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Welcome EarthX Lithium?.new VAF sponsor.

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
Hats off and a big howdy to Kathy Nicoson from http://earthxmotorsports.com/, the newest sponsor helping bring VAF to you!

Their ad will be up in a few days, but until then I wanted to raise the big waving hand of thanks for helping keep the lights on.

Her username is ?EarthX Lithium? in the forums.

v/r,
dr
 
Welcome!

Looks like an EXT18B may be in my future since it appears to fit the PC680 box (with spacers).
 
NEW AIRCRAFT BATTERY MODELS ARE HERE!

As promised to the Van's forum readers, you are the first to know that the new aircraft lithium batteries are now available for pre-order on the website and they are scheduled to ship at the end of July 17th week.

All of our batteries meet the criteria set forth by Rotax to be an approved lithium battery, (and we are the only lithium battery on the market to have this approval), but what these 3 new models bring (ETX680, ETX900, ETX1200) in addition to what the other models have is:
1. Redundant electronics for the BMS board
2. LED battery fault light indicator that can also be plugged into your control panel.
3. A higher cranking, more capacity models (ETX900, ETX1200) if you need or want more.

These new models will fit into any preexisting PC680 battery box hardware and we are also going to have an aluminum battery box for sale as well on the site that is rated for 30 G Force, and 7 ounces of weight. That isn't on the site yet, but by end of tomorrow it should be there. Check it out at www.earthxmotorsport.com

Thanks Van's for all your support!

Kathy
 
Welcome Aboard

I use the ETX36C as my aux battery & have found it useful for running avionics & additional starting power.
 
Kathy,

If EarthX has truly designed a "drop-in" replacement for the Odyssey 680 that provides better specs, features, and performance... then EarthX has been listening... Thank you! :)
 
Not answering for EarthX, but just wanted to say that my EarthX battery is fantastic. Because I have a slightly larger 70 amp alternator (rather than the stock 60 amp), I went with EarthX's larger ETX900 80 amp battery. It's not quite a drop-in solution: It's thicker by about 1/8" fore to aft than the stock Odyssey battery. Therefore, I had to modify my existing battery box to accomodate the EarthX, but that was only about an hour of experimentation and building fun. :cool:

The battery is STRONG! I had to get used to the manner in which EarthX recharges after engine start. When you engage the alternater after engine start, the EarthX takes FULL amperage from the alternator. In my case, it's just under 70 amps for about 10-15 seconds, then it drops back down the 3 or 4 amps of current system load. With that in mind, I'm going to beef my alternator-to-solonoid lead from 8 AWG to 3 AWG just to make me feel better.

I love this battery.
 
Thank you!

Not answering for EarthX, but just wanted to say that my EarthX battery is fantastic. Because I have a slightly larger 70 amp alternator (rather than the stock 60 amp), I went with EarthX's larger ETX900 80 amp battery. It's not quite a drop-in solution: It's thicker by about 1/8" fore to aft than the stock Odyssey battery. Therefore, I had to modify my existing battery box to accomodate the EarthX, but that was only about an hour of experimentation and building fun. :cool:

The battery is STRONG! I had to get used to the manner in which EarthX recharges after engine start. When you engage the alternater after engine start, the EarthX takes FULL amperage from the alternator. In my case, it's just under 70 amps for about 10-15 seconds, then it drops back down the 3 or 4 amps of current system load. With that in mind, I'm going to beef my alternator-to-solonoid lead from 8 AWG to 3 AWG just to make me feel better.

I love this battery.

We at EarthX are very happy that you like your battery so much!

Fly Lightly,
Kathy
 
2016 will be exciting!!

Have not heard much from you in awhile, anything new at EarthX?

Thanks Bill for the question.....and yes......we do have exciting new things happening here at EarthX but I can't tell you quite yet. :) But as fantastic as 2015 has been, 2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year of announcements.

Fly Lightly,
Kathy
 
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

EarthX wants to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! We thank you all for your support and input and we have been lucky enough to meet many of you in person over the course of 2015 and hope to meet more in 2016!

