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RV-10 Battery location

W

WrightsRV7

Well Known Member
Is anyone aware of a success story in moving the RV10 main battery to a more accessible location, i.e. forward, somewhere like the baggage compartment or.....? Battery access has been important to me over the years and it seems the RV10 location is somewhat buried behind a lot of screws. I suspect the battery location is a CG-driven decision, which we all get as pilots. My aerocommander 520 has it much further back in the tail and a longs ways from the two fans, so a lot of big wire (voltage drop, weight, & fire risk), but it does have an access door. Love theory and discussion, but really looking here for an executed success story or two.......:)
 
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When I fly solo I need to add 15 lbs or so to the baggage area to get cg within limits, so I don't want to move the battery forward. I did bring a (fused) wire with a female jack to the aft panel of the baggage area, to make charging the battery (or measuring its voltage) easy. With an electric screwdriver it only takes 10 minutes to get the aft bulkhead off, if you want to get in there.
 
thanks, good insight to CG

Thanks Bob, good info, you may have the best solution, keep battery in same location and bring access (i.e. for charge or jump) to a more convenient location. Cheers, Mike
 
Thank you for link...

Thanks Andy, clearly missed that with my keyword search on the site....good info to be had on the CG situation in the RV-10 with that string of communications. Cheers, Mike
 
It sure would be nice to get rid of that long heavy battery wire. How about a EarthX on the firewall and a BC vacuum pad alternator. I have avionics in the tail, so my CG is a bit aft of most. Hmmmm.....
 
thanks again Andy

Andy, great suggestion on the B&C alternator, definitely no vacuum on this airplane, had enough wet/dry vacuum pump failures to last a lifetime, so pad is open. Also will have Dynon avionics panel, so bulk in the back (txpdr, com boxes), they have performed absolutely fantastic in the RV7. Thinking a couple of lbs of lead by the ELT and/or on the existing battery shelf should make a good CG situation with aft alternator, aft avionics for the most part, and a light battery up front. Not the absolute answer, but you have given me a great example where it can work, thanks! :)
 
Cracks me up!

I find the talk about the additional weight of a #2 awg wire in an RV-10 kind of humorous.

Tefzel wire in #2 awg weighs 231 lbs/1000ft or about .231 lb/ft. My -10 wire run was about 11 feet long so it added about 2.8 lbs to the aircraft. Then you need to find the difference in wire weight when running a shorter wire, let's call the shorter wire about 3 1/2 feet long or .8 pounds. The difference is then about 2 pounds.

If you were trying to build as light as possible, I get it.

My question is how many people are concerned about 2 pounds of wire and then install leather seats, full upholstery, fancy billet door handles, overhead consoles, multiple aluminum air vents, pre made stainless fluid lines, avionics fans, extra fuel tanks, tunnel consoles, etc.

Just sayin'...
 
I get into my two batteries PC925/PC625 once a year. Two charge ports above access panel. It works great where it is. It takes less than 5 minutes to pull corrugated panel with a drill. Now I would like lighter batteries once there are some good reviews available, to increase my baggage allowance.
 
rocketman1988 said:
I find the talk about the additional weight of a #2 awg wire in an RV-10 kind of humorous.

Tefzel wire in #2 awg weighs 231 lbs/1000ft or about .231 lb/ft. My -10 wire run was about 11 feet long so it added about 2.8 lbs to the aircraft. Then you need to find the difference in wire weight when running a shorter wire, let's call the shorter wire about 3 1/2 feet long or .8 pounds. The difference is then about 2 pounds.

If you were trying to build as light as possible, I get it.

My question is how many people are concerned about 2 pounds of wire and then install leather seats, full upholstery, fancy billet door handles, overhead consoles, multiple aluminum air vents, pre made stainless fluid lines, avionics fans, extra fuel tanks, tunnel consoles, etc.
Click to expand...

Just a couple of comments. If grounding locally, the wire run from battery to ground is about 10-12", not 3.5', but either way there is weight savings. That's not all, though. If you run the battery to the firewall, then I assume you are grounding everything else there too, so you double the weight of all of your power wires (wingtip and tail, lights, pitot heat, etc) with the home runs. 2 lbs here and 2 lbs there and pretty soon you're talking real weight.

On the interior and so on, I say the same as me drinking Diet Coke and eating fried food. The fried food is given, so might as well drink the Diet Coke. If the leather seats and other items are given, might as well save weight elsewhere if you can.

To each his own.
 
Guys:

I'm at the decision making point on this and I will be mounting the battery on the firewall. I just purchased the 2 bladed Hartzell with the 8301 composite blades. This prop is in the neighborhood of 7 to 9 pounds lighter than the metal blended airfoil blades, which makes this move a no brainer for me. It's a win, win, win. No #2 gauge wire run from back to front, lighter battery (an Earth-X) on the firewall, and the battery closer to the starter. I talked to one of the Hartzell engineers and he says the prop will handle high compression pistons, and dual LSE ignitions no problem too (It's the hub/blade combination that Kahuna has been flight testing). If I need ballast in the back, it will be the little tool kit I usually carry around everywhere in my 8 now. You can make them as heavy as you want :).
 
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I like it!

Jesse...

I agree with the fried food/diet coke example! The point of my post, however, was to illustrate a point. I would think that most people who build a -10 are not going to be as concerned with the weight as someone building a racing machine. They are typically building a comfortable cross country machine, hence the example of the interior, leather, etc. I just think it is kind of funny that people would be concerned with a couple of pounds of wire and then add 25 or more pounds of creature comforts and not even say a word...

Note that I am not saying it is WRONG to consider moving the battery, in fact I kind of wish I had...
 
Rocketman, do you actually know anyone that fits the sterotype you find so amusing?
 
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Yep.

Yes, I do.

I also frequent these forums enough to know that there are others out there concerned about saving a couple of pounds on wire and then add 10 times that in other accessories.

Don't believe me? Check out the poll results for weights...

Sorry if you don't see the humor in it...no offense was meant.
 
Thank Larry...:)

Thanks Larry, great plan on the battery & overview of your weight balance analysis, the numbers will look great on the CG I am sure! I am still holding my breath on the lithium batteries, I am chemist, worked on batteries here and there, and just for me, waiting to hear a few more success stories (like yours!) of long term use and stability.... by the time I get to the battery install who knows, like to see things change and tried for better safety and performance.

Cheers, Mike
 
I put the battery on the firewall (composite prop - A/C combo). However, I ran the #2 wire to the original tail battery location. This gives me the option to change locations or run two batteries. As an added bonus I installed the Aircrafters LLC APU install kit (right of bag door - short cable runs). I have used the APU for many hours of panel/fuel/light/etc.. setup/testing using a 50 amp Redbox. The Apu can also be used for long term battery maintenance (I use the battery minder - this scenario was confirmed by Concorde directly).
 
Thank you, another great example...

evolution10,

Really begs us to consider composite prop & B/C alternator, opens up options. Like you, I have always enjoyed remote AND easy battery access, sometimes at/on a distant airport, sometimes in my own hanger....:)

Thank you very much for chiming in on the thread.

Cheers, Mike
 
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