Need a new aircraft battery tender

Harley Kleemann

My old one gave up the ghost...What do you guys use? My Arrow has a Gill G-35 battery.

griff390

Harley;
Check to see whether your battery is a G-35, or a G-35S. The G-35 is lead acid, the G-35S is sealed, which usually means AGM or absorbed glass mat. Lead acid and AGM have different charging profiles, so make sure you purchase the right charger for your battery. Some of the newer chargers have microprocessors that automatically determine the type of battery, desulfate if needed, switch to float voltage when fully charged, wash your dishes, and fold the laundry for you. They're really slick. I use a TecMate Optimate 4, and it has been very reliable for many years. About $75 on Amazon.

Harley Kleemann

Jim, I found this one...It says it works with All GILL® G-25, G-35 & G35M and Concorde 12V CB Series Aviation Batteries.

https://batteryminders.com/batteryminder-model-128cec1-aa-s2-12v-8-amp-gill-aviation-battery-charger-maintainer-desulfator/

griff390

Perfect! Does it do the dishes and laundry too?

griff390

Harley; I just re-read the specs. That's a **really nice** battery tender. Loaded with features, flexible for use with different battery types, desulfates, and is calibrated for aviation use. You found a winner.

arrow76r

I have one for my Arrow and it works as advertised. The only glitch is how to connect it to the battery since the Arrow's battery is behind the baggage bulkhead there is no good way to mount the "approved" connector.

Harley Kleemann

Jim, on an Arrow IV, the battery is on the firewall...I already have a connection with plug run to the vicinity of the oil fill access door on the cowl.

arrow76r

Lucky you!!

Seneca38173

Guys - the same BatteryMinder Harley mentioned has been "keeping my plane company," for the last two years. And although I'm skeptical about all the desulfating and adaptive charging hocus-pocus, my plane has been starting first-time, every time ever since I got it, even when I let it sit for a few weeks in the new england winter.

Even if I'm skeptical about the technical merits, I'm not at all skeptical about BatteryMinder the company. They're truly a class act. The display on mine failed this past July. Called them up expecting to play voicemail bingo, and instead got a live technician on the phone right away. He gave me an RMA to ship it back, and five days thereafter the repaired unit was back in my plane at no charge to me.

Bob T.

Scott Sherer

Great to hear, Bob.

jjouscg01@yahoo.com

Purchased a battery minder for my Turbo Arrow and a connection kit. Unit works as advertised and keeps my battery fully charged. Check out Battery Minder and decide.

Geoffmay

I switched to a Concorde AGM batter a bit over a year ago and ordered the Battery Minder and quick connector at the same time from Spruce. I’ve been very happy with both and would consider the Minder essential if you use an AGM battery as they don’t tolerate being discharged very well. I keep the Battery Minder and my engine dehumidifier on a rolling plastic utility cart so I can roll up to the nose of my Lance and plug both in after every flight.

roevadas

Geoffmay, thanks for the information...could you elaborate on the engine dehumidifier, manufacture, model, and your opinion on it's effectiveness...I'm interested in one for my Lance II.

Scott Sherer

And Geoff: Could you post a picture of your cart? Very interesting.

Jmcmanna

Jim T: how do you plug in your battery? I have the same problem, so I just open the baggage door and unscrew the plastic bulkhead cover to attach the charger to the battery. The day will come when I drop/lose the nut to the battery box and will kick myself for not having extras in my hangar.

arrow76r

Jim M: My baggage bulkhead has a velcro attached "hatch" under which I run the wire from the FAA "Approved" PowerPole connector to the master solenoid terminal that is ring-connector attached directly to the battery. So when I fly I just disconnect the PowerPole connector that lies on the baggage compartment floor and out the protective cap on it. I'll take a photo of the configuration the next time (tomorrow?) I'm at the airplane.

