I still use a 14 volt battery as the main power in my LAK-17a. It's made up
of 2 x 4v and 1 x 6v batteries in series. It came originally with my LS-6a
back in 1992 and the batteries are contained in a nicely TIG welded box
which holds them in a long line. I also got one of those big black smart
chargers that used to be advertised in Soaring Magazine (in either 12- or
14-volt ranges).

When I got the LAK, it had 2 x 12 volt batteries, a long, skinny pack in the
vertical fin and a standard 12 volt battery in the baggage compartment. It
also came with one of those big black smart chargers as above. Now the 14
volt battery is the main and the other two are for longer flights. BTW, I
need to replace the batteries in the tail pack.


"SoaringXCellence" wrote in message
...
Let's get our terms correct; the Battery has 3 cells in series for a total
of 6V, nominal. We take two BATTERIES, in series, a total of 6 cells to
make 12 volts. This is EXACTLY the same arrangement as any other Pb-acid
based battery we assemble. Doesn't matter how we make the 12V, 6x2V
individual cells, 3x4V batteries or 2x6V batteries. The 12V battery runs the
same risk of shorted cells, unbalanced charge and total destruction. Using
the same capacity AHr for each cell or battery in the assembly is critical
to the whole longevity of the battery, but the assembly, up to 12V is really
for the convenience of using of-the-shelf chargers.

I'll date myself here, but I remember assembling one 12V battery and one 2V
cell to get 14V to put in the glider. The old radios were useless if the
voltage dropped below 12 volts and just keying the mic would drop the
voltage too low if you used a 12V setup. It was almost impossible to find a
2V Pb-acid charger in the late 60's.