Battery Care and maint. questions

In my RV6A I use a Concorde RG-25XC. After a couple years it seems to get weak and I replace it.

I usually fly about 50-80 hours a year about 25 of that is to and from OSH. The other flying is usually once a week or every other week for an hour or two with occassional periods of up to four weeks without flying due to travel.

Under these conditions does anybody recommend using a constant trickle charger on the battery between flights even with a new battery?

My battery life has typically been 5-7 years. I began using a "battery maintainer" and battery life went down to about 2 years. My battery manufacturer, PowerSonic, recommended only using the maintainer when the aircraft will sit for extended periods.

My builder installed an Odyessey battery and wired in a connector for the Delran Battery tender. It is a smart charger and will shut down when the battery is charged to peak. I imagine it worked better for him than me because he wasn't able to fly as much as I am. I havent used the "tender" yet but just bought one because the cold winter months will surely have the plane idle for extended periods.

battery life

Mel said:

My battery life has typically been 5-7 years. I began using a "battery maintainer" and battery life went down to about 2 years. My battery manufacturer, PowerSonic, recommended only using the maintainer when the aircraft will sit for extended periods.

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hello mel: what model and/or ah rating on your power sonic battery?

I use the PowerSonic 35ah (PS-12350) battery. It's on the heavy side (27lbs), but the RV-6 as originally designed needs the weight.