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cristalclear13

Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Southeast Georgia

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:09 pm Post subject: gel battery

I am thinking about a new battery.  The one that came with the plane when I bought it has a (overflow?) drain on the side of it and has made a mess.  I suppose I could try to catch what comes out but I don't know what with or how secure I could make it.  



Saw this battery on aircraft spruce, but it's a little pricey isn't it?

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/gellcellbatt.php



A fellow airport bum who is rebuilding a wrecked Titan bought a 12 volt 26 amp sealed acid battery from Interstate Batteries store.  

Could I go with that or should I spend the extra for the gell cell?  Or perhaps I could keep using the one I have... just keep it from making a mess somehow?

_________________
Cristal Waters
Kolb Mark II Twinstar Rotax 503 DCSI Sept 2007 - sold Sept 2012
Private Pilot Aug 2008
ELSA Repairman for N193Y April 2008
Rotax 2 stroke maintenance April 2009

rlaird

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 373
Location: Houston

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:32 pm Post subject: gel battery

Cristal --



I recently got a new Odyssey PC680 Battery for my MkIII from Quality

Power for about $120... it's got more than twice the cranking amps as

the Centennial, and is smaller.



But regardless of which you buy, definitely dump the old, spillable

battery and get a gel cell battery!!!  And, yes, they are more

expensive than sealed lead-acid, but you get what you pay for.



  -- Robert

On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 10:09 PM, cristalclear13

<cristalclearwaters(at)gmail.com> wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   



 I am thinking about a new battery.  The one that came with the plane when I bought it has a (overflow?) drain on the side of it and has made a mess.  I suppose I could try to catch what comes out but I don't know what with or how secure I could make it.



 Saw this battery on aircraft spruce, but it's a little pricey isn't it?

 http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/gellcellbatt.php



 A fellow airport bum who is rebuilding a wrecked Titan bought a 12 volt 26 amp sealed acid battery from Interstate Batteries store.

 Could I go with that or should I spend the extra for the gell cell?  Or perhaps I could keep using the one I have... just keep it from making a mess somehow?



 --------

 Cristal Waters

 Kolb Mark II Twinstar

 Rotax 503 DCSI





 Read this topic online here:



 http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 30051#230051

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Laird
formerly: MkIIIc w/ 912ULS & Gyrobee
current: Autogyro Cavalon w/ 914ULS
Houston, TX area
http://www.Texas-Flyer.com

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject: gel battery

> Saw this battery on aircraft spruce, but it's a little pricey isn't it?

 	  Quote: 	
		   http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/gellcellbatt.php

 > --------
	


 	  Quote: 	
		   Cristal Waters


	


This one from Aircraft Spruce will get the job done.



      BATTERY 18 AMP SEALED BT021 $56.25



http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/powersonic.php

I use a 545 Odyessey 15 Amp with the 912uls.  Shouldn't have any problem 

turning the 503 with 18 amp.



john h

mkIII

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

cristalclear13

Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 363
Location: Southeast Georgia

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:27 pm Post subject: Re: gel battery

Thanks for the advice Robert and John. I appreciate it.

_________________
Cristal Waters
Kolb Mark II Twinstar Rotax 503 DCSI Sept 2007 - sold Sept 2012
Private Pilot Aug 2008
ELSA Repairman for N193Y April 2008
Rotax 2 stroke maintenance April 2009

The BaronVonEvil

Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 76
Location: Walla Walla, WA.

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:55 pm Post subject: gel battery

Hi Cristalclear,



What did you do to resolve your fabric/tube problem? Did you repair it or 

did you do a complete recover?



Just curious...



Carlos G.

---

aslsa.rng(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 5:59 am Post subject: gel battery

Cristal, et al, You do not want a gel cell. What you want to get may be known variously as an Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM), Starved Lead Acid (SLA), or Recombinant Gas Battery (RGB). It doesn't matter which of the three names you use, they're all the same. A gel cell is something completely different. It's more expensive and inferior in all aspects of battery performance to the AGM, SLA, RGB batteries. 

