Downside of Battery Minder

[Marauder]

Don -- not really sure what is going on with your plane. There are a number of planes in my hangar that fly infrequently and most are using Concordes. Some have chargers on them, others just sit. When I talk to the owners, I don't get a sense they are dealing with dead batteries.

If you have the Batteryminderm designed for Concordes, it is a set and forget device. I have one and if I won't fly for a week or so -- and I know it, I will hook it up and do its thing.

The Batteryminder also has a built in tester (I believe) to verify that it is hooked up correctly and that the battery is healthy. I would pull the battery, bring it home and hook it up to charge. The documentation for the unit should verify what it wiil or won't do. I will see if I can find a version online.

[Marauder]

Don -- if you have the BatteryMinder designed for the Concorde, it is a "plug and forget" device capable of checking the status of the battery.

http://www.concordebattery.com/accessories.php?id=62

One thing you may have going on is some draw that is playing a role. Concorde sells a parasite draw tester to see if this is the case. Might want to invest in one to test your plane.

http://www.concordebattery.com/accessories.php?id=64

[N601RX]

The Concorde RG batteries have a very low self discharge rate. In cold weather it is almost nonexistent, and still low in hot weather. Assuming you alternator is fully charging the battery there shouldn't be a problem with it sitting between flights. These discharge at a rate of around 3% per month and the rate remains constant over the life of the battery. By comparison a lead acid battery will discharge at a rate of up to 10% per month when new and the rate will increase as it gets older.

Anything up 10% discharge is considered a shallow discharge, anything over 50% discharge is considered a deep discharge and should be recharged immediately to prevent long term life loss.

[DonMuncy]

For those of you using the BM with the temperature sensor, where does it sense from. I have the BM plugged into a wall receptacle with wires run over to the Oxygen door on the plane and through to the battery posts. Would this set-up work with the temperature sensing device. 

[DonMuncy]

You may be right Jim. In aviation, as in life, there are many situations which are not very susceptible to exact or even very good answers. I just try to do the best I can to extend the usefulness and life of $300 batteries. And so far, I'm not doing too well 

[jetdriven]

106$ right now, but yeah they were 89$ a few months ago.

http://www.skygeek.com/j11968-14.html

[DonMuncy]

Just under $300. Aircraft Spruce has them with free shipping. I went ahead and got mine locally. I'm always torn as I like to support both my local Falcon Crest dealer and Aircraft Spruce.