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

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

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

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!!!)

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

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
--------------------

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
--------------------

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
--------------------

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.

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
--------------------