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Interesting thread to read. I too have recently had my PC680 Odyssey battery fail to start the airplane 3 times now. The first time, I hadn't flown for several weeks, so I put it on the Ultimizer charger which topped it off and I got back in the air. January 1st we had planned to fly out to Lake Havasu for the RV New Year's day fly out, but it was cold (for San Diego) and the battery ran down pretty quick when I tried to get the engine started. I put the charger on and thought I should just plan to keep the trickle charger on during the colder months. Did a couple of flights after that with no problem. Yesterday it was warm and gorgeous here and after not flying for a week, I was ready for some air time. I did my pre-flight quickly and by the time I was ready to start the engine the battery was down to 11.9V (normally it would be sitting around 12.4V). It barely spun the prop twice then pooped out. The battery had been on the trickle charger, so I was wondering if the battery was just beyond recharging. I've ordered a new one. The current one was bought over 6 years ago during the build and has been flown 360 hours in the last (almost) 3 years. I normally did NOT keep the battery on the trickle charger unless I was running the electrical stuff on the ground. The alternator charges the battery at 14.5V in normal operation. I will see if I can restore this battery with the procedure recommended, but for my personal comfort, the new replacement will go in the airplane. Thankfully, I never got stranded anywhere!
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Bruce,
Are you using an older Odyssey charger or one of the new ones that came out this year? I've damaged my old one and purchased one of the new ones. The charging process seems significant different between the two. I've asked Odyssey a couple times to explain what changed, but haven't found the right person that actually new the answer. The new one shows more phases of the charging process than the old one did. I have a pair of 680s in my RV-10. They are going on almost four years old now. I typically only put them on the charger when I'm in the hangar working on something. Although at the moment, I have it hooked up to my cell phone remote to ensure that they are topped off in this cold weather. Some folks with dual batteries swap one out each year at the conditional inspection. I guess I'm still too frugal to do that. I do have the benefit of being able to put both in parallel to get a few extra amps for cold weather starts. bob Quote:
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Charge or not to charge.
2 Batteries in 16 years. Only put on charger if haven't flown in 6 weeks. And only for a couple hours. --Usually fly once a week.
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I've used brand X (best price at the time) SLA batteries for as long as they've been available. I haven't been able to fly much at all for years (typically <10 hrs a year), and only charge on the ground if the plane won't start. My current model is a 24 AH (slightly larger dimensions than a PC680) that's been in the plane since 2012. A few months ago, after a couple of failure-to-start events, I ordered a new battery. When I opened the cowl & removed the terminals, I found corrosion on the cable lugs (not the battery posts). Cleaned it up, charged the battery, and everything's been fine since.
Point of the story is that if you have less than ideal conductivity throughout the charging path, it can not only interfere with starting, it can prevent proper charging as well. The regulator sees voltage either at the alternator, or at some point that's still well upstream of the battery. If there's a high resistance joint anywhere downstream, or anywhere in the negative side, it can prevent proper charging and shortened battery life. Charlie |
New PC680 battery arrived yesterday, so I went out and installed it.
Man, what a difference. I don't think my prop has ever been spun that quickly by the starter! I think the old battery was definitely compromised in some way. |
Odyssey Batteries
I bought a PC680 at Airventure 2015, installed it in my 6A early September 2015. I kept it on trickle charge over the winter since I was only able to fly a couple times a month. Almost exactly a year later it died. After charging it was holding 11.3 volts. Ordered a new PC680 and reinstalled my 6 year old one that was being used as a paperweight until it arrived. Spun the prop and started really quick. When the new one arrived in late November 2016 it went in use. Now, less than 3 months later, the new PC680 is indicating 10.7 volts after charging. Contacted the seller about warranty and haven't received a reply. 😡
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That way it'll be really inconvenient to throw the battery on the charger, and you won't be overcharging it constantly. SLA batteries will go many months without self-discharge. (See my earlier post.) Charlie |
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You are killing your battery by using the trickle charger...... |
Dead Odyssey
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An update to this thread.....
Early in my RV's life I was having issues with premature failure of the PC-680 batteries. I just replaced my now 6 year old PC-680 not because it failed but just because I want to be proactive before it lets me down somewhere away from the home drome. It will now go on the ATV or mower. Back in 2013 I changed how I maintained the charge on my battery which I am convinced help it live a normal life.
Bottom line is that sulfation will kill these batteries in short order and improper charging/storage can lead to rapid sulfation. Don't store the batteries at less than full charge and don't charge the batteries with less than the recommended voltage/current level. Following the recommended charge profile is key! |
PC 680
I agree 100% with Brian. Have an 8 year old 680 in my RV-6 that only
the alternator has charged. Only time it had a charger was during setup of the ADS-B GDL 82. Still cranking good. Doug McMullin RV-6 Ottawa, Ks. |
Old charger
The Ultimizer did toast batteries. I have had this new one https://www.batterymart.com/p-obc-6a...e-charger.html for at least 4 years with no problem. I keep it plugged in most of the time.
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PC680 - long life
I recently was surprised when my battery was near death when I had a problem starting on July 5th. I later researched my log book and found I had installed that battery in my RV-4... July 18, 2011. I had paid $132 for that battery. This week I decided to purchase a new battery, and shopped online and found the best buy at Auto Zone, $113.99. The battery was installed yesterday, almost exactly 8 years after the prior installation.
You can't complain about that, for a life span. Jake Thiessen Independence, OR |
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