Rick

On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 10:44 PM, John Hauck <jhauck(at)elmore.rr.com (jhauck(at)elmore.rr.com)> wrote:

[quote] --> Kolb-List message posted by: "John Hauck" <jhauck(at)elmore.rr.com (jhauck(at)elmore.rr.com)>

 > Saw this battery on aircraft spruce, but it's a little pricey isn't it?

  	  Quote: 	
		   http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/gellcellbatt.php

 > --------

  	  Quote: 	
		   Cristal Waters

 This one from Aircraft Spruce will get the job done.

      BATTERY 18 AMP SEALED BT021 $56.25

 http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/powersonic.php

 I use a 545 Odyessey 15 Amp with the 912uls.  Shouldn't have any problem turning the 503 with 18 amp.

 john h

 mkIII 

 ===========

 " target="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kolb-List

 ===========

 MS -

 k">http://forums.matronics.com

 ===========

 e -

           -Matt Dralle, List Admin.

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[b]

NeilsenRM(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:54 am Post subject: gel battery

Cristal



Kind of interesting some of the advise we get. You get what you pay for. 

It's like money in the bank. Or my personal favorite... cheep is $49 a year. 

If you don't have unlimited funds the best advice is, Pay extra for NEEDED 

features, quality is always good but don't pay for marketing hype.



What is your battery for? If it fails it is nothing that will kill you or 

cause a forced landing, so why does it need to be aircraft grade or 

expensive. Yes I know freak things can happen but they can happen to the 

expensive stuff too.



I use the lightest battery I can find. Light planes fly better than heavy. 

Besides I put enough weight in the pilot's seat I don't need any more 

ballast. I use a 12 volt 12 amp riding lawn mower battery. The greater the 

amp rating the heaver they are. Why not use just enough to start your 

engine? I have tried the more expensive brands and they don't seem to last 

any longer than the cheep ones so Wal-Mart brands are my batteries of 

choice. My batteries get stressed pretty bad so initially they didn't last 

more than a few years. About 6 years ago I started hooking a battery 

maintainer to the battery between every flight and more importantly all 

winter. The last battery was four years old and still going strong but I 

didn't want to risk getting stranded at Oshkosh so I bought a new one. After 

all it didn't cost much. If you have a expensive battery would you tend to 

keep it till it let you down?



My battery is a wet cell so I have a vent line that extends out the bottom 

of the fuselage. I never noticed any mess. All wet cells need to be vented 

outside anyway due to their corrosive and explosive gasses.



Rick Neilsen

Redrive VW powered MKIIIC (the plane is in Michigan while I'm in Florida for 

the winter)



---

by0ung(at)brigham.net
Guest

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:16 am Post subject: gel battery

I am thinking about a new battery.  The one that came with the plane when I

bought it has a (overflow?) drain on the side of it and has made a mess.  I

suppose I could try to catch what comes out but I don't know what with or

how secure I could make it.  



Cristal Waters



 	  Quote: 	
		  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 


	


Cristal



This is the type of battery I use in my MKIII to start my 912



http://www.arizonabattery.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=58&category_id=b

291dca6cea297f2a41f49052a63d38d&  



If the link does not work go to  http://www.arizonabattery.com    and search

all batteries,   pick 12 volts and scroll down   it is a 18 amp hour. And

has a better price than the one you had found.



I have ordered from Arizona battery before and the product is on your door

in3 or 4 days.



Then if you are not in a hurry,,,  the last one I ordered was from harbor

freight as a replacement battery for one of their jump starts.  Seems like

the cost was around 18 dollars and 4 or 5 dollars for freight  so I ordered

2 and the freight remained the same....   now the not being in a hurry bit,

it took 4 or 5 months, and I am nearly sure it was put on a container ship

from china. 



 



Boyd young



Kolb MKIIIC

aslsa.rng(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:18 am Post subject: gel battery

Richard, I vote for cheap, too. The new 20 AH AGM battery I bought for the trike last year was $38 from the local battery shop. It starts the HKS with its 11.3 to 1 compression ratio like a champ. My buddie Wayne has the Oddysey 680 in his LongEZ with a 200 horse IO-360. Vrooom. 



