Charger and battery

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Thomas
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Thomas »

Bruce, You are right. I did the installation 11 years ago, as I remember, then was no note about the direct battery connection. The temp sensor was also included for positioning next to the battery, this was discontinued later in the kit.
I am an (EASA B1) A&P, don’t see the difference on the BatteryMinders pic about the solenoid or battery side of the wire. Maybe an electrical crack has an idea.
Thomas Bienz DA40-180 40.337 D-ENMA (sold 08/2022)
Home Airport LSZC Buochs Switzerland
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Charles K
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Charles K »

You can have the battery minder kit wired directly to the battery - that is what my shop did. My connector is mounted with a little fabricated bracket to the external power area rather than the oil door. I have the latest BatteryMinder designed for the Concorde aviation battery. I also have the charger with the big red plug that Boatguy has and I bought that for use as shore power when playing with the avionics, etc. It will also charge your battery but it will not desulfate it like the BatteryMinder will.

My BatteryMinder is the 244CEC1-AA-S5: 24 Volt-4 Amp Concorde Aviation Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, and Battery Desulfator Just google the model number.

The instructions on the wiring kit do not prohibit the direct connection to the battery - they recommend another connection so that you do not need to deal with it when removing and installing the battery. They even note that some planes may require a direct connection. Here is the relevant text from the manual:

Since batteries are regularly removed for inspection, maintenance and replacement, we recommend attaching the positive ring terminal to the battery relay post or stud that is connected to the positive battery cable and the negative to a convenient airframe ground (see Figure 1). Plastic or composite airframes that do not have battery busses may require direct connection to battery terminals. The best method to access the battery varies by aircraft type and must be determined by the installing mechanic.
Charles
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Steve
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Steve »

My maintainer is connected via the approved harness to the battery relay terminal and airframe ground. Yes, it was a pain to get that cover off, but you only have to do it once...
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Shodan01
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Shodan01 »

I am curious - unfortunately due to life (aka work) I didnt get to fly from late Jan to today. Last week went up to fly and unfortunately found a totally dead battery. After the mechanic hooked it up to the charger, they just found it dead but the battery was good. Today (a week later) I went to fly and my Hobbs time was 300 hours up. With the power going to the external plug, does it bypass the Master switch and leave the Hobbs running?
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Chris
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Chris »

Shodan01 wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:51 amAfter the mechanic hooked it up to the charger, they just found it dead but the battery was good. Today (a week later) I went to fly and my Hobbs time was 300 hours up. With the power going to the external plug, does it bypass the Master switch and leave the Hobbs running?
Low battery voltage can cause the hobbs meter to run (see old thread here), so it probably racked up the 300 hours as it was slowly draining out. Also check that the pilot-side overhead light wasn't accidentally left on. It's a somewhat-frequent cause of drained batteries since it's not affected by the master switch.
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Larry Weiers
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Larry Weiers »

Hi guys. I have been using this charger for years with great success. Nearly always plugged in.
It has extended my battery life and provided great charge level for starting
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Charger.jpg
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Charles K
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Charles K »

Technically that charger is not 'certified' for aircraft batteries - according to BatteryMinder. But we won't tell anyone :)
Charles
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Tim H
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by Tim H »

Steve wrote: Sat Apr 10, 2021 1:02 am My maintainer is connected via the approved harness to the battery relay terminal and airframe ground. Yes, it was a pain to get that cover off, but you only have to do it once...
Steve-

Did you use the "BM-AIK2A" kit that is shown on the Concord website?

I would like to wire tie the connector to the oil fill tube. Is that possible?

Not sure I'm following where the battery relay terminal is and your comment about getting the cover off.

Thanks!!

Tim
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dmloftus
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by dmloftus »

Does this really require an A&P to install? I just bought the Batteryminder Concorde model and interface kit ($75 for about $3 of wire, fuse, and lugs) from Aircraft Spruce. As an electrical engineer (at least that's what my diploma says) I would have some heartburn paying shop rates to attach a couple of connectors.
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MarkA
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Re: Charger and battery

Post by MarkA »

Tim,

I have my Battery Minder connector kit zip tied to the oil filler tube and it works fine. A side benefit is that when ever I put the plane in the hangar, I always have the oil filler door open which helps the engine cool down quicker after a flight to avoid the fuel vapor buildup issues.

MarkA
Tim H wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 4:22 pm
Steve wrote: Sat Apr 10, 2021 1:02 am My maintainer is connected via the approved harness to the battery relay terminal and airframe ground. Yes, it was a pain to get that cover off, but you only have to do it once...
Steve-

Did you use the "BM-AIK2A" kit that is shown on the Concord website?

I would like to wire tie the connector to the oil fill tube. Is that possible?

Not sure I'm following where the battery relay terminal is and your comment about getting the cover off.

Thanks!!

Tim
2010 DA40 XLS, N123MZ, KHIO
https://youtu.be/LuQr6mGxffg
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