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#11
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Sealed Battery
I've been using a sealed battery for several years in an Aircoupe.
I haven't had much luck with the Gills...they seem to go flat after a year or two. My flying is once a week at most, and sometimes gaps of 2-4 weeks. This is near Sacramento, California so it's hot in the summer, cold but rarely freezing in the winter. That's hard on batteries I guess but that's the way it is. 6 months ago I got a Concorde sealed battery with "extra cranking" and it seems to work great. But I can't definitively compare it until a couple of years pass. But so far I like it better than the Gill. -- Life... is like a grapefruit. It's orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast. Douglas Adams |
#12
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Sealed Battery
Oh yeah. I don't use any charger between flights.
-- You know you've achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away. Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Wind, Sand and Stars |
#13
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Sealed Battery
Doug Vetter wrote: It's battery replacement time for the 172 and I'm contemplating the installation of a sealed battery to eliminate the destructive corrosion that's plaguing our new battery box. Doug: You need to also take a gander and see why you are having a corrosion problem, especially with a new box. Have you had your voltage regulator checked and verified that you are not overcharging the battery? Also, there are acid proof paints that can be used on the box interior that will help prevent corrosion. Craig |
#14
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Sealed Battery
In article ,
Newps wrote: Yes. Set properly. The simple fact of the matter is that even if you only fly once every two months there simply is no need for a charger of any kind. really? The battery doesn't discharge over time? Not enough to matter. well, my airplane (pa-28-140) starts much much better if I put the battery on an overnight charge when I don't fly it for a while. ymmv -- Bob Noel (goodness, please trim replies!!!) |
#15
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Sealed Battery
Concorde RG is the only way to go...
Get a 'battery maintainer' for all your batteries... This little gadget is 12.8 volts constant trickle about a 100 milliamps... It will not boil your battery or harm it left on 24/7... I get mine at Harbor Freight (cheap chinese junk) and have at least a dozen... The batteries on the diesel tractors, dozers, etc. all cost a bloody fortune and with the equipment not being started for 5 - 6 months out of the year, and with temps hitting 20 below, you can go through a lot of batteries/money every year or two...... Haven't lost a battery that is on a maintainer until they get really old and battered... denny |
#16
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Sealed Battery
I had always used Gill G25s in my 172M, up until January of
this year. I always had slow cranking and sometimes no cranking when the temp was 40 deg F or lower without charging the battery. I made two changes in January. I switched to the Concord RG-25XC and added the ability to connect a DelTran Battery Tender when the airplane was in the hangar. During the cooler months (can't say colder months since I'm in central Texas) I use the Battery Tender between flight, but don't during the warmer months (ok, ok during the hot months). If I recall correctly, the self discharge of the batterty is greater at high temperature rather than cold, so my useage of the float charge might seem backward. However, the charge voltage necessary to fully recharge the battery increases as temperature decreases. Therefore, unless the aircraft's voltage regulator is adjusted for temperature (which mine is not), at low temps the battery would not be fully recharged during flight. If you adjust the voltage regulator for proper voltage to recharge the battyer during winter, it is too high for summer operation. Also, the ability of the battery to produce current is dimished as temperature drops. See the "Aircraft Battery Owner - Operator Manual" at this link http://www.concordebattery.com/main_air_tech.php for Concord's view of battery operation. Therefore, I used the float charge during the winter months to get the battery back to 100% charged after each flight. Also, the fully charged state helped provided the heavier current required to turn over a cold soaked engine for the next startup. Anyway, since I made the change, I'm not once had the airplane fail to crank and start, which I did numerous time before. Only time will tell how thie Concord RG-25XC holds up as compared to the Gill G-25, but so far it has been great. Ronnie "Doug Vetter" wrote in message ... It's battery replacement time for the 172 and I'm contemplating the installation of a sealed battery to eliminate the destructive corrosion that's plaguing our new battery box. I've done some research courtesy of google and the consensus appears to be that the sealed units function equally well as wet cell units as long as they're kept charged, preferably with a smart charger like a "Battery Tender" that can properly float the battery. Many of the threads I read were several years old so I'd like to solicit some current opinions on the use of sealed batteries before I write the check. Opinions? -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- |
#17
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Sealed Battery
I just went to m log books. I installed a Gill 243 in my Cessna 185 on
1/23/97, and it still works like brand new. The secret is a desulphating battery charger, which I leave on continuously. 10+ years ain't bad................check the fluid level every quarter. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/...rsbattery.html Karl desulphating...................................... ..................................... "Ronnie" wrote in message t... I had always used Gill G25s in my 172M, up until January of this year. I always had slow cranking and sometimes no cranking when the temp was 40 deg F or lower without charging the battery. I made two changes in January. I switched to the Concord RG-25XC and added the ability to connect a DelTran Battery Tender when the airplane was in the hangar. During the cooler months (can't say colder months since I'm in central Texas) I use the Battery Tender between flight, but don't during the warmer months (ok, ok during the hot months). If I recall correctly, the self discharge of the batterty is greater at high temperature rather than cold, so my useage of the float charge might seem backward. However, the charge voltage necessary to fully recharge the battery increases as temperature decreases. Therefore, unless the aircraft's voltage regulator is adjusted for temperature (which mine is not), at low temps the battery would not be fully recharged during flight. If you adjust the voltage regulator for proper voltage to recharge the battyer during winter, it is too high for summer operation. Also, the ability of the battery to produce current is dimished as temperature drops. See the "Aircraft Battery Owner - Operator Manual" at this link http://www.concordebattery.com/main_air_tech.php for Concord's view of battery operation. Therefore, I used the float charge during the winter months to get the battery back to 100% charged after each flight. Also, the fully charged state helped provided the heavier current required to turn over a cold soaked engine for the next startup. Anyway, since I made the change, I'm not once had the airplane fail to crank and start, which I did numerous time before. Only time will tell how thie Concord RG-25XC holds up as compared to the Gill G-25, but so far it has been great. Ronnie "Doug Vetter" wrote in message ... It's battery replacement time for the 172 and I'm contemplating the installation of a sealed battery to eliminate the destructive corrosion that's plaguing our new battery box. I've done some research courtesy of google and the consensus appears to be that the sealed units function equally well as wet cell units as long as they're kept charged, preferably with a smart charger like a "Battery Tender" that can properly float the battery. Many of the threads I read were several years old so I'd like to solicit some current opinions on the use of sealed batteries before I write the check. Opinions? -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- |