Rick



On Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 9:53 AM, Richard & Martha Neilsen <NeilsenRM(at)comcast.net (NeilsenRM(at)comcast.net)> wrote:

[quote] --> Kolb-List message posted by: "Richard & Martha Neilsen" <NeilsenRM(at)comcast.net (NeilsenRM(at)comcast.net)>

 

 Cristal

 

 Kind of interesting some of the advise we get. You get what you pay for. It's like money in the bank. Or my personal favorite... cheep is $49 a year. If you don't have unlimited funds the best advice is, Pay extra for NEEDED features, quality is always good but don't pay for marketing hype.

  

 What is your battery for? If it fails it is nothing that will kill you or cause a forced landing, so why does it need to be aircraft grade or expensive. Yes I know freak things can happen but they can happen to the expensive stuff too.

  

 I use the lightest battery I can find. Light planes fly better than heavy. Besides I put enough weight in the pilot's seat I don't need any more ballast. I use a 12 volt 12 amp riding lawn mower battery. The greater the amp rating the heaver they are. Why not use just enough to start your engine? I have tried the more expensive brands and they don't seem to last any longer than the cheep ones so Wal-Mart brands are my batteries of choice. My batteries get stressed pretty bad so initially they didn't last more than a few years. About 6 years ago I started hooking a battery maintainer to the battery between every flight and more importantly all winter. The last battery was four years old and still going strong but I didn't want to risk getting stranded at Oshkosh so I bought a new one. After all it didn't cost much. If you have a expensive battery would you tend to keep it till it let you down?

  

 My battery is a wet cell so I have a vent line that extends out the bottom of the fuselage. I never noticed any mess. All wet cells need to be vented outside anyway due to their corrosive and explosive gasses.

 

 Rick Neilsen

 Redrive VW powered MKIIIC (the plane is in Michigan while I'm in Florida for the winter)

 

 ---

jbhart(at)onlyinternet.ne
Guest

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:03 pm Post subject: gel battery

At 08:09 PM 2/12/09 -0800, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  



I am thinking about a new battery.  The one that came with the plane when I bought it has a (overflow?) drain on the side of it and has made a mess.  I suppose I could try to catch what comes out but I don't know what with or how secure I could make it.  



Saw this battery on aircraft spruce, but it's a little pricey isn't it?

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/gellcellbatt.php



A fellow airport bum who is rebuilding a wrecked Titan bought a 12 volt 26 amp sealed acid battery from Interstate Batteries store.  

Could I go with that or should I spend the extra for the gell cell?  Or perhaps I could keep using the one I have... just keep it from making a mess somehow?



--------

Cristal Waters

Kolb Mark II Twinstar

Rotax 503 DCSI




	


Cristal,



Due to weight constraints, I use an ULTRASTART-RED BATTERY - 11-00375 - 

$89.95 from http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/atphighpwr.php. It 

weighs 4.4 pounds.  I am on my second battery.  See below - sent to the List 

July 5, 2008.



To get by with such a small battery, I always prime the engine, and pull the 

propeller through two compressions to move the charge into the case and 

cylinder.  Then I rotate the propeller backwards against compression to give 

the starter a full run against compression in the forward direction.  This 

approach minimizes battery current capacity. In my case the Victor 1+ never 

fails to hit on the first time over.  The only time it will fail to remain 

running is if I remove the choker too soon. 



FWIW



Jack B. Hart FF004

Winchester, IN



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

Kolbers,



No July fourth flyby this year.  A couple months ago I had trouble getting 

the engine started after the FireFly had set in the hangar for a couple of 

weeks.  I put a trickle charger on the battery to bet the engine started.  

When I got home I ordered a new ultrastart-red battery.  To keep flying I 

connected the trickle charger to the battery to keep it topped off while it 

was in the hangar.  The battery was back ordered and it came two days ago.  

I did not bother to install it as I had been having no trouble with 

starting the engine.  But yesterday, the battery died, and so I did not get 

to make my flyby.



I checked out my log.  The battery started the engine for 467 flights over a 

period of six years and two months.  At current battery cost, it figures out 

to 21 cents per flight to keep from pulling a rope or hand propping.

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