Battery for Super Decathlon

H

howieb38

New member
The battery in my 2000 8KCAB is starting to give up the ghost I think. Its cranking a bit slower than before.

Anyone know which battery is best for it? I do lots of acro so I'll need a gell or sealed one.

Thanks
 
I'd recommend just getting another Concorde RG-25.
No paperwork and a solid battery. Should be a one hour job, tops.

Shop around for price. :)
 
Well, the important thing is to make sure that the XC is the same shape/size. If its differnt by too much, it might not fit in the hold downs.
 
I fitted the XC to my Decathlon, to replace the original Gill. The diagram that I got from the Concorde website shows the same dimensions for both batteries - the XC is heavier by 3/4 lb.
 
At Airventure this year, ACA hosted an hour long session in the IAC tent on care and feeding of Decathlons...or some such title. Either way it was a good discussion and I was very glad they took the time to present.

Jody presented a good overview including how to adjust the rig and trim, but he also mentioned some other initiatives. I was thinking one of these other projects was certification of a lighter battery for the 8KCAB?

Jerry, am I correct and if so can you provide an update on this work? My current battery (6 year old RG 25) does not like the current cold streak and so I was contemplating replacing it. I’ve been looking for any weight savings I can find and was thinking this may be a place to save a few pounds.

Thanks

Paul
 
Well, the lighter the battery, the less it will like the cold weather.

Hawker 0769-4005 is the battery
Also known as an Odyssey SBS J16
http://www.odysseybateries.com

Its installed the same 4-1782 (metal box) installation and requires 2 wood spacers (11-0956, with 2 sided VHB tape), 2 new wires (#415 replaces #60 and #416 replaces #65), and a 11-0722-2 rubber block (with a funny shape).

BTW, thanks for inflating Jody's ego. :p
Hope his head fits out the door now!
(He's a fly on the wall in here, the chicken never posts) :D
 
So the Odyssey battery saves me about 7 lbs (give or take) with the trade off being about half the Amp hr capacity and similar cold cranking amps.

Looks interesting. Will I need to do a field approval with the local FSDO or does ACA have some paperwork/kit to support this?


Sorry about Jody's head getting stuck in the door...but the notes I took at his talk this summer really did help. Following them and a couple short test flights later I had the airplane back to flying straight and level hands off (and it still is today)...something the previous owner said was not possible since I fly aerobatics in it several times a week. :)

Thanks

Paul
 
If you want to be really legit:
Buy the 4-1782 Battery Box Installation Print. That is approved desgn data for the Airplane. That and a logbook entry.

Sure, inflate him some more!!
hehe :p

I occationally bug him about writing a wing heaviness article for the B-C Contact. Bob bugs me to write one...I gotta pass the buck to someone somehow.
 
These new gel cells are very good, I had a Yuasa 17Ah battery in a Christen Eagle, Lycoming IO360A1A. The battery was half the size of the Gill it had before yet I could still get 5 start attempts on the engine before it got a bit tired.

Our RV7 we are building has an Odyssey PC680, another smaller battery with excellent performance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top