Battery Conundrum...

[Ironflight]

It's not always about "the best"....

I am a total believer int eh Odyssey batteries - it's what I run in the Valkyrie, and I have smaller ones in my jet skis. I think they are probably the best battery I have ever seen! Given that, you'd figure that when it came time to put a new battery in Louise's RV-6, it's the first thing I'd go with...and that's what I thought as well. But it turns out....

The current battery in "Mikey" has been there for at least three years (since before Louise owned the plane), and is a "Werker WKA12-33J" AGM sealed unit. Weighs about 10 lbs more than the Odyssey, and is a little bigger. Hasn't given a lick of problems until now it is showing it's age, and I'd hate to end up stranded somewhere. So I figured "Great, I'll order PC680's for both planes!"

Changing types of batteries on Mikey has some pluses - an Odyssey is lighter, has a great reputation, and I have had good experiences with it. However....the battery box is already set up with spacers and hold-down brackets for the existing battery, the cable attachments are set up for that battery (I'd have to do some re-wring, and crimp new battery cables for the Odyssey), and heck the Werker has performed flawlessly for about as long as the Odyssey in the Val - and is almost half the price of the Odyssey on line. So in this case, rather than go for "the best", I decided to go with "what works fine" and replace it with what the plane was set up for.

I just thought this might be an example for folks of the kind of trades we have to make - sometimes "good enough" really is "good enough", and you can create more trouble for yourself by trying to go for "the best"! I'm tired of laying under the panel on Mikey, and don't feel like modifying the battery cables at this point....

[Mel]

Paul,
I've always run a Powersonic battery in my -6. Like you say, it is heavier than the Odyssey, but the -6 needs the weight up front. I've had them last up to 7 years. And it fits the original battery box perfectly. I believe the one I use is a 33 ahr. It is a sealed lead acid, which has the advantage of not being picky about charge rate.

[N427EF]

I've always been puzzled as to why no one ever brought up alternative batteries. Thanks Paul.
Around here, Buchanan Field in Concord CA, everyone uses the panasonic sealed lead acid battery.I've had 2 of these in my RV8 for over 5 years and wouldn't think of replacing them with new ones. I have 2 because they were cheap and light and I had originally planned on having dual electronic ignition.
Check out the data sheet,small footprint, light weight, install in any position.

The bad news is that 6 years ago when I installed them they were a little over 30 dollars . I've just checked the price for new ones for my RV-10 and the price has doubled since. But at 68 dollars its still quite a bit less than the Odyssey.





http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/...LC-RD1217P.pdf