New Battery -- thanks for the recommendation

Then, at the end, my A&P always mentions "By the way, I had to clean up
your battery box...", inducing my usual smack-to-the forehead reaction...

And, of course, your immediate review of your written inspection procedures
revealed that you missed a step? You DO have a set of inspection
procedures, don't you? Hmmm...
{;-)
I can port you the BlueOnBlue procedures, not that they will in any way
resemble Assless procedures, but you will have a reference point to start.



BTW: When cleaning my battery I didn't have anything on hand to
neutralize the spilled acid. While painstakingly scraping and vacuuming
up the crud, Mary produced a paper towel soaked with -- get this -- PICKLE
JUICE. Yes, we had her home-made dill pickles in the fridge, and what's
in pickles? Vinegar!

And what is vinegar but acetic acid. So you neutralized acid with acid?
Not in my chem class you don't. You could have used window-cleaning
ammonia to do the neutralization, but the stuff of choice is plain old
Arm&Hammer baking soda at about a 10% concentration in water. When it stops
bubbling with each fresh application, you is done.


Jim

And what is vinegar but acetic acid. So you neutralized acid with acid?
Not in my chem class you don't. You could have used window-cleaning
ammonia to do the neutralization, but the stuff of choice is plain old
Arm&Hammer baking soda at about a 10% concentration in water.

Okay, "neutralize" it doesn't. "Dissolve" it does, and then I "neutralized"
with the ACF-50 goop.

It still smells good!

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

RST Engineering wrote:
Arm&Hammer baking soda at about a 10% concentration in water. When it stops
bubbling with each fresh application, you is done.

I also re-coat the inside of the box with some of that acid resitant black
paint that you can get at most of the aircraft parts places.



--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.OceanCityAirport.com
http://www.oc-Adolfos.com

Are you talking about the Pep Boys Aircraft Supply Depot?

{;-)

Jim


I also re-coat the inside of the box with some of that acid resitant black
paint that you can get at most of the aircraft parts places.

"RST Engineering" writes:

but the stuff of choice is plain old
Arm&Hammer baking soda at about a 10% concentration in water. When it stops
bubbling with each fresh application, you is done.


Nod... On cars, I leave some baking soda in place, for future leaks.

The only good news is aircraft are largely aluminum and at least the
mild acid in batteries has little effect on same. Alkali, however....

(Soaking in a tank of 180+F lye is often used to degrease/depaint/derust
{steel} engine blocks. Just be VERY sure that the aluminum pistons etc.
are not attached...or you'll see why...)

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

8 years. That's sounds pretty good. Perhaps too long.

i've had to change batts every 3-4 years. Both sealed Concordes and an
unsealed something. That last year, the battery just gets a little
weaker and weaker until one cool day, it just won't go.

I think I'm taking adequate care and am unaware of any discharge problem.

What are other people's experience with battery life?

Jay Honeck wrote:
Just installed the new Concorde RG 35AXC -- the most powerful battery
approved for my plane -- and, wow, what a difference! No more "bumping"
the starter to get the prop past the highest compression stroke of that big
ol' six cylinder on a hot day... It just whirls it right around!

When I pulled the 8-year old battery out, there was an area of spilled
acid/crusty stuff that had to be cleaned thoroughly. I'm looking forward to
this new "sealed" battery eliminating that problem, and the yearly expense
of paying my A&P to clean the battery box (and surrounding area) at every
annual inspection.

I can't remember who recommended this battery to me -- but it's great --
thanks!

8 years. That's sounds pretty good. Perhaps too long.

Yeah, I'm pretty satisfied with that kind of life from a battery. My A&P
says it lasted so long because we fly often, and kept the thing charged up.

He also thinks our new (in March) wing-tip landing lights probably were the
kiss of death for the old battery. It was probably weak, getting weaker,
and then I put that big ol' load on it. (The amp-meter shows over 40 amps
with everything on, which means the alternator probably can't keep up when
taxiing....)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

4 years on my last Concorde. And it didn't die - just started getting
a little sluggish when winter hit in December.

What are other people's experience with battery life?

C172M - I've always gotten at least 8 years from the last three
batteries. Just never let the plates get exposed to air, never let it
get discharged & keep the top clean. I do not put any trickle charger
on it unless everything is down for many weeks. I also have never had
to use the ground service plug - except when the FAA Certified Repair
Station left the master on after an annual.......

My C310K has a 28 volt system, and uses two Gill G-25 batteries in
series. Seems to be less expensive to use a pair of commonly available
12 volt instead of a single 24 volt battery. I replaced them in 2002,
the same time I replaced the very old voltage regulators/load balancer
with newer solid state regulators. I also had both generators
overhauled at Aerotech of Louisville and replaced the drive belts. I
went back through the logbooks and found that batteries had lasted an
average of 6 years (almost like clockwork), and my batteries at that
time were 6 years old.

Brian
N3827X