AGM Batteries

[laytonl]

What life are y’all seeing from Concorde AGM batteries?  I’m curious if others are removing batteries based on age or load test data.

i just changed mine out after six years.  It was running fine; I’m just nervous because I never had an aircraft battery last more than 3 years.  I plan to build a test box to load test the battery but haven’t done so and it has never been load tested.

Since 2013 I have drained this battery twice due to leaving cabin lights on.  I have sporadically used an off-brand trickle charger.

these are great batteries,

 

lee

[MB65E]

Going on 7 years, during that time it sat for over 12mo with no use. Just put 27 tach hours on back from Oshkosh. Voltage regulator in cruise is 13.9-14.0. I’ll probably cap check it shortly.  I don’t think it’s ever been lower that 11.8 when resting for a long time. Intermittent charging with a battery charger at 2ah from time to time. 

-Matt

[carusoam]

I think I remember an MSer saying six years before changing it out... just because...

So I bought two for the O...

My Gills would croak, one each year... netting two years on each battery.

I paid extra for the Gill battery charger to see if it could help stem the tide...

Anyone want a Gill Battery charger?

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

My Concorde battery starts cranking a little slow on Summer #6 if I don't fly often. Bought the Mooney June 07, put in first Concorde in Summer 08?, replaced it proactively due to limited summer flying and a scheduled trip to no-service field in W. NC in Sept. '15. Still going strong! And no danger to my battery box, either.

[ArtVandelay]

My Gills lasted 3 years, my Concord is 2 years old but last start it seemed a little slow (spent the week outside in the heat), I may change it after 3 years as well. AOG because I was being super cheap doesn’t sound smart to me. I need reliability.


Tom

[RogueOne]

Just bought two RG35’s for new Missile.  Old batteries still functioned and MAY have been alright, but had sat for six years, so we replaced them at a cost of approx 3/4 of an AMU for two.

My RG35X/C is still going strong 6+ years with no hint of issue.  I agree this is a LONG time for a batttery to function well, but...They do.

[Yetti]

4 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

My Gills lasted 3 years, my Concord is 2 years old but last start it seemed a little slow (spent the week outside in the heat), I may change it after 3 years as well. AOG because I was being super cheap doesn’t sound smart to me. I need reliability.


Tom

I said something the same to the grumpy IA.....  He said have you charged it recently.     I facepalmed and backed slowly away....

[EricJ]

Most lead-acid batteries, like the Gills and Concordes that we use, benefit from conditioning, desulfating, etc., which doesn't happen during normal charge cycles.   I suspect the people that get the most life from their batteries keep them on conditioners at least occasionally (e.g., tenders, minders, etc.).

 

 

[jaylw314]

My Concord is 6+ years old now, and sat around a lot for half its life.  It cranks fine, but that's not a good reflection of its condition.  Cranking only consumes a couple percent of its nominal capacity at the most.  The real value of having a battery is keeping your stuff going when the alternator fails in IMC.

Of course, if your battery is having difficulty with cranking under normal circumstances, that suggests a battery that is in pretty terrible condition.

I keep reminding myself I need to get one of those cheap hobby chargers for RC models to do a capacity test.  Most of them have a discharge setting, where you can set it to discharge a fixed number of amp-hours.  That way, you could discharge 10 amp-hours and measure the no-load voltage afterwards and get an idea of the % capacity change.

[PT20J]

This is a great question. But, the answers are not terribly consistent unless you specify whether or not you use a battery minder, how often you fly, whether the battery has ever been left deeply discharged, and that end of life is determined by failure to pass a capacity test, not just ability to crank the engine.

Skip

[thinwing]

over 10 years on my #2 when I replaced it last year...#1 was Cal pilots silent auction bidding against Mitch...5/6 years ago...both never drained and on constant battery minder speced for Concorde agm 

[Danb]

I changed both mine(Concorde) out of guilt a few years after 8 years of no issues, I never used a battery minder nor ran them down, my current concordes are both perfect after about 3-4 years. 

[Raptor05121]

Going on year 4 with my Concorde RG-35AXC. Last time I did a capacitance check, it was almost as good as new. I fly 3-5 hours a week, no external charger.