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BatteryMinder not recommended for use in aircraft

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 11:17 am Post subject: BatteryMinder not recommended for use in aircraft

At 05:19 AM 10/31/2016, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "donjohnston" <don(at)velocity-xl.com>



 I just got a new BatteryMinder because the old one couldn't push enough electrons for the new battery. Oh well. 	


   I'm mystified by this . . . the 'wall-wart'

   battery-minder is  a SMALL battery charger

   . . . on the order of 1 amp or less. It takes

   a long time for it to CHARGE a fully discharged

   battery.



   Once charged, the device shifts to the maintainer

   mode whereupon it's only task is to OFFSET self

   discharge currents . . . which are measured in

   micro-amps.



   Do you still have the old Battery Minder? What

   model is/was it?

  	  Quote: 	
		   



 But the new BatteryMinder didn't come with the ring terminal harness.  Just the big alligator clips. I figured that they were charging (pun intended) extra for the harness. 



 But then I found out that they do not recommend using the charger on batteries in the plane. From their manual (emphasis theirs):



 1. Attach  output  cord  of  charger  to  the  battery  clip(s)  assembly  (BCAA) (supplied).  For aviation applications, we no longer advise use of the RTA on any batteries while the battery is located within a confined area, such as in an aircraft engine compartment.  



 2. Battery  should  be  removed  from  aircraft  or  open  to  free  flowing  air to avoid possible build-up of harmful hydrogen gas in the event battery  has  a  shorted  cell(s)  or  charging  source  is  incorrect  or  malfunctions.  



 I can't imagine that people are actually going to remove their battery every time they want to hook up the BatteryMinder.  In my case the battery is in the nose.  With the nose gear door open and the upper access hatch open I've got a pretty good flow of air. 



 But that hangar fire at KANE which is being attributed to a BatteryMinder does raise a doubt.  A battery is a lot cheaper than a new plane. 	




   I REALLY like to see the fire investigation report.

   There are millions of battery-minder like products

   out there. I've not looked at the larger models but

   the wall-wart sized products are certainly UL approved

   Class 2 . . . meaning NO EXTERNALLY APPLIED STESS

   will cause this product to become a hazard to

   persons or property.



   On the battery side, the admonition about "charging

   batteries in a closed space" smells of worries that

   had some foundation in the flooded battery markets

   of a gazillion years ago. Batteries in an OBAM

   aircraft are likely to be SVLA/RG and not mounted

   in a box. Further, the abuse that has to be heaped

   on an SVLA/RG battery to trigger a catastrophic

   energy release is difficult to produce in the lab

   much less as an occurrence in service.



   Battery-Minder and Enersys had some kind of a

   'falling out' about 15 years ago. Engineers I

   spoke with at Enersys couldn't enlighten me

   as to any facts and decisions based on physics.



   The notion of removing an SVLA/RG battery for

   any gentle charging/maintained activity for

   the sake of fire safety seems like overkill

   . . . but perhaps based on paranoia arising from

   some fire investigator's report on a hangar fire.



   I'd give $100 to read a copy of that report . . .  



 

 

   Bob . . .

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donjohnston

Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 231

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 1:33 pm Post subject: Re: BatteryMinder not recommended for use in aircraft

 	  nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect wrote: 	
		  

Do you still have the old Battery Minder? What model is/was it?

 	
 



The old battery was a Gill G242S.  The BatteryMinder was a 24041-AA-S1 24v battery Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator-Conditioner.  It is not a "wall wart" charger.  It says it's a 4amp unit. 



I replaced the battery with a Gill 7243-14.  The tech rep at Gill said that my old BatteryMinder may not be sufficient for the new battery. I contacted VDC and they said the 24041-AA-S1 was not recommended for the higher capacity battery and said that I should upgrade to the 244CEC1-AA-S3. 



 	  nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect wrote: 	
		  I REALLY like to see the fire investigation report. 	
 



It is my understanding that the fire occurred recently. I have no idea how long it takes for one of those to be completed so I might be a while before the report is finished. 



One of the things that I noticed is that they reference "filler cap type batteries".  I'm wondering if sealed batteries are not subject to these warnings.

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