Battery Minder

[squeaky.stow]

I have a new 24V Concorde battery in my 252 that I would like to get the maximum life and reliability out of. I have read a lot of conflicting reports on the value of desulphating battery minders. Concorde endorses the BatteryMinder brand and suggests that other smart chargers are not appropriate for aircraft batteries because they charge at too high a voltage. I am somewhat skeptical about this claim because my alternators are cranking out 28v whenever the engine is running and Concorde doesn't seem worried about that.

Does anyone have experience with this or any other brand of minder? Is it worth the extra money over a regular 24v smart charger?

Mark

[Marauder]

I have a new 24V Concorde battery in my 252 that I would like to get the maximum life and reliability out of. I have read a lot of conflicting reports on the value of desulphating battery minders. Concorde endorses the BatteryMinder brand and suggests that other smart chargers are not appropriate for aircraft batteries because they charge at too high a voltage. I am somewhat skeptical about this claim because my alternators are cranking out 28v whenever the engine is running and Concorde doesn't seem worried about that.
Does anyone have experience with this or any other brand of minder? Is it worth the extra money over a regular 24v smart charger?
Mark

I’ve used the BatteryMinder on my Concorde for years. My last Concorde lasted 13 years and it didn’t fail. The avionics shop managed to strip one of the terminals.

No solid evidence that the charger was the reason for the longevity but I think it helps.


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[jaylw314]

39 minutes ago, squeaky.stow said:

I have a new 24V Concorde battery in my 252 that I would like to get the maximum life and reliability out of. I have read a lot of conflicting reports on the value of desulphating battery minders. Concorde endorses the BatteryMinder brand and suggests that other smart chargers are not appropriate for aircraft batteries because they charge at too high a voltage. I am somewhat skeptical about this claim because my alternators are cranking out 28v whenever the engine is running and Concorde doesn't seem worried about that.

Does anyone have experience with this or any other brand of minder? Is it worth the extra money over a regular 24v smart charger?

Mark

The concern with battery chargers is what float or maintenance voltage they use.  Flooded batteries float at 2.35-2.40V per cell (28.2-28.8V for your 28V system).  AGM's float charge at 2.30-2.35V per cell (27.6-28.2), and are more sensitive to overcharging, so chargers should adjust the voltage lower when the temperature is higher.  AGM's are also less vulnerable to desulfating and lower self-discharge rate, so the benefit may be less than with flooded batteries.

In theory, a normal lead-acid float charger can overcharge an AGM, and this could result in loss of water from the pressure valve.  Since you can't replace water, this water loss is permanent.  Remember, constant voltage charging from your alternator is higher, but you only fly for a few hours at a time.

Also in theory, any battery charger that has a float setting for AGM batteries (often billed as motorcycle batteries), should also work with our aircraft.  

This article is a good read

TL;DR--I doubt a specific battery charger will have significant benefits in AGM's over another, and float charging probably does not have enough benefit to warrant a specific charger.  I'd just do a normal charge once every 6 months or so for a few hours.

Edited March 4, 2018 by jaylw314

[mooneyflyer]

10 years going on 11 years with my Concorde and matched BatteryMinder.

Second battery going on 8 years.

they work

[Oscar Avalle]

I used a non matching battery minder on my 12V Concord for 5 years. No problem battery was strong, until one day I forgot the master on...Battery was dead and could not be recharged. Otherwise I love it.

Oscar

[squeaky.stow]

Thanks for the feedback.

It appears there are 3 issues to consider and the BatterMinder covers most of them.

1) Getting a charger designed for the slightly lower float charge voltage required by AGM batteries as compared to lead-acid batteries.

2) Temperature compensation during charging.

3) Desulphation. This one seems to be somewhere between science and snake oil. The most legitimate peer reviewed study I could find seems to indicate that the various desulphation techniques can have some value in keeping new batteries from developing sulphation but have little to no ability to "restore" severely sulphated old batteries. As the author pointed out, if this were possible, there would be "battery restoration" shops everywhere serving the automobile market.

Two and a half out of three is not bad. I will put one of these on my birthday list. 13 years out of a battery is pretty impressive.

Mark

[Bryan]

I just purchased a 252 Encore with a new battery installed in 2016. Spruce had the Battery minder on sale and it delivers tomorrow to my house. One of the things I like about it is being able to power the plane with the BM product. Pirep incoming.  I think I paid just over $500 with the sale. I hear that a new 24v battery is not inexpensive for a good quality one.

[carqwik]

FWIW, I think the Battery Minder works...I have the one for the Concorde AGM 24V battery.  I'd make the investment.

[carusoam]

I bought the other one made by the other battery company...

i got the other results to match...

I’m on my second year of Concordes with the BM... everything is still working as planned...

might be some snake oil. But it is measurably less snake oil than the other guys...

See how things go in year two...three and four....

Best regards,

-a-

[LANCECASPER]

19 hours ago, Bryan said:

I just purchased a 252 Encore with a new battery installed in 2016. Spruce had the Battery minder on sale and it delivers tomorrow to my house. One of the things I like about it is being able to power the plane with the BM product. Pirep incoming.  I think I paid just over $500 with the sale. I hear that a new 24v battery is not inexpensive for a good quality one.

The S-5  suffix is the one that works on Concorde batteries and it lists for $229.99. As with anything that Aircraft Spruce sells, I'm happy to pass along my discount to any Mooneyspace member and have it drop shipped to you.

 

[Bryan]

@LANCECASPER, thanks,  I went with the big-daddy model:

 

But it was on-sale last week for $489 and with my discount (too - 5%) it was $465 before shipping.  This one can do either the Gill or the Concorde - not that I would want the Gill.

[LANCECASPER]

17 minutes ago, Bryan said:

@LANCECASPER, thanks,  I went with the big-daddy model:

 

But it was on-sale last week for $489 and with my discount (too - 5%) it was $465 before shipping.  This one can do either the Gill or the Concorde - not that I would want the Gill.

Wow nice, i hadn't seen that model before.

I have a separate 28v power unit that I plug into the GPU port when I do avionics update, etc. But I see that this would do that also plus charge a battery in a fraction of the time if needed.

[Jeev]

On 3/5/2018 at 9:51 AM, Bryan said:

@LANCECASPER, thanks,  I went with the big-daddy model:

 

But it was on-sale last week for $489 and with my discount (too - 5%) it was $465 before shipping.  This one can do either the Gill or the Concorde - not that I would want the Gill.

Damn guys that model looks nice but if you are interested in saving some $ this is what I have been using for 6 years with good results and its only $239: http://www.batteryminders.com/batteryminder-model-128cec1-aa-s5-12v-8-amp-concorde-aviation-battery-charger-maintainer-desulfator/

[Bryan]

Yes, I would have gotten that one but for the sale they had going - I could not pass up the discount.  This gives me a GPU as well but unsure where to mound my battery adapter plug.