Battery Woes - No Stock! Rejuvenating Sealed Battery

[mshac]

Have any of you checked the prices and availability of batteries for our aircraft? Virtually every battery that will work is OUT OF STOCK everywhere. The only battery I could find that was in-stock anywhere was the "old-fashioned style" Gill G-242 with the screw-on black cell caps. ALL of the newer sealed Gills and Concords where unavailable, with varying estimates of when they would be in stock. (FYI - The Concords with "M" designation don't require the battery box as they have a place built-in where the strap-down metal bar goes. A good option if your battery box is shot, or a way to recoup some funds by selling your good box that you would no longer need.)

I checked for a lithium-ion option, but, as is common with the Skymaster, there is not one available for our airframe. PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!

Regarding prices, every sealed battery was $800 or more! This seems like highway robbery to me, when equivalent non-PMA batteries are maybe 25% of these prices.

My Gill RG24-16 sealed battery was nearly dead after sitting for awhile. It showed 10 volts on my multi-meter. I removed it from the aircraft and broke the seal on the cells to check acid levels. The seals warned "WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED" but who cares as the battery is long out of warranty! Every cell was below the level of the lead, so I topped off with distilled water. (FYI, the cell caps require a 5/8" socket to unscrew.)

I tried to charge it with a 12/24v "smart" charger, but due to low voltage, the charger was not "smart" enough to realize it was a 24v battery and not a 12v. I connected it to a 24v forklift battery and let it sit overnight, knowing the voltage would equalize between the batteries. This morning the battery showed 24.6v, and I put it on the smart charger which now sees it as a 24v battery. Its currently charging at 26.6 volts at 8 amps, but that will go down until it reachs the float stage when fully charged.

So I think (pray) I dodged a bullet this time, but if you find yourself with a bad battery, you could be stuck for weeks unless you want an old-fashioned non-sealed battery.

And if you have a sealed battery that's out of warranty, it may be a good idea to check the electrolyte levels and top-off as required.

[wslade2]

Crafty!! I had heard this about the batteries a couple months ago.
As we’re all experiencing now, it’s a different world….

BTW-our avgas price is “coming off the chain” and some more peripheral airports with slightly lower prices have dry tanks/none to sell.

Plan accordingly for a trip.

[Frank Benvin]

https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalo...es/rg24-16.php

In stock Canada

[mshac]

Originally Posted by wslade2

Crafty!! I had heard this about the batteries a couple months ago.
As we’re all experiencing now, it’s a different world….

BTW-our avgas price is “coming off the chain” and some more peripheral airports with slightly lower prices have dry tanks/none to sell.

Plan accordingly for a trip.

I'm flying 3+ hours each way this weekend, and 100LL is near $7.00 in many places. I'm paying $5.80 thinking its a steal, when I was paying $3.00 18 months ago.

This economy sucks. IMHO, we need change in our leadership.

[ljmolina]

Originally Posted by Frank Benvin

https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalo...es/rg24-16.php

In stock Canada

Holy Smokes $1070 for this battery!
I should go to my plane and make sure mine battery is topped off.

[Frank Benvin]

Originally Posted by ljmolina

Holy Smokes $1070 for this battery!
I should go to my plane and make sure mine battery is topped off.

1070.00 Canadain Dollar = 825.00 US Dollars

[ljmolina]

Originally Posted by Frank Benvin

1070.00 Canadian Dollar = 825.00 US Dollars

Ha ha, yeah...my bad. Still that is one expensive battery...what did I get myself into! j/k I love my plane.

[Joes]

This lithium battery has been tso approved with a field approval for the installation. Anyone have any thoughts on the bracket configuration for retaining or the cover this battery would require.


Thanks, Joes

[Jhogan0101]

I also took apart my old sealed concorde that was not working great anymore a couple months ago.
The water in the battery was low, it evaporated out.i ended up buying a new lead acid gill
because you can top them off as needed with distilled water.

Ive noticed that the key to keeping the battery lasting longer is to ALWAYS keep it on a trickle charger when not in use and keeping water topped off.

The plates inside tend to “rust” (sulfonate) when not always topped off.

Ive had good results with this product recovering batteries but it takes time.
https://www.recovermybatteries.com/ex01-12-24-200.html

On another note,This is an interesting video of
a guy rebuilding a lead acid battery.
It gives you a visual on how these things are built
https://youtu.be/kNGg0P7B5fI?si=CPfyqDVV8Vq5csY4

[GAdams]

I just bought a new Gill 242 from Boeing for $562.89 plus I had to buy acid from the installer. $127 to install the acid and put the battery in the aircraft. Boeing had many of these in stock. I received it the next day. UPS ground.

[hharney]

Originally Posted by Joes

This lithium battery has been tso approved with a field approval for the installation. Anyone have any thoughts on the bracket configuration for retaining or the cover this battery would require.


Thanks, Joes

What I did for my experimental was used rigid foam board to fill the gaps so that I could use the original battery box.