Fly Lightly,
Kathy
 
Kathy, your website says this:

"The ETX680 and the ETX900 will fit into most of your existing PC680 Odyssey hardware battery boxes (there are many aftermarket suppliers and it may not be exact, if you have a 4 sided fire wall forward kit, this will not work with the ETX680 or ETX900)."

Does the ETX680 fit in the box supplied by Van's? Assuming it does, is it necessary to modify the hold down bar or fabricate a different hold down? The battery appears a little different on the top.

Thanks!
 
Kathy, your website says this:

"The ETX680 and the ETX900 will fit into most of your existing PC680 Odyssey hardware battery boxes (there are many aftermarket suppliers and it may not be exact, if you have a 4 sided fire wall forward kit, this will not work with the ETX680 or ETX900)."

Does the ETX680 fit in the box supplied by Van's? Assuming it does, is it necessary to modify the hold down bar or fabricate a different hold down? The battery appears a little different on the top.

Thanks!

If you have the 4 sided battery box that Van's sells, then it will not be a good fit for our battery as the lead acid shape is wider on the top (3.1" ) and then tapers at the bottom and the battery box is also tapered. The EarthX batteries are symmetrical in width from top to bottom. (I do not know if over the years they have sold different battery boxes so I am not 100% sure if it will or will not work). We will shortly (within a week) have another new battery box that will fit the PC680 or the ETX680/ETX900 with shims so it is interchangeable no matter which battery you use.

Fly Lightly,
Kathy
 
Testing 900 vs. 1200 on RV10

What a great company to deal with! Since I had some questions as the right applicability of the 900 vs the 1200 on an RV10, Kathy is actually sending me one of each battery to test. I will report the results here. Basically, I want to understand 2 things compared to the PC925 which I have always installed in both of my RV10's and in other RV10's as well: how well will they spin the prop compared to the PC925 and how long with the panel stay lit if the alternator quits.
I plan to start with a fully charged battery for each test, cranking with the ignitions off and measuring RPM's with an optical tach. Then recharge the battery and turn off the ground power and alternator switch and measure voltage after 45 minutes, which should be more than adequate to get an RV10 on the ground if the need should arise.
Personally I am hoping the 900 will do the job, but either one should allow for more weight carrying capacity in the RV10 before the aft CG limit is reached.

I certainly welcome any thoughts some of you may have.

Vic
 
I think you will find it does well in the test Vic. Our master was left on for a extended period of time and the 680 version started the engine just fine. Our conventional battery would not have started the motor. We have a 360 with 10 to 1 Pistons and a lightweight prop. I still have fire concerns but from a performance standpoint the battery is outstanding.
George
 
Earth X

Joe: Thanks for your post. You're a pretty conservative fellow... How did you come to grips with concerns expressed elsewhere about overtemps, runaway battery fires etc.?
 
First new product annoucement for 2016!

Have not heard much from you in awhile, anything new at EarthX?

Here is the first new product we have for 2016! It is an interchangeable battery box between the ETX680/ETX900 and the PC680 with the exact same mounting holes as the battery box that Van's sells for the PC680 so no modifying is needed. Check it out" http://earthxmotorsports.com/shop/multi-use-battery-box-for-etx680-etx900-and-the-pc680-odyssey

Fly Lightly,
Kathy
 
Earth X

Didn't mean for my post of 12/30 to sound quite as it did. I met Kathy at Oshkosh and found her delightful, informative and helpful. I'm aware of the chemistry and the cell balancing that EarthX does. Their product sounds excellent. Have followed posts here and everywhere I can find relative to Lithium Ion batteries, runaways, fires etc. I'm on the edge of ordering an EarthX for my RV-8, but still feel some reservations about fire. Asking now simply for the considerations, thought processes etc that others I respect went through before deciding on an Earth X battery and personal experiences with these batteries. My engine is a Lycon IO-360 M1B with 10:1 pistons. Thanks for any input. and.. Happy New Year
 
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