How long do Batteries last?

J

JackFulford

New member
Hi All,
The thread about the battery charger made me think to ask this questions. How long have you been seeing a battery last? I use a Concord sealed battery maintained with a BatteryMinder. The last Battery lasted only 2.5 years. The same battery in my Stinson 108-3 lasted 5. Think it's the long cable?

Jack
 
I got 2.5 out of my last Gil wet cell in the Cruisair (short cable) and it flew at least once a week.
The Concord sealed lasted 8+ in the Cruisemaster (long cable) with only occasional use. I don’t know why one lasted so much longer than the other. :?
Ralph
 
I will never buy another Gill wet cell again. About two or three years is all you get from them.
I've had much better luck with the Concord battery. A Concord, clean contacts and a Skytec starter
make all the difference for the -2 Cruisemaster.
Dan
 
battery minder ?

there are smart chargers, with pulse de-sulphation
and there are dump wall warts ( harbor freight) with no real voltage regulation
and no smarts.

>>overcharging.. and letting a battery sit discharged are the main killers of lead acid batteries.<<

sealed AGM batteries are the thing to have... the 8 year figure when properly maintained sounds about right.

a dumb charger will charge to some level and stop.
agm actually want a higher charge voltage. than wet cells.

A good smart float charger is wonderful for things with electric starting that don't operate frequently.

I used an expensive sweedish design one... but not as religouosly as I should.
 
Hi All,
The charger I mentioned is the BatteryMINDer® 12248-AA-S5, which if you believe the website (must be true if it's on the internet, right?), is specifically designed for the Concorde AGM. Aviation Consumer ranked it pretty highly a couple of years back. Since it has both a charge and float mode I am pretty compulsive about hooking it up every time I park it in the hanger.

If this battery starts going Tango Uniform quickly, I may need to invest in the SkyTec. I have been lusting after one for a while. I had one in my Stinson and loved it (except for the Bendix problems). How much does the SkyTec affect the weight and balance? The existing starter weighs a ton, if I remember correctly.

Jack
 
If I was experiencing repetitive battery failures... I would be looking at my charging system..
particularly the voltage regulator.

Aircraft engines should NOT be hard to start...properly primed.. mine light off after the second cylinder
has cycled. Ok hot fuel injected lycomings not so much.

I can't see having every last little bit of charge including surface charge being the make or break
of engine starting. Is every connection..including grounds nice and shiney bright and clean?`
I mean.. battery, regulator, batt cables, generator cables, starter cables, solenoids ( master and starter) ??

Maybe there is some way of flying I haven't done.. that requires more starts than it does charge time..
but something aint right here... is it really the starter ? If it is past its sell by date.. then the new stuff
weighs less, and spins faster.. some of it better made than others.

Maybe something I don't understand in the world of high power engines I have no experience with ?
Happens alla time.
 
ralph.. like dan C said.. the concorde AGM sealed battery is so superior that
it's not worth fooling with the old wet cells anymore. they produce more current, they last so much
longer, they are less prone to mechanical breakage and shorting of cells, they don't leak by definition.
They stand abuse ( being left discharged or part discharged) better.. but aren't magic in that aspect.
 
Jack as I said in the other post, I have the same charger and it is recommended by Concorde. I even talked to them(!) And they confirmed that is the appropriate charger. The last time I looked, and after talking to Concorde, they told me they weren't going to make wet cell batteries anymore but only sealed batteries. I believe their wet cells were even more expensive now... Which seems kind of weird to me if they want to close out the line.

BTW THE SkyTec weighs about 8 lbs, about 1/2 the wt of the std Franklin starter... And it's so powerful I could probably sustain flight with it if my engine fails...at least I want to believe that:)!!
 
I've have question concerning the AGM-type batteries. I thought I read these aren't compatable with a generator-based system(as opposed to an alternator-based sys.) Is that untrue? Tom Robinson
 
I just changed my Concord in my -2 because the dumb s--- left the master on. It was 9 years old! Lynn :shock:
 
lwford.. I know.. that guy has snuck into my hanger and done the same thing !

AGM sealed battery in my cruisair, working fine with my generator.

It would be appropriate to bump up your charge voltage a few tenths of a volt
but likely nobody ever does this. Mine has been in my plane 4 years at least.

The master gremlin flattened it once, more than a year ago, it flew 10 hours last year, without benefit of any
charger.. and although not new anymore.. still starts the plane. I'll get the bulk charger on it
soon, and try to use the pulse smart charger on it weekly for the next month.. and we will see
what is left after this kind of abuse.

If it fails to recover well.. I know who to blame.
Worst thing I do.. is take the plane out to run on the ramp for a few minutes
and then put it away again. Lots of start cycles, and not enough charge time.
This last time it was charging 15 amps.. which I never see.. so I know it's hungry. :oops:

A wet cell would have died a dozen deaths if treated like this. :)
 
I asked Concorde about the compatibility of generator sys. with AGM batteries. The lady responded that there have been a few customers experiencing "wild ammeter fluctuations." She stated that a solid-state voltage regulator cured that. Did anyone have to go that route? The reason I ask is that my Concorde CB-35AXC could be heading for the last round-up. Tom Robinson
 
I put a Zeftronics electronic generator controller on my -2 in 2013. I got a field approval for it no problem. It really does the trick. I am impressed. We are off to Blakesburg tomorrow via the Spartan again. Lynn
 
I cannot think of any reason for a good AGM battery to cause wild ammeter fluctuations,
but I can think of lots of reasons that poor battery connections, or a worn out voltage regulator
will cause this.

The correct charge voltage for an AGM should be about .4 volts higher than a wet cell, and that fact
can cause the generator to try to keep charging. Any decent old auto electric shop can do re-set the mechanical voltage regulator.

Zefftronics.. nice if you got the do-re-me. Wonder if they are adjustable ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top