Airplane Batteries

Morgans wrote:

"George Patterson" wrote

Not mine. The Gill batteries in my C-150 lasted about 6 years.

What is your secret for success? Do you have it inside,heated, trickle
charge it, fly often?

I kept it tied down in New Jersey, charged the battery once a year during the
annual, and flew 70-100 hours a year. Flying was pretty regularly spaced out
over the year except for those periods when unexpected maintenance was
necessary. I flew few really long flights, though I did make Sun'n Fun once.

Prior to my buying the plane, it was kept tied down in West Virginia. It flew
about 4 hours in the year before I bought it. I had to replace the battery a few
years after I bought the plane in 1989. According to the logs and the tags on
the battery, it was a little over 6 years old. I sold the plane in 1996. The new
owner is also in New Jersey and kept it tied down. As of 1998, the battery was
still going strong, but I haven't spoken with the man since then. The plane is
still registered to the guy who bought it from me.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

I've gotten at least 9 years each on the last three Gill batteries on
my 172M. I make sure the plates never get exposed - even filling with
tap water or from a nearby mud puddle. Rarely a trickle charger unless
it has been or going to sit for a couple of months. I always get
starts in one or two revolutions. Cessna has a good electrical system
in my book.

Distilled water is cheap and can even be drunk in an
emergency. Using tap water in a battery will introduce
whatever minerals are in the local water and that will
damage the chemical reaction in the cells.

A solidly mounted battery, isolated from heavy vibration,
not over charged and always kept a "full charge" will last a
long time. Having a battery adequate for the starter loads
and maintaining the electrical system so that excessive load
doesn't over-heat the plates and cause them to warp is
important.

If you fly day/VFR, a good battery is a luxury that lets you
get started. IFR and night makes the battery essential.
Even replacing the battery every year or two is cheaper than
a funeral.
--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
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"nrp" wrote in message
oups.com...
| I've gotten at least 9 years each on the last three Gill
batteries on
| my 172M. I make sure the plates never get exposed - even
filling with
| tap water or from a nearby mud puddle. Rarely a trickle
charger unless
| it has been or going to sit for a couple of months. I
always get
| starts in one or two revolutions. Cessna has a good
electrical system
| in my book.
|

IFR and night makes the battery essential.
Even replacing the battery every year or two is cheaper than
a funeral.

I agree - although I've always been able to see an impending failure
(except when I've left the master on......)

Before I wrote my recombinant gas (sealed) battery article for Kitplanes, I
called and had quite a talk with their chief engineer. It seems that a RG
battery likes to be discharged to a particular level (about 12.8 volts as I
recall) then recharged to 13.4, then discharged, then recharged...

This, as I was told, gets the maximum life out of the RG batteries. Simply
putting them on trickle charge is what kills them.

Jim

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 16:23:54 -0800, "RST Engineering"
wrote:

Before I wrote my recombinant gas (sealed) battery article for Kitplanes, I
called and had quite a talk with their chief engineer. It seems that a RG
battery likes to be discharged to a particular level (about 12.8 volts as I
recall) then recharged to 13.4, then discharged, then recharged...

This, as I was told, gets the maximum life out of the RG batteries. Simply
putting them on trickle charge is what kills them.

Yup. If they flunk a cap check, you charge them and hit 'em again.

Discharging them fully (or over-charging) is another story though...

TC

IFR and night makes the battery essential.

Even replacing the battery every year or two is cheaper than
a funeral.

I agree - although so far I've always been able to see an impending
failure thru charging current anomalies except when I've left the
master on......

On the other hand there just might be an infant mortality among 15 - 30
batteries that would have been needed to cover the 30 years I've had
this 172M. I'm glad I have a 12 V system though.

Jim Macklin wrote:

Distilled water is cheap and can even be drunk in an
emergency.

Well sure, that's essentially what bottled water is anyways.

"Newps" wrote in message
...
Well sure, that's essentially what bottled water is anyways.

Distilled is hardly the same as filtered (which is actually what bottled
water typically is).

Peter Duniho wrote:
"Newps" wrote in message
...

Well sure, that's essentially what bottled water is anyways.


Distilled is hardly the same as filtered (which is actually what bottled
water typically is).

Most bottled water is dead water. You couldn't find a mineral in there
to save your life.