Best Battery for our Carbon Cubs?

[pwill435]

Bill, thanks for filling in the gaps there - it demonstrates the power of this forum with all working together on issues.
It's hard for us down here in Australia to directly contact companies as it is middle of the night for us and expensive.

I too have a dyeing battery and I am trying to make it last out till there is an alternative that will overcome the starting problem. IMO there is no doubt the Odessy would work, as they are way above other conventional types. Further, we don't have much worry with such a well proven battery about it exploding or being incompatible with the alternator, or whatever other problems may arise with Lithium Iron. But there are the problems you pointed out with the ELT, weight etc. I have tried Yuasa and Shorai but they were just too low on CCA and I could not trust them to give a reliable start when hot.

It's going to be a long time before Lithium gets certification, so I think I will just go and buy 2 Yuasas and connect in parallel (one in the luggage compartment), I know that works because I have tried it before. That will buy me a year in which time I hope something better and lighter will evolve.
Paul.

[seastar]

Paul
Thats exactly the option I have been considering.
I guess great minds think alike even thousands of miles apart.
Bill

[armaurer]

Before you go and put an experimental (home-made?) battery in your expensive airplane take a look at this:

Attachment 1974

Seat base conversion for PC680 sized battery (same size battery Top Cub has)

This is just a teaser, they are working on load testing, writing instructions etc. We are NOT ready to ship yet but will be before too long, there will be an official announcement when the kits are ready to go out the door.

This will be a way to convert older seat bases to the current production design that can fit three different kinds of battery.

Hi Pete, Do you know when the new seat base kit might be available? Concorde makes a LSA
airplane battery and I wondered if it would fit as it is larger and if it would be a better choice than a motorcycle
battery?
cheers
Alan

[Pete D]

Hi Pete, Do you know when the new seat base kit might be available? Concorde makes a LSA
airplane battery and I wondered if it would fit as it is larger and if it would be a better choice than a motorcycle
battery?
cheers
Alan

The project is basically waiting for some engineering time to do some testing. It's not quite at the top of the list of projects but it is very close. Since the parts are already designed, once the engineering approval comes through we will be able to have parts right away.

[randylervold]

pwill435, seastar, and other owners: I suggest you take a hard look at this new seat base mod enabling the use of the Odyssey PC680, it will fully solve any starting issues whatsoever. I've personally used the PC6980 in both of the RVs I built, as do most RV owners, with outstanding results. You will get a 3-5 year life from it.

Of course the downside is the weight. I don't have the specs in front of me here but the Odyssey is around 5 lbs heavier, and I'd bet there's a small weight gain (maybe .5 lb) with the seat mod as well.

[seastar]

The lithium iron pulse 4 battery uses A123 cells.
A123 filed bankruptcy and the assets were purchased by a Chinese company.
The only option thats viable is the seat mod.
How much does it cost and what's the weight penalty?
Does the seat interfere with the ELT?
Bill

[Pete D]

It is looking like to go from the standard battery that is used on the line right now to the PC680 would be a weight gain of approximately 5 pounds.

An easier mod might be to change to the new starter, they seem to be working out very well on S/Ns 237 and up. Probably will require the new cowling to get it to fit though.

[EVRoosevelt]

Randy:
If you use my scales the PC680 is the same weight as a Lithium Battery.
EV

[Paul]

Randy:
If you use my scales the PC680 is the same weight as a Lithium Battery.
EV

My new base is on it's way, Randy! Glad to benefit from all the work, research (and frustration) on the part of other CC drivers and builders. Thanks.
http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc680.htm
Odyssey states their PC680 weighs "under" 15 lbs. Other sites call it 15.4

[seastar]

Pete
How much less current does the new starter draw? What does it cost?
What does a new cowl cost? Can a cowl be field installed? I am almost 2000 miles from the factory.
how much more does the combination weigh?
Do you still need the seat base and larger battery with the new starter/cowl?
Whats the bottom line for your suggestion?

What is the cost of the new seat base?

I just bought a new X2 battery for $112 and it works better than the two year old X2 but is still marginal.
As a test I hooked the old battery in parallel with the new one and that spun the engine pretty well.
Maybe a second battery bolted in the luggage area is the cheap answer for an ELSA.
Bill