#18
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Sealed Battery
On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 05:24:41 -0700, Denny wrote:
Concorde RG is the only way to go... I had my A&P pull the battery today and he told me that leaking electrolyte (the result of overcharging due to one or more weak cells) did quite a number on our brand new battery box. He said it was "salvageable" and my heart dropped. For $700 and a mere 6 months old, it better be. That damage made the decision to go for the sealed unit a no-brainer, and the comments in this thread made the decision to go with the Concorde. I should have it installed by the weekend. Hopefully the weather won't suck for my test flight. The jury is still out on whether I'll put a Battery Tender on it, but my experience with wet cell and AGM batteries is that they will last forever if floated and fail alarmingly often if left to discharge. Guess we'll wait and see. Thanks to all who responded. Very interesting and helpful information. -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- |
#19
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Sealed Battery
On Sep 4, 8:19 pm, Doug Vetter wrote:
On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 05:24:41 -0700, Denny wrote: Concorde RG is the only way to go... I had my A&P pull the battery today and he told me that leaking electrolyte (the result of overcharging due to one or more weak cells) did quite a number on our brand new battery box. He said it was "salvageable" and my heart dropped. For $700 and a mere 6 months old, it better be. That damage made the decision to go for the sealed unit a no-brainer, and the comments in this thread made the decision to go with the Concorde. I should have it installed by the weekend. Hopefully the weather won't suck for my test flight. The jury is still out on whether I'll put a Battery Tender on it, but my experience with wet cell and AGM batteries is that they will last forever if floated and fail alarmingly often if left to discharge. Guess we'll wait and see. Thanks to all who responded. Very interesting and helpful information. -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI -------------------- www.belzona.com Belzona makes several products which work very well in battery boxes or other areas which need protection from corrosion. CR1 also known as CR Barrier, 4311 or 4301. Another product is Belzona Immersion Grade also known as 5811. Both of these products will do an excellent job at protecting the battery box. This stuff in not the cheap Devcon or acid paint you pick up at Granger's. |
#20
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Sealed Battery
I have bought a PulseTech pulse type charge which is supposed
to provide desulphating operation (as per Aviation Consumer and per the various literature and patents I looked at) and used to to try to restore a couple of Gills which were marginal. I got both (a G25 and a G35) back to the point that they worked for a few months ok, but when cooler weather hit, they just couldn't cut muster. The battery manufactures state that there is sufficient lead and reactants in the typical lead-acid battery to last for 10 tens and that proper maintenance is the key to long battery life. However, I've never been able to get 10 years out of one no matter what I've tried. The PulseTech charger in now on my boat and for the last two years, it has been working as advertised on the boat's battery. Ronnie "karl gruber" wrote in message ... I just went to m log books. I installed a Gill 243 in my Cessna 185 on 1/23/97, and it still works like brand new. The secret is a desulphating battery charger, which I leave on continuously. 10+ years ain't bad................check the fluid level every quarter. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/...rsbattery.html Karl desulphating...................................... ..................................... "Ronnie" wrote in message t... I had always used Gill G25s in my 172M, up until January of this year. I always had slow cranking and sometimes no cranking when the temp was 40 deg F or lower without charging the battery. I made two changes in January. I switched to the Concord RG-25XC and added the ability to connect a DelTran Battery Tender when the airplane was in the hangar. During the cooler months (can't say colder months since I'm in central Texas) I use the Battery Tender between flight, but don't during the warmer months (ok, ok during the hot months). If I recall correctly, the self discharge of the batterty is greater at high temperature rather than cold, so my useage of the float charge might seem backward. However, the charge voltage necessary to fully recharge the battery increases as temperature decreases. Therefore, unless the aircraft's voltage regulator is adjusted for temperature (which mine is not), at low temps the battery would not be fully recharged during flight. If you adjust the voltage regulator for proper voltage to recharge the battyer during winter, it is too high for summer operation. Also, the ability of the battery to produce current is dimished as temperature drops. See the "Aircraft Battery Owner - Operator Manual" at this link http://www.concordebattery.com/main_air_tech.php for Concord's view of battery operation. Therefore, I used the float charge during the winter months to get the battery back to 100% charged after each flight. Also, the fully charged state helped provided the heavier current required to turn over a cold soaked engine for the next startup. Anyway, since I made the change, I'm not once had the airplane fail to crank and start, which I did numerous time before. Only time will tell how thie Concord RG-25XC holds up as compared to the Gill G-25, but so far it has been great. Ronnie "Doug Vetter" wrote in message ... It's battery replacement time for the 172 and I'm contemplating the installation of a sealed battery to eliminate the destructive corrosion that's plaguing our new battery box. I've done some research courtesy of google and the consensus appears to be that the sealed units function equally well as wet cell units as long as they're kept charged, preferably with a smart charger like a "Battery Tender" that can properly float the battery. Many of the threads I read were several years old so I'd like to solicit some current opinions on the use of sealed batteries before I write the check. Opinions? -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- |
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