New battery time -- Gill or Concorde

[drapo]

I replaced my dead 1 yr old Gil with a Concorde RG35AXC, last June. Due to WX and work, I couldn't fly at all all of January this year and left the Mooney parked outside for that period.

Earlier this month, after I shoveled all of the snow on and around the Mooney, I got inside and, just for the fun of it, without really believing in having any luck, I inserted the key, master "On", pump on, primer for 10 seconds, and, just turned the key....

First try, no hesitation, four blades and it came alive....

One word, Concorde!

[lahso]

Like triple8s, I haven't had any unusual problems with the Gills I've had in my aircraft.

[jasonwojo]

Quote: Seth

Concorde RG35AXC -That's what I replaced in my F when the Gill went bad.  As noted above, it's sealed, it has extra cranking power for hot starts, and it is not terribly more expensive.  I think that's what newer Mooney Aircraft left the factory with in the 2000s - though I am not 100% sure on that. 

I do know that the Missile has two batteries on a rack located further aft to help with the CG due to the heavier engine.  However, those two batteries are indeed Gil -  So far so good, but hopefully when the time comes, I'll be able to replace them with Concorde sealed batteries.  I'm not sure if that is possible due to the STC.

Go Concorde as suggested by everyone so far.  As an A&P I know said, Gills are POS.  I wouldn't say that, but he did.

 

-Seth

[bnicolette]

Hey guys,

I've been following this thread and never really gave much thought to the battery that's installed in the airplane.  I mean I haven't had any problems with it yet.  Let me ask you this:  My G-35 was installed in January 2010.  Like I said, so far so good, but my annual is due this month.  Should I replace the Gill now with the Concorde, or would you guys suggest waiting until the Gill starts going t-ts up?  What is your recomendation?  It evidentially is still very strong as there are times when I dont fly for two weeks and come take the plane out and there are no issues with starting even in this cold wx here near Pittsburgh?

Thanks for any insight.

B~

[DonMuncy]

In my experience, batteries fail whenever they please. I have had them last 2 years or 7 years. That being said, I would wait until I began having trouble with the battery, such as slow cranking before replacing it.

[DaV8or]

ARE YOU GUYS KIDDING ME!!! Concords are absolute garbage! They break all the time, cost way too much and I've heard they can cause your plane to spontaneously burst into flames!! Gills rock! They last longer than your engine or your plane. Super powerful too. They can crank your motor on just 2 volts! I read they're desinged to boil out Corrosion X as a bonus. Concords are really, really bad. Don't ever buy one!

 

Actually, I too recently bought a Concord seaked battery. It just felt wrong to have a thread on MooneySpace without any contraversy, or debate.

[OR75]

batteries are like cars ... you can get a lemon

 

[rbridges]

I replaced the Gill in my plane.  It looks like it was nearly 3 years old.  I replaced it with a Concorde (based upon the recommendations here).  The cheapest I could find it was around $230 at Chief.

[PTK]

Quote: DaV8or

"Super powerful too. They can crank your motor on just 2 volts! I read they're desinged to boil out Corrosion X as a bonus."

[PTK]

Quote: triple8s

 I have however had a problem with them puking acid all over the place!

[scottfromiowa]

Quote: DaV8or

ARE YOU GUYS KIDDING ME!!! Concords are absolute garbage! They break all the time, cost way too much and I've heard they can cause your plane to spontaneously burst into flames!! Gills rock! They last longer than your engine or your plane. Super powerful too. They can crank your motor on just 2 volts! I read they're desinged to boil out Corrosion X as a bonus. Concords are really, really bad. Don't ever buy one!

 

Actually, I too recently bought a Concord seaked battery. It just felt wrong to have a thread on MooneySpace without any contraversy, or debate.

[PTK]

[Awful_Charlie]

I didn't have a problem getting 10 years out of a 12V Gill on my previous brand P.  The current pair of Gills are doing fine in my Bravo and are 5 years old, am I doing something wrong?  They're getting the engine started (currently at -10C here) without a problem.  I've never tried a Corcorde as the weight puts me off, the hassle of adding a bit of water once per year is like a drop in the ocean - the panels are coming off and I'm getting in there with a torch and a mirror anyway

 

 

[jetdriven]

I don't understand why airplane owners (and manufacturers) are so resistant to new technology.  The sealed AGM battery was invented 30 years ago.  Fine wire spark plugs in the 1950s.  It surprises me to see mechanics peening rivets into brake linings, topping off battery acid, and putting tubes in tires in a nearly-new  700,000$ aircraft.

[Seth]

Quote: Bnicolette

Hey guys,

I've been following this thread and never really gave much thought to the battery that's installed in the airplane.  I mean I haven't had any problems with it yet.  Let me ask you this:  My G-35 was installed in January 2010.  Like I said, so far so good, but my annual is due this month.  Should I replace the Gill now with the Concorde, or would you guys suggest waiting until the Gill starts going t-ts up?  What is your recomendation?  It evidentially is still very strong as there are times when I dont fly for two weeks and come take the plane out and there are no issues with starting even in this cold wx here near Pittsburgh?

Thanks for any insight.

B~

[RJBrown]

Quote: OR75

batteries are like cars ... you can get a lemon

 

[RJBrown]

Quote: OR75

batteries are like cars ... you can get a lemon

 

[DaV8or]

I think a big part of the problem with airplane batteries is they are so under sized. To save weight and space, they are highly stressed. Think about it, would you put a battery the size of our plane batteries in a car with a 360 cu in engine in it? Our batteries are just a small step up from the garden tractor size. Maybe just about right for a Smart car.

[jetdriven]

One negativr comment about the Concord battey in a rather large sample size.  Both here and Beechtalk, I never heard of anyone getting ten years from a Gil.

[flyby201]

FYI, I bought the Concorde and the Gill never started my Mooney the way the Concorde does.  I highly recommend the Concorde.  I got the RG35AXC.

[NotarPilot]

My understanding is the battery should be replaced after 2 years.  How many of you replace a functioning battery at 2 years before it starts giving you any problems?  Mine is 3 years old but works great so I'm not sure if I need/should change it yet.  When I do, sounds like I'll be getting a Concorde.

[docket]

Concorde is a no brainer.  I had a Concorde go bad because I left the master on and they still replaced it for free.

[Jeff_S]

Quote: NotarPilot

My understanding is the battery should be replaced after 2 years.  How many of you replace a functioning battery at 2 years before it starts giving you any problems?  Mine is 3 years old but works great so I'm not sure if I need/should change it yet.  When I do, sounds like I'll be getting a Concorde.

[DrBill]

A month after my previous post, the Concorde in my current Mooney is not holding a charge.  Checked the logs and it's 7 years old.  Bought another one and had it put in last week.   I got the old one on the bench and the best it can do after charging for 24 hrs is 12.4 V after leaving it overnight w/o the charger.   Concorde book says it should stay at 13 plus.

After a month of no activity the plane would not start with the old battery.

BILL

 

[Cruiser]

well there you are...........

It's not the battery, it's the Mooney complaining about not being used in a month