CIEH Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hello We have 2 Astars equipped with Concorde batteries RG355, and it seems that they don't last as expected. I can say that we do our best not to abuse them, but I had to replace both of them after around 1 year of operation. I usually set my voltage regulators between 28.2 and 28.5V, as I did with NiCad. An AME said me that since he sets the output to 29V, he doesn't have problems any more with concorde batteries. Thank you to share your experience on that. Take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ame206350 Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hello We have 2 Astars equipped with Concorde batteries RG355, and it seems that they don't last as expected. I can say that we do our best not to abuse them, but I had to replace both of them after around 1 year of operation. I usually set my voltage regulators between 28.2 and 28.5V, as I did with NiCad. An AME said me that since he sets the output to 29V, he doesn't have problems any more with concorde batteries. Thank you to share your experience on that. Take care We usually get 1-2 years out of ours. I have had them last even longer. It seems really hit and miss. Do you perform all the maintenance checks as prescribed in it's manual? (Not that that will change anything other than let you know the state of your battery and allow you to make an early warranty claim.) I don't know anyone who does. We charge ours at 28.5 but I have a hard time making the connection between upping that to 29v and that somehow increasing the life of the battery. I guess you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitpin Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 but I have a hard time making the connection between upping that to 29v and that somehow increasing the life of the battery. I guess you never know. I agree, should be no connection. What I do know however is that the initial bench charge is VERY important as to the life of the battery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helofixer Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 We usually get about a year to 16 months out of ours. We get a lot of start cycles but are very careful to use an aux power source during maintenance or ground training. We have found that performing the 12 month capacitance check required for continued airworthiness on the sealed valve regulated batteries renders them useless soon afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeroairspeed Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Hello We have 2 Astars equipped with Concorde batteries RG355, and it seems that they don't last as expected. I can say that we do our best not to abuse them, but I had to replace both of them after around 1 year of operation. I usually set my voltage regulators between 28.2 and 28.5V, as I did with NiCad. An AME said me that since he sets the output to 29V, he doesn't have problems any more with concorde batteries. Thank you to share your experience on that. Take care i don't know how to do the link. but if you go to www.concordebatteries.com and work yourself to the owners manual and on page 16 of the manual gives you the setting for concorde batteries. operation temperatures are in F. they are slightly different than ni cad. above 90 set to 27.5, between 50 -90 set to 28.5. below 50 set to 29.5. i would think that the AME that you talked to was definitly on the right line to set the generator. lots of good stuff in the manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitpin Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 i don't know how to do the link. but if you go to www.concordebatteries.com and work yourself to the owners manual and on page 16 of the manual gives you the setting for concorde batteries. Can you be a little more specific as to how to get to the page you are talking about. I tried to find it but had no luck. But then again, I'm a senile "Old Fa-t Thanks. If you want to copy the link, go to the page you want, right click on the address bar, click "copy", return to your post and right click again and select "paste". Pure effing magic!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helofixer Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Can you be a little more specific as to how to get to the page you are talking about. I tried to find it but had no luck. But then again, I'm a senile "Old Fa-t Thanks. If you want to copy the link, go to the page you want, right click on the address bar, click "copy", return to your post and right click again and select "paste". Pure effing magic!! http://www.concordebattery.com/otherpdf/ownermanual.pdf look at page 15 and 16 for some general info on voltage reg settings. Need an Adobe reader for .pdf format Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunchbox Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 We have 2 Astars equipped with Concorde batteries RG355, and it seems that they don't last as expected. I can say that we do our best not to abuse them, but I had to replace both of them after around 1 year of operation. What kind of ops are the a/c involved in? It seems to me that batteries generally don't like lots of starts and short flights (0.8 hrs or less). I frankly don't pay as much attention to batteries as I probably should, but in my experience I'd be a bit surprised if an A-Star concorde battery lasted less than 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeroairspeed Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 http://www.concordebattery.com/otherpdf/ownermanual.pdf look at page 15 and 16 for some general info on voltage reg settings. Need an Adobe reader for .pdf format thanks helofixer for helping the guy above. seemed pretty effing sarcastic. i might not be totally computer master. but i do know how to look things up as needed. i did put the website and where to go to find info. this is all about sharing info if one wishes to share. for me i look at this forum for some info as well as other sights. takes the guess work out of a lot of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIEH Posted March 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Hello, guys Thank you for sharing valuable information. Our operation can include frequent starts all the way to 3hour flights, depending on the contract. But when I think about it, the batteries I had to prematurely replace did their share of drum refueling. Even if we try to plug an APU when possible, it's not often the case in a fuel cache... I requested a quote for a capacity tester, but it's about the price of a new battery. As it does not cure but just gives you the information about the state of the battery, I didn't order one. As says ame206350, the only advantage could be an early warranty claim ! Another question: Concorde batteries are supposed to be delivered full charge. The 2 last ones I received were. Do you systematically top-charge them before first installation ? Have a nice week-end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.