What battery are you using?

[SinCityJets]

I have an RV-10 with an io-540. I am noticing that the prop is getting harder and harder to turn. It?s time.

What batteries are most suggested. I have done lots of searches and reading, and still left with the question of, which one?

Lithium? Lead-acid? Sealed AGM?

Any help appreciated.

Chad

[RV6_flyer]

Sealed AGM or Earth-X are my choice. I do not want the lead acid that requires a vent. Only sealed lead acid battery will be used in my airplanes.

On my airplane, I need the heavy lead battery up front to help with CG. IF CG were not a potential issue, I would go with Earth-X. I would need to move the battery to the front side of the firewall if I were to go with Earth-X to help with CG concerns.

Earth-X is planned to be in the RV-8.

[DanH]

Originally Posted by SinCityJets

Lithium? Lead-acid? Sealed AGM?

Alternator overvoltage protection required with EarthX. You should have it anyway, unless you hate your electronics.

[jeffkersey]

I just got a new one. I have owned the plane almost 2 years. I think I just took out the original battery. I did not build the plane. First flight was 2010. It was getting harder to turn things over. Especially on hot starts. I hope this helps with the hot starts. I looked at some other options but they all would have required modes to cables or the battery tray.

[rv7charlie]

Don't ignore the possibility of corrosion and/or loose connections as reasons for poor starting power.

When my 4+ year old no-name AGM battery got sluggish, and I needed to jump the plane most of the time (VFR, local flights, not electrically dependent, so don't bother...), I ordered a new battery. When I started removing the old battery, I found a light layer of corrosion on the terminals. I cleaned it up, reconnected, and recharged the battery. It's continued to start the plane reliably for over a year since cleaning the terminals.

Corrosion and poor connections not only cause starting issues, they affect the ability to charge the battery, as well. If you have more than ~1.2 volts of drop between the alternator B-lead and the battery terminals, there won't be enough voltage to fully charge the battery.

[BMW_X6M]

I have just replaced a battery after four years of faithful service with another one from BatteriesPlus. I have an older RV that used to use the Concorde RG-25XC located on the pilot side firewall. I had a failure away from home, and ran to the closest store for a battery that was close in size. Turns out it was about $100 less and has worked great.

The latest one I just purchased is a Duracell Ultra brand #CYL10020 and it was $159.99 but if you ordered online, and then picked it up in the store, they give you an automatic 15% off. This battery comes with a 24 month free replacement warranty. The replaced battery was still functional, but the cranking was somewhat slower, and I could tell the reserve capacity had dropped after four years. It was a model X2-30LA. You can find many AGM powersports batteries in this size, and some are even less expensive.

The Concorde failure gave absolutely no warning. I had been keeping it charged with a trickle charger. I flew for many hours the day before its failure. It had cranked the day before in cold temperatures without issue. The next day it was at 10 volts, so a cell had failed. At that point it was about five years old though. I would have replaced it sooner, but it seemed to be working fine, and I eventually lost track of its total age.

[Bevan]

Shorai 18Ah mounted on the engine side of the firewall with crowbar over voltage protection. Has worked flawless for 2+ years and 150+ hrs.

One day the engine wouldn't start (cause it wasn't getting any fuel and that's another story). A hangar neighbor commented that I could taxi with the RPM I was getting when the starter was engaged with this battery. Makes me wonder if all-electric RV's are far off?

Bevan

[Aluminum]

Originally Posted by BMW_X6M

The latest one I just purchased is a Duracell Ultra brand

+1 for Duracell AGM motorsports batteries. I got mine at Batteries Plus Bulbs to replace an Odyssey PC680 and it cranks noticeably faster than the last two Odysseys did when new. Then a few months later replaced my truck battery with a bigger Duracell AGM, same observation re cranking speed. They seem to have lower internal resistance at smaller size/weight than competition, despite what the "CCA" spec says. Cheaper that Odyssey too.

[guccidude1]

I have used the Gruber Power Systems (GPS) 18 ah (680 clone) batteries for the last 10 years. I get about 2 years of solid cranking before I replace. Price is about $40 plus shipping. I have been using the replaced batteries for various power sources around the hangar. One has been powering my fuel trailer pump for 5 years, just occasional recharging and it keeps going and going....Dan from Reno

[BruceMe]

On a whim, I tried the no-name cheapy lifepo4 12v motorcycle replacement battery on ebay. It works just fine. I do have an expbus that protect over voltage. Mine has an undervoltage cut-off to protect it. That has come in handy twice

Fyi... based on what you said; if you have a skytech starter, the problem could be it. It has a short tbo. Check that too. Not bashing skytech, super light and crazy powerful when they're new. I've been starting on them for 20 years, they just don't last long. Keep two and have one ready.

-Bruce