>Twice in the last 20 years I have been stuck with a
>dead battery. The first time happened at a middle-of-nowhere . . .
> <snip> . . . .Because I was in airplanes with 14 volt systems,
>their vehicles were able to provide jump starts which got me
>home . . . A 28 volt airplane has far fewer rescue options.
May I suggest that over half of all s.e. airplanes
flying today departed with a FAILED battery? We
tend to treat batteries in our airplanes like
batteries in our cars . . . it gets replaced when
it fails to crank the engine for perhaps the
4th or 5th time?
This means that the battery has been useless as
a source of backup energy for perhaps years before it
finally gets replaced. RG batteries are going to
make this situation worse, they maintain a lower
internal resistance than their wet and gel cousins.
They'll still get an engine started even futher
down the slide toward the recycle bin.
Please learn and observe some peventative maintenance
techniques almost unheard of in certified aviation.
KNOW (by measurement) or BE SURE (by periodic
replacement) or DON'T CARE (with dual alternators)
that the battery is capable of getting you home in
the situations which you fly.
You can find a lot of mechanics out there that curse
batteries for their various faults but very few
that understand how to live with them.
Bob . . .
////
(o o)
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