so I ended up cutting the wires from Vans harness and used what I could.

If you are rolling your own, you will be much better off assembling your own project-specific wire / parts list. That not only makes you get into the very gory details of your custom design, it also builds a very in-depth understanding of what you are proposing to do. Like it did for me, it may also reveal a few "Life is harder when you're stupid" design points.
 
coloured wiring

so if you want coloured wiring you would have to specify that.
Click to expand...
I really like this idea. I have basically decided to go with the Stein kit, modified to include an assortment of different colours of wires. Can you recommend a reasonable breakdown of what portions to get in different colours, as a starting point? I know it really depends on personal choices, but would getting equal lengths of 4 or 5 different colours be a good way to start?
 
make half the wires black!

Its easy to forget that everything gets a ground. Just being able to trace ground wires some time in the future may be a huge time saver. If there was one single thing I wish I could have done, that would be it.
 
I went with Stein's kit as well. I have deviated quite a bit from Van's and standard inst. I have basically followed Bob Nuchol's Z-11 and Vans standard schematics. They are pretty close to each other and simple for VFR/night. It's really nice having all the stuff, and I find myself using a lot of one item, and few of another. What I found lacking was enough 16 & 18 ga wire. I had to order more of each. Also shielded wire for avionics. Almost everything in the radios uses shielded wire. I've ordered/spent as much on other stuff as I have for the kit. Still have to get the com antennas too, and I'll get them from Stein too. Great guys to deal with
 
Basic wiring kit

I bought vans basic wiring kit for my 8A. I am putting in a very basic panel so I didn't think I would use a pre-made harness to its full advantage. I had absolutely no wiring skills. I regreted buying the kit from Vans, I didn't have near as much wire as I needed for my aircraft and found myself buying more of what I needed. There were a quite a few other things I found myself well short of. The loom they put in the kit is the black flexible cut down the side kind, not a big fan of that either. Everything I have bought from Vans has been great, wouldn't buy the basic wiring kit again however.
 
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