Hank Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 1 hour ago, ArtVandelay said: And many of the Concords seem to get treated like royalty, so they last longer. The only maintenance my Concord gets is too much rest in the hangar and not near enough flying. Seems to take being ignored for well over a month before it starts cranking slowly. Quote
thomas1142 Posted August 12, 2020 Author Report Posted August 12, 2020 Update, ordered new concord, took old battery out checked the cells, ALL completely dry. Now I’m a bit confused and upset at the same time. I just had an annual in late May. This should not have happened, or could it have? Quote
carusoam Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 In a perfect world... Batteries never boil over.... But when they do... make sure they drained out away for anything Aluminum... Got a volt meter in your plane? It would be good to see that your voltage regulator is working properly and not overcharging it.... Could be the battery wasn’t accepting the charge... and continued to try and be charged.... Five years on a Gill battery, passing an annual capacity check each year... when most Gill batteries don’t see year number three.... Guess you could ask your shop about battery capacity testing? This magic battery ran out of magic somewhere along the way... A capacity test is important for testing the battery’s real life capability... important for Flight in IMC where voltage is critical... not just for starting... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a- Quote
RLCarter Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 5 hours ago, thomas1142 said: Update, ordered new concord, took old battery out checked the cells, ALL completely dry. Now I’m a bit confused and upset at the same time. I just had an annual in late May. This should not have happened, or could it have? I would definitely check the charging system, over charging builds heat in the battery boiling over or evaporating the water. During high ambient temperatures (summer) evaporation happens even quicker 2 Quote
thomas1142 Posted August 12, 2020 Author Report Posted August 12, 2020 2 hours ago, RLCarter said: I would definitely check the charging system, over charging builds heat in the battery boiling over or evaporating the water. During high ambient temperatures (summer) evaporation happens even quicker Is it something I can do, or best left up to a mechanic? Quote
ArtVandelay Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 Is it something I can do, or best left up to a mechanic? Just check the voltage, usually an engine monitor displays it. Should be close to 14v, give or take 0.2v Quote
neilpilot Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said: Just check the voltage, usually an engine monitor displays it. Should be close to 14v, give or take 0.2v Even if Thomas' J is 24v? 1 Quote
thomas1142 Posted August 12, 2020 Author Report Posted August 12, 2020 I have an EDM 900, and it reflected correctly during my flights. Is that all that I can check? Quote
ArtVandelay Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 Even if Thomas' J is 24v? Oops...good point. I’ll assume he can do the conversion? :-) Quote
ArtVandelay Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 I have an EDM 900, and it reflected correctly during my flights. Is that all that I can check? You need to double check what the battery is seeing, put a voltmeter directly on the terminals. 1 Quote
Guest Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 18 hours ago, thomas1142 said: Update, ordered new concord, took old battery out checked the cells, ALL completely dry. Now I’m a bit confused and upset at the same time. I just had an annual in late May. This should not have happened, or could it have? You are right to be upset. The battery is part of the Annual Inspection. It should have been serviced with distilled water, and charged at a minimum, capacity checked would be even better. Before installing your new Concord, I would rinse the battery box and the area beneath it with warm water and baking soda to be sure that any spilled acid is neutralized. Clarence Quote
thomas1142 Posted August 12, 2020 Author Report Posted August 12, 2020 I guess I will service it with distilled water, as Clarence states, charge it and see if it holds the charge. I’ll have a 5 year old battery as a spare. Quote
kpaul Posted August 12, 2020 Report Posted August 12, 2020 18 minutes ago, thomas1142 said: I guess I will service it with distilled water, as Clarence states, charge it and see if it holds the charge. I’ll have a 5 year old battery as a spare. I'm not sure I would trust a battery that had gone dry even if it would take and hold a charge, which I doubt it will do. You could use it to power a tow bar. 1 Quote
carusoam Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 1 hour ago, thomas1142 said: I guess I will service it with distilled water, as Clarence states, charge it and see if it holds the charge. I’ll have a 5 year old battery as a spare. trust it all you want... Charge it today... It will be dead before you go to use it for anything... Its not like somebody has taken a good battery away... Before it’s time... It has been near dead for years already... just not very noticeable if you fly often enough... Fill the battery, charge it... Record the voltage while charging... come back every day and record the voltage while it sits... So... a summary of some of the things to consider... 1) Your mechanic and you would benefit if you talk more often... 2) Servicing a battery isn’t all that hard if you feel like doing it yourself... 3) JPIs always have a V meter... often people put one plugged into the aux socket for easy reading... 4) Check the Volts while charging, and while sitting... and for extra credit... a glance while the starter is engaged... 5) You get a manual with your new battery... it’s on line... 6) If you didn’t read the manual... owner assisted annuals probably aren’t your thing... and that’s OK too... 7) Make sure the battery box got rinsed... all that battery acid left the battery through the box... 8) Make sure the loose acid gets stabilized... 9) The sealed Concorde will be great... 10) Did you think there was this much to know about batteries? 11) When you only have one battery... and you fly in IMC... it is good to know this much about batteries... 12) Proper cleaning after acid goes missing...aluminum gets dissolved in acid... really important to clean up properly... 13) there is even a cleaning procedure and a dialectric grease you can be familiar with to improve the battery’s connection... PP summary of stuff I read above... Best regards, -a- 1 Quote
ArtVandelay Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 You are right to be upset. The battery is part of the Annual Inspection. It should have been serviced with distilled water, and charged at a minimum, capacity checked would be even better. Before installing your new Concord, I would rinse the battery box and the area beneath it with warm water and baking soda to be sure that any spilled acid is neutralized. Clarence I said Gill wet cells are abused by pilots, didn’t realize they were also abuse by mechanics that should know better. I noticed the Mooney annual checklist doesn’t mention it, just checking for corrosion and battery security. Quote
RLCarter Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 4 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said: I said Gill wet cells are abused by pilots, didn’t realize they were also abuse by mechanics that should know better. I noticed the Mooney annual checklist doesn’t mention it, just checking for corrosion and battery security. I had to go look. ... the 100/annual check list does say to refer to the service manual, which says service the battery every 25hrs 1 Quote
ArtVandelay Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 I had to go look. ... the 100/annual check list does say to refer to the service manual, which says service the battery every 25hrs Ahhh, I didn’t follow up on the reference to the service manual.Thanks.I “assume” there is a rule that you can’t perform an annual without having a service manual. Quote
Guest Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 From the current Mooney inspection check list: Clarence Quote
RLCarter Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 38 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said: Ahhh, I didn’t follow up on the reference to the service manual. Thanks. I “assume” there is a rule that you can’t perform an annual without having a service manual. I've always been told it was required to have all the proper reference material, never really questioned it as seemed like a good idea anyway Quote
RLCarter Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 Looks like it's time to update my 100/annual check list, mine isn't as detailed as the one you posted @M20Doc Quote
thomas1142 Posted August 13, 2020 Author Report Posted August 13, 2020 Where can one get the “most current” service/annual checklist? Quote
LANCECASPER Posted August 13, 2020 Report Posted August 13, 2020 3 hours ago, thomas1142 said: Where can one get the “most current” service/annual checklist? https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4147179/TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS DOCUMENTS/100_Hour_2018.pdf Quote
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