https://piperowner.org/talk/uploads/editor/de/ku7mm90mzy0u.png

arrow76r

Jim M: Here are a few photos I took today of how the battery tender is connected in my '69 Arrow. I opted for the "approved" PowerPole connector although the unit came with the typical car trailer type connector as you can see in the photo. I couldn't get a good pix of the connection to the main solenoid but you can see the lead in its protective sheath that comes out from under the velcro secured hatch cover and thence to the battery solenoid. So I just gently close the baggage door on the cable to the charger. The PowerPole lead to the battery comes with sheath, wire ties and fuse holder so all I did was crimp a couple of ring connectors to the PP leads and found a close by ground and put the hot lead on the hot side of the battery solenoid. I didn't want to get in the battery box so this was the cleanest way to connect.
https://piperowner.org/talk/uploads/editor/es/6gwihb5qaw1b.jpg

https://piperowner.org/talk/uploads/editor/4v/6e5668rk2r5j.jpg

https://piperowner.org/talk/uploads/editor/bi/85zbwtvnlpbf.jpg

Jmcmanna

Cool, thanks for the pics!

Geoffmay

Sorry for late reply. Not on here enough.
I use the Engine Saver bought from Aircraft Spruce.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/engsaver.php

It was easy to set up. It’s too early for me to give any feedback but since installing it I haven’t had to replace any cylinders 😉. Others swear by it and I see it as cheap insurance. It plugs into the breather line under the cowl or you can make a plug to fit in place of your oil dipstick.
The cart was from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B078WH5MDC?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

3 shelves, minder on top, engine saver in the middle and bug removal supplies on the bottom.

My plane is away for a multi-month avionics upgrade so won’t be going to the hangar anytime soon so no photos of my personal setup.

roevadas

Geoffmay, Thank you for the information...one question...is there any difficulties - concerns connecting the dehumidifier to the engine breather tube.

Geoffmay

Easy to connect. There’s a foam plug that you can trim to fit the breather line. It needs to go a few inches in to get past a small vent hole in the line. You’ll want a rag handy to wipe away excess oil when you pull it out.

rhranzau

may be a dumb question: I saw an experimental aircraft with a Battery charger/maintainer device hooked up to the jump start plug (yellow Plug & Jump model from a/c spruce). Can a battery minder/tender/conditioner work with a Lance using this method???

rhranzau

yep, that was a dumb question. found my answer... uh, no.

spikecarter

I use this on the plane and on the sailboat, not to mention any one of 10 or so car batteries, ATVs or farm equipment.

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-amp-fully-automatic-microprocessor-controlled-battery-chargermaintainer-63350.html

So far so good, I think the Concorde 35A is going on 10 yrs old, maybe older.

griff390

This topic comes up from time to time. Here's a synopsis of one of my earlier posts.

There are caveats for charging batteries. Most of our aircraft use either lead acid (wet cell) or AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries, and each type of battery has a different charging profile. Lead acid batteries can accept high amperage charge rates, while AGM batteries respond best to a low and slow charge cycle. Charging an AGM at high rates will shorten the life of the battery, and here's why: When the electrolyte fluid in a wet cell battery boils and off-gasses (as hydrogen), it can be replenished by adding water. When the electrolyte in an AGM battery off gasses (also as hydrogen), it cannot be replaced and the battery life is shortened.

Aside from charging profiles, each battery type has different requirements for charge and float voltages, so if your charger has a switch for AGM or lead acid, use the correct setting.

Many of the newer computer controlled chargers can detect the type of battery connected to it, perform desulfate cycles, and charge the battery according to the electrolyte type. Considering the price of airplane batteries, using the correct charger is cheap insurance.

empannin

On an RV-10 we put in dual EarthX lithium cells. Much lighter, low self discharge and much higher current capability. Helped with aft CG too. I am doing similar on a sailboat as I am tired of adding water to golf cart batteries.
The risk is Lithium batteries have some serious failure modes. Most come with an integral BMS for battery charging.

griff390

Yes, the failure modes can be devastating, the 787 had issues with some of the Lithium cells. If the outside case is compromised deep enough, the battery turns into a cutting torch. I'm waiting for the solid state batteries to hit the market. Estimates are 2-3 times the energy density/capacity of Lithium ion, a fraction of the recharge time, and no cutting torch if punctured.