cliffy Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 In another thread some were commenting on long battery life with certain makes. I'm wondering if mounting location has an effect? I'm looking at 2 - 3 years per battery (with good servicing of water and alt charging correctly) mounted in the engine compartment. Those of you with longer battery lives where is yours mounted? Tailcone? I'm thinking heat has something to do with it. Quote
Hank Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 My Concorde AGX is in a black metal box on the firewall. Installed new in December 2010, running strong and tested great at annual last month. I did clean some very minor corrosion from both terminals, more discoloration than buildup. What brand battery are you running? P.S.--it's maintenance free, no water to watch or add. 1 Quote
Vance Harral Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 I'd guess it has less to do with location and more to do with battery type. You mention "good servicing of water", which implies you have a traditional wet cell battery. Everyone I know who is enjoying long airplane battery life (myself included) has a "maintenance free" recombinant gas battery. Typically it's the Concorde brand, though I think Gill has a competing product now. Quote
rbridges Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 I'm at 3+ with my Concorde. I keep it on a float charger. I've read a few people going 5+ and still strong. Quote
Andy95W Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 Cliffy- I bought my last Gill flooded battery 12 years ago. I put a Concorde sealed battery in my last plane and a Concorde RG 35 AXC for my current M20C. I will NEVER go back to Gill. BTW, I have an alternator conversion with a PlanePower voltage regulator set at 13.9-14.0 volts. Quote
Sabremech Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 I've had a Concorde since I purchased my airplane almost 5 years ago with zero maint. It's mounted on the firewall on my C. At the museum, I've gone away completely from Gills and won't go back. That's 10 airplanes worth of batteries. David Quote
aaronk25 Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 I have a 2 year old gill ....it sucks. After about 1 year it cranks slower next one will be a concord Quote
Marauder Posted March 7, 2015 Report Posted March 7, 2015 My Concorde is the rear. It will be 10 years old soon Quote
cliffy Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Posted March 8, 2015 OK enough to convince me! No more flooded ones when this one dies. Quote
CCowboy Posted March 9, 2015 Report Posted March 9, 2015 In sunny Aridzona, went through Gill batteries every 2 years. Now, the Concord has lasted 4 years, and still running. The desert heat kills batteries. In fact the Sears Dihard will only last 2 years at the most in my truck. Quote
rbridges Posted March 9, 2015 Report Posted March 9, 2015 At airplane prices, a truck battery would be over $500. Quote
Ned Gravel Posted March 9, 2015 Report Posted March 9, 2015 How well do Concorde's work? I deployed to Central Asia and a bunch of other places in October and got to fly only once after the 17th of December when I got back. Aircraft snuggled up and covered up, but outside in a Canadian winter. I left again in early January and got back on the 17th of February. I dug it out of its snowbank last week and was worried about the battery. I put on my trickle charger for a couple of hours and its little green light said everything was OK. After warming everything up, I turned on my JPI and it read 11.7 volts. Hmmmmmm...... Grabbed a coffee with some of the old codgers (like I am far from being that myself?) in the club house and they said I would have to take it home, warm it up for three days, then charge it back up, and then it might work. Oh......... Alternatively, just turn on the landing light to start the battery thinking, and then crank and see what happens. So I unplugged everything, did a walkaround, and cranked. It started in five blades. Love my Concorde. 1 Quote
RobertGary1 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 Of course avoiding letting the battery run dead reduces the life. Keeping it charged extends the life. Also avoid trickle chargers. The on/off/on nature of them discounts life cycles of the battery. Instead a float charger is much better. If you call the manufactures they will go on and on for hours about the differences between automotive batteries and aviation batteries and how you should only use aviation charges. I've never found the difference to be of consequence. I just use automotive float chargers. Note that in California you need to buy the special "California legal" chargers. -Robert Quote
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