Battery Life and Care

AGM is really the way to go, had good luck with battery minders too
 
Mark my words. We will all be going to some kind of lithium in ten years.

My motorcycle already benefits from a Shorai. 1/5 the weight and size......MUCH more power........not hazardous waste.

shorai.png


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shorai-Lith...ash=item3ad723eb44:g:-EAAAOSwA3dYdEe0&vxp=mtr
 
I am on my 2nd Odyssey battery in just over 3 years, and I keep it on an Odyssey charger per there recommendations. The first one only lasted 18 months and quit on a trip to cold country (even though the plane was in a heated hangar). I am going to replace it at 2 years because I don't trust Odyssey anymore. Just need to figure out what to replace it with.
 
Tucson is tough. Heat kills batteries. Odysseys outlive their expectations in Alaska!
 
retpd2001 said:
I am going to replace it at 2 years because I don't trust Odyssey anymore. Just need to figure out what to replace it with.
Click to expand...
Depending on how hard it is to remove the battery and how often you fly, you may consider removing it and storing it in an area cool after you fly. I have hear good things about the Concord battery.
 
AKBill said:
Depending on how hard it is to remove the battery and how often you fly, you may consider removing it and storing it in an area cool after you fly. I have hear good things about the Concord battery.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea when I take a road trip in the summer...
 
The Odyssey PC680 that has cranked my J-4 for two years as a ground power source, spent its first 10 years in my BMW R1100RT motorcycle.
 
To the O.P: Check your charging bus voltage. If it's a bit high, you will also fry the AGM battery. Concorde and Odyssey both have specs for that- and you need your voltage regulator adjusted In Accord with their specs, to get any good life out of the battery.....
 
I can't find the thread (too old maybe) about my Plane Power alternator not showing 13.8 - 14.0 volts with the engine running. However, I changed out my old Electrolux, Electro...something voltage regulator out for a Plane Power regulator with internal over-volt protection and she's putting out 13.8/9 volts now. Just thought I'd share and give thanks to those who commented on what it should be putting out.
 
Timbeck2 said:
I can't find the thread (too old maybe) about my Plane Power alternator not showing 13.8 - 14.0 volts with the engine running. However, I changed out my old Electrolux, Electro...something voltage regulator out for a Plane Power regulator with internal over-volt protection and she's putting out 13.8/9 volts now. Just thought I'd share and give thanks to those who commented on what it should be putting out.
Click to expand...

Electrodelta.
 
hawk25u said:
Then add 50 years for the Feds to approve it...
Click to expand...

By which time we'll have something far better, and wait another few decades for it to get FAA approval.
 
Some mechanics don't see any limitation for installing in CAR3 airplanes. The regs discuss a battery, not what kind.
 
I converted to sealed Concord batteries. No maintenance required. I replaced mine at six years because the prop was beginning to turn slow, and I was heading off into the boonies (as if where I love isn't boonies enough! :p ) Other than that, I don't do anything . . . Except crank her up and fly every now and then, just not as often as I'd like.
 
No aircraft alternator plus single voltage regulator system will ever charge a flooded or AGM lead-acid battery 100% correctly.

Flooded lead acids usually like to see about 2.40V per cell or 14.4VDC for float.

AGMs need a little lower than that for float at 2.25 to 2.3 but may need to be even lower at float in hot temperatures.

Problem is, you want a float voltage only after bulk charge and perhaps even an "absorption" charge rate.

No aircraft I've seen yet has a system to do a proper lead-acid battery charge. Everything in an alternator driven single-voltage system is a trade off, cost vs proper charging.

AGMs can also handle a LOT more current during the bulk charge phase, but you never see anyone upping the size of their alternator to be able to provide higher Amps, or the upping gauge of the cables going to the battery when they swap from traditional flooded lead-acid to AGM batteries.

A lot of damage when charging lead-acid batteries comes from heat. This is why our Arizona friends are constantly replacing batteries and us folks in colder climes get many more years out of the things. AGM especially don't like being charged hard above 77F.

I've got some AGMs that were designed for very high current draw applications (data center UPS service) that are about 75Ah and have lasted with proper three phase charging care at low charge rates for over a decade. Two of ten batteries now showing one shorted cell in ten or twelve years or so, and they were acquired after they were in service in a data center for two years. (The data center was only allowed to run them to manufacturer's warranty. They were not allowed to replace them "on condition" or test them. They just junked the entire bank every two years.)

Automotive and aircraft charging systems are some of the worst behaved when it comes to what we KNOW about how to properly charge lead-acid batteries now. A single voltage at "whatever it'll take for current" is well known to just be flat wrong.

People in hot climates with AGM might want to consider lowering their voltage regulator considerably. But that's me as a battery bank user guy talking and not an A&P or FAA legal beagle. Your mileage may vary. As may your voltage drop in long undersized battery cables. :)

Oh. Self discharge rates on traditional flooded cell are much higher than AGM also. If the airplane sits a lot... you get the idea. That or get a nice three stage charger that puts out the voltage number your manufacturer wants for float charging.

But just be aware that other industries DO get a decade out of lead-acid batteries of all sorts these days by charging them properly. The aviation battery manufacturers probably love that we're all beating hell out of their batteries with poor charging techniques. Sells more batteries.
 
I used Gills for years because I didn't know any better. I rarely got more than 2 years from a Gill.

Went to a sealed Concord battery two years ago. What a revelation. Always lots of cranking power, no leaking, what an improvement. Never going back to Gill.
 
So I installed a Concord RG-35AXC in my 1974 Beech Sport. I also installed a OAT/Voltmeter, as the Sport only has an amp meter. I am seeing 14.1V when flying everything on, radios 2 nav/com, strobe, landing light, transponder, GPS. Is this an acceptable operating voltage?
 
denverpilot said:
A lot of damage when charging lead-acid batteries comes from heat. This is why our Arizona friends are constantly replacing batteries and us folks in colder climes get many more years out of the things. AGM especially don't like being charged hard above 77F.
Click to expand...

The battery in my Tiger is under the cowling just behind cylinder #3 (getting direct radiant heat transfer from #3's exhaust pipe). Don't most light singles have their batteries in their engine compartments? If so, then isn't most of their charging time spent at temperatures well above Arizona ambient? Even when the outside temperature is cold? That would seem to wash out differences in ambient temperature. Or does the recharge after the initial start of the day cause the difference in battery life due to climate?
 
AKBill said:
So I installed a Concord RG-35AXC in my 1974 Beech Sport. I also installed a OAT/Voltmeter, as the Sport only has an amp meter. I am seeing 14.1V when flying everything on, radios 2 nav/com, strobe, landing light, transponder, GPS. Is this an acceptable operating voltage?
Click to expand...
Yes, that is a good voltage it shows it is getting a good charge. I've got an EI volt/amp gauge and it will show from 13.8 to 14.1. Once some years ago when the generator failed (brushes went bad) when the voltage dropped below 10 the radios quit.
 
most/all aircraft batteries in south fl last 2 years 1 month16 days 7 hours and 22 seconds. am on auto order from spruce
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top