On Thursday, January 17, 2013 1:46:15 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I have been very actively looking for the perfect "new technology" battery solution for my glider for a few years. I have been looking to fill two battery trays in my 27B fitted for the standard 6' x 2.6" x 3.7" 12 volt 9ah lead batteries with lighter and higher amp hour batteries. There has been lots of discussion around various solutions here on the web over the last few years. Many glider pilots have already switched to one "new tech" battery or another and report good results.



So Boeing is not dumb. I highly doubt they are roughly handing their lithium batteries and I am sure their wiring is better than most glider wiring patch jobs! But here they are having problems with batteries smoking and even possibly worse while in use. I sure don't want to have that problem when I am at 17,999 ft behind my head. Are the "new age" batteries being used by gliders safer than those at Boeing? I am not trying to make a statement with this thread or questions. I am still moving down the path of switching out batteries before the season and want to make the correct/safe decision. Why are they having problems and we are not so far?



BTW, my panel is full of fun electronic toys and if I ever want to do a 10+ hour flight, 2 9ah lead batteries will be hard pressed to get the job done.



Oh yeah, sign up for the Nephi, Utah Camp August 7-11



Thanks,

Bruno - B4

The A123 (Nanophosphate-Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries are regarded as being extremely tolerant to abuse. From my RC plane flying you generally won't have any issue if the batteries are kept at a moderate temp and they aren't overcharged. Boeing's issue is believed to be overheating, which is pretty reasonable given the load that they have.

JP