Davidv Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Well it looks like I need a new #2 battery and I’d like to switch from Gill to Concorde but just wanted to know if anyone has done this recently and knows the exact Concorde model # that I would need. I’m not sure if there is only one Concorde option or a few for my model, so that’s why I ask... 92 Bravo. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drstephensugiono Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 I don’t fly my plane much so I put Gill that can last me 3-5 years on the battery minder. Put in the Sealed Concorde and didn’t last as longSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidv Posted January 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) My Gill only lasted a little over 2 years (although 1 year was prior to my ownership and it didn’t fly much). I switch between 1 and 2 prior to each flight. Edited January 5, 2020 by Davidv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 based on O experience... (may be different for the M) It’s been a few years... There were two versions of the 24V batteries that fit in the back of the long bodies... Standard and extra capacity... The XC weighed a few more pounds... You may find the details in your POH, if you have it handy... The 94 O had the Concorde as standard, and the Gill as an alternate... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... See if we can pull up the Concorde use chart... To see their recommendation for the Bravo... http://www.aircraft-battery.com/search-by-your-aircraft.html?mfr=298&model=3748&mode=batteryMfr in chart format for comparison ease... http://www.aircraft-battery.com/search-by-your-aircraft.html?mfr=298&model=3748&mode=batteryMfr Seems to be the same for the O... RG24-11M and RG24-15M 15M is three more pounds than the 11M... Verify what you have in there for weight, to make sure if you need to update your WnB or not... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tls pilot Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) Without any reservation, use the new sealed Gill 7243-14 We have used this new Gill sealed battery and have had great success with it over 4 years now. We reported on it when the battery came out and made annual reports see Battery Power -the new Gill sealed battery 7243-14 (post made in 2015) Please note the forum here seems to not like Gill Batteries Perhaps based on the old wet Gill Battery Not certain how many have tried the new sealed 7243s They have great cranking power and have stood up to hot and cold weather starts Edited January 5, 2020 by tls pilot add old post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidv Posted January 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 2 minutes ago, tls pilot said: Without any reservation, use the new sealed Gill 7243-14 We have used this new Gill sealed battery and have had great success with it over 4 years now. We reported on it when the battery came out and made annual reports Please note the forum here seems to not like Gill Batteries Perhaps based on the old wet Gill Battery Not certain how many have tried the new sealed 7243s They have great cranking power and have stood up to hot and cold weather starts Thanks, I’m going to look at what I have and see if it’s the older style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Many bad reviews of the wet Gill batteries... One bad review of the gel cell version of the Gill battery... @Cris and I were swapping out old Gill batteries at the time... an annual affair... he had the gel cell version and was headed back for the wet cell version... Once burned, twice shy? Not heading back to Gill or Champion, until I have to... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidv Posted January 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Yes, looks like I have the Gill G-243. Assume these are the bad ones you're talking about @carusoam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Check the altitude limitations on the gel cells... They have valves on them and may not be recommended for the FLs I think that was the reason Cris went back to the wet cell... they were both Gills... I haven’t gone above 12.5k’ in decades... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 http://www.gillbatteries.com/Products/CrossRef Gill supplies a convenient cross reference chart... The important part about LB batteries... there is no battery box... everything leaked has a drain to a hose that goes overboard... So... if the pic of the battery looks different than the one you have... that is a no go.... Look for terminals in proper locations, hold downs, and drain tube... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philiplane Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 The Gill 7243-14 is a good replacement for the G243. I use both Gill wet/sealed and Concorde sealed batteries in customer planes.I've put is maybe a dozen of the new style sealed Gill batteries so far, with no problems. They have the highest cranking power available so far. The Concorde RG24-15M sealed batteries have great starting power, but still generally die without warning between 24 and 48 months in the South Florida heat. With or without battery tenders. Heat kills batteries. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidv Posted January 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, philiplane said: The Gill 7243-14 is a good replacement for the G243. I use both Gill wet/sealed and Concorde sealed batteries in customer planes.I've put is maybe a dozen of the new style sealed Gill batteries so far, with no problems. They have the highest cranking power available so far. The Concorde RG24-15M sealed batteries have great starting power, but still generally die without warning between 24 and 48 months in the South Florida heat. With or without battery tenders. Heat kills batteries. Well that would maybe explain why my battery died so quickly. Prior to buying my plane it was sitting in a hangar in Las Vegas where it didn't fly much. I can imagine that hangar got pretty hot inside... Edited January 5, 2020 by Davidv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextstone Posted January 8, 2020 Report Share Posted January 8, 2020 On 1/5/2020 at 1:35 PM, Davidv said: Well that would maybe explain why my battery died so quickly. Prior to buying my plane it was sitting in a hangar in Las Vegas where it didn't fly much. I can imagine that hangar got pretty hot inside... When it's hot, water in the cells evaporates more quickly and perhaps there is some loss there. Could it be that we are just too lazy to maintain the water level properly thus causing premature death? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awful_Charlie Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 I put in a new G243 and a Concorde sealed a couple of years ago. They're both dying now, not helped by me leaving the baggage light on one night and draining them both to empty. Previously I had got many more years from the G243's, which confirms a suspicion that Gill QA or manufacturing of those has gone downhill. I'll be trying a Gill sealed later in the year by the looks of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIm20c Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 I was planning on trying the new Gill sealed battery over the past two years. However, I’ve had terrible customer service with the company during this time. Running Concord now with good results and have NO plans of ever trying a Gill again. With 6 dead Gill batteries over a period of time with excellent care it’ll be interesting how the Concord compares over the next decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriven Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 This is the first I’ve heard of Concorde batteries not lasting the usual 7 years. Mine went bad after 2 years but I found the culprit. A bad diode in the alternator. Charging a battery with AC ruins them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 19 hours ago, jetdriven said: This is the first I’ve heard of Concorde batteries not lasting the usual 7 years. Mine went bad after 2 years but I found the culprit. A bad diode in the alternator. Charging a battery with AC ruins them. I suspect that more of these “wonder” Concorde batteries would fail sooner if they were capacity tested as required. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtVandelay Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 hours ago, M20Doc said: I suspect that more of these “wonder” Concorde batteries would fail sooner if they were capacity tested as required. Clarence Not to mention if they weren’t coddled by keeping them on battery minders. Mine lasted 2 years before starting wasn’t as enthusiastic as it should be after a week or more of sitting. No problem if just a few days. My expensive car battery started to die as well after 3 years. I’m starting to think just get a cheap one and change it out every 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidv Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 10 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said: Not to mention if they weren’t coddled by keeping them on battery minders. Mine lasted 2 years before starting wasn’t as enthusiastic as it should be after a week or more of sitting. No problem if just a few days. My expensive car battery started to die as well after 3 years. I’m starting to think just get a cheap one and change it out every 2 years. Only issue is that the wet Gill batteries are only about $100 cheaper than sealed Concorde or Gill sealed ones. On a side note, my ELT battery is due and I can either pay $218 for essentially some D batteries that have been tied together or upgrade to 406. Since I have a PLB in the plane I’ll probably go with the battery replacement ransom... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIm20c Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 hours ago, Davidv said: On a side note, my ELT battery is due and I can either pay $218 for essentially some D batteries that have been tied together or upgrade to 406. Since I have a PLB in the plane I’ll probably go with the battery replacement ransom... Shop charged almost 1 amu for labor alone to put in a 406 during the annual. I think you’re making a good decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drstephensugiono Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Not to mention if they weren’t coddled by keeping them on battery minders. Mine lasted 2 years before starting wasn’t as enthusiastic as it should be after a week or more of sitting. No problem if just a few days. My expensive car battery started to die as well after 3 years. I’m starting to think just get a cheap one and change it out every 2 years. The problem is there’s NO cheap ones! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetdriven Posted January 14, 2020 Report Share Posted January 14, 2020 9 hours ago, ArtVandelay said: Not to mention if they weren’t coddled by keeping them on battery minders. Mine lasted 2 years before starting wasn’t as enthusiastic as it should be after a week or more of sitting. No problem if just a few days. My expensive car battery started to die as well after 3 years. I’m starting to think just get a cheap one and change it out every 2 years. All I know is that my Gill would crank my plane after 2yr and the Concorde would Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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