On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 11:17:54 -0400, David O
wrote:


Rob Cherney wrote:

I did a lot of research on batteries and settled on the Odyssey when a
replacement was needed for Long-EZ N271J. I put a PC-925 (27 A-h) in
her back in February. So far, so good.

I use a sealed lead-acid lawn tractor battery from the local
automobile parts store in my Long EZ -- about $25 as I recall. I swap
it out every 2 to 3 years. It cranks in 20 degree F temps and I've
never had one fail. I prefer this to buying an expensive battery and
hoping it will last 4+ years.

Trading lifetime for cost works when you have easy access to the battery to
swap it out (like Long-EZs I've seen) but it's a bear when it's hard to
access the battery. The gel-cell in my Fly Baby is mounted forward of the
instrument panel, flush with the cockpit floor, underneath a big box
containing all the avionics and electrical system paraphernalia (circuit
breakers, gauges, etc.). Getting to the box requires jackknifing as far as
the instrument panel will let me or almost standing on my head hanging over
the cockpit sidewalls.

The box, as it exists now, cannot be removed without physically dismounting
the transponder (hardwired with no connectors). I can, barely, move it far
enough to get the battery out from underneath.

Needless to say, this is NOT a process I like to do very often. I'll
gladly pay $25 or $50 more for a battery I only have to replace every four
years instead of every two.

Now, if only I could find one... :-)

Ron "Standing on my head next weekend" Wanttaja