nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net
Guest
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 Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject: Small battery limited to 3 amp charge rate ? |
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At 05:01 PM 1/5/2008 -0600, you wrote:
| Quote: | I'm getting sorta tired of replacing my Concorde attery in the Glastar
every 14 months or so cause they just won't hold a charge. I need
something more reliable than that. -- I know I know - avoiding long times
in between useage, cold weather, deep discharge (like starting) short
flights - all that stuff. Without getting into too much of a commerical
war - does folks have preferences for Concorde vs gill (now Teledyne
Continental) etc?
And yes I am using an off the shelf Auto zone recharger - maybe that is
the problem although it has the setting for different types and automatic
shutoff etc.
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This sounds like your problems go deeper than battery
quality. I can see the occasional instance of poor battery
performance but Concord is a legacy supplier to the
aviation battery industry and 14 months is too short.
How do you expect your battery to perform? Sounds like
your replacement cycle is dependent simply on the ability
to get the engine started. If you had the "golden" battery,
would you replace it based on capacity (ability to run
ship's loads sans alternator for some pre-determined period
of time) or would you be satisfied if it quit cranking the
engine say, 5 years from now instead of 1 year?
Have you ever put a voltmeter on your battery before
disconnecting the charger to see what the "storage
voltage" value is for this charger? Also, how often do
you fly? What is the perceived value in having the charger
at all if you fly at least once a month?
May I suggest an experiment? Go down to your local
Batteries-R-Us store and pick up a 15 to 20 a.h.,
sealed, vented lead acid battery of this form factor:
http://www.batterystore.com/Yuasa/YuasaPDF/NP18-12.pdf
It doesn't need to be this brand but Yuasa is okay
too. Lots of folks make a suitable battery in these
dimensions and terminal style.
If you have a too-big battery box, put blocks of
styrofoam in beside the battery to keep it from
rattling around.
Get an INDEPENDENT multimeter like:
http://tinyurl.com/yume4t
or
http://tinyurl.com/2duxtp
and check your bus voltage in cruising flight. It
should be no lower than 13.8 volts and no higher
than 14.6 with 14.2 being ideal if you have a
regulator adjustment you can set.
After achieving/confirming the proper system
voltage, put your charger on the battery and
check the battery terminal voltage several hours
after parking the airplane. It should be no higher
than 13.5 volts if it's a "smart charger". If
you confirm that it's not a smart-charger, consider
acquiring one of these products:
http://tinyurl.com/35yvz9
or
http://tinyurl.com/ysueag
or
http://tinyurl.com/2uf6qk
You can probably find the last one of these
at Wally-World for under $20.
These are all smart-chargers designed for
topping off and then dropping to long-term
storage mode after 100% charge has been
achieved.
I'm betting that you can report back to us
in a few years that the $40 el-cheeso, svla
battery out-performed the Concorde . . . but
you may well also report that the Concorde
battery was not being well served either in
flight, in the hangar or both.
Bob . . .
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