SS with Continental Engine Battery Placement

[MotReklaw]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to mount the battery tray in the tail of the fuselage. I've got the location from the drawings, but I'm not sure about the fasteners. It shows the tray being attached to two tubes on one side, but there is no mention of the other side. Seems it would be a bit office balance with being attached only on one side, and the tray is not wide enough to reach the other side of the fuselage tubes.

What have other Continental builders done about securing the tray in that area?

Also, does anyone have a recommendation for the right physical size for a battery? The tray measures 6 11/16 x 5 inches.

Any ideas welcome.

Thanks

[airlina]

Tommy, I built a Series 5 with a Continental IO-240 up front so my battery is in the empennage like yours. I used the standard attach method as specified by Skystar's instructions. This proved to be a near disaster for me. The instructions called for 6 adel clamps in various spots to secure the battery tray. this proved to be woefully inadequate. during preflight one day I noticed what I thought was a mud spot just below my battery area on my fabric. When I tried to rub it off , I found it to be something hard protruding thru the fabric from the inside. I immediately took off the battery access cover and was shocked to find that 5 out of my six battery attach points had failed and the battery and tray were floating just above my rudder cables. The adel clamps had torn completely, as well as the aluminum angle at the back corners of the battery tray. . i suspect this occurred during spin testing and recovery as the torque forces in the tail must be strong during recovery. as you can imagine had i not found this before flying , it could have been a disaster in flight , with the proximatey of the elevator tube and rudder cables in this area. i changed the whole attach method after this incident and put out a service bulletin to alert others that had their battery in the tail like us. I am going to attach photos of before and after to show how i fixed the problem. I have spun the airplane with this setup with no ill affects. Suffice it to say that I will never trust adel clamps to secure anything to the tubing that has any weight to it. My new homemade tube clamps are made from 4130 steel tube and are the same strength as the airframe. sorry about the longwinded answer but I felt this to be a serious safety issue with the battery in the tail. by the way , I use an Odyssey PC 680 battery that weighs 16 lbs and measures 7.15" long by 3.00" wide by 6.65" high.

[MotReklaw]

Some very valuable info here and you don't know how much I appreciate it.

This forum and the members are like a band of brothers....

Please see the private email I sent you.

[Danny]

Tommy
I installed an o-200 with a lightweight starter and generator. Also has a composite whirlwind prop. I installed my battery on a tray behind the baggage compartment. Did not have any issues with weight/balance. There is a photo in my album.
Danny
SuperSport

[jtpitkin06]

I made a custom battery box from fiberglass cloth and resin to fit an Odyssey 680 battery behind the pilot seat. The box is anchored to the frame members with Adel clamps, large fender washers and -4 hardware. The battery just fits inside the box with room for a little foam padding.

John Pitkin
Greenville, Texas

[MotReklaw]

Thanks guys!

[Mark]

We also put ours behind the seat:

[HighWing]

The posts reflect my thinking pretty much. I doubt Adel clamps were designed to secure heavy structures in high stress areas. The first thing I thought of with the original question was stories told by a FAA inspector who spend the first 20 years of his career as an accident investigator in Alaska. One of the "I'll never forget" comments he made was the number of fatal accidents, otherwise surviveable, that turned bad by missiles generated by poorly secured objects in the back of the airplanes. The most bizarre - the fishing pole protruding from the back of a passenger's head. --A battery secured by adel clamps? It also reminds me of the day my wife and I went down, when the Bonanza that followed us out of Camran Park six hours later got caught in high density altitude issues and flipped onto its back unable to climb over rising terrain. The two back seat passengers died. Ice chests, scuba tanks etc. Be careful.
Lowell

[MotReklaw]

What we decided to do:

I bought the Battery from the McBeans at Kitfox.
Thanks for all the replies.
Here's some info:

Up to 80% smaller than the stock battery
Up to 10lbs Lighter than the stock battery
Service life of over twice a lead acid in similar conditions
Industry leading 3 year warranty
Designed, developed, and assembled in the USA
Hard mounted brass terminals for a direct replacement installation
Completely “dry” technology so batteries can be mounted in any direction
Non-toxic, recyclable, and can be air shipped
Applications for engines from 50cc - 1800cc
Tested extensively by professional race teams
Impact and water resistant
No special charger required
No trickle charger required, loses only 10% of charge over a year of static use


Oh, and we are going to mount it behind the pilot's seat and just add weight in the tail for W&B.

[airlina]

Tommy, sounds like a great idea. How much does the battery weigh? Keep us posted on how it works starting the O-200, might be an option for me down the road. thanks Bruce

[MotReklaw]

Kitfox says the battery weighs 2.5 and the bracket is .5 lbs. the cost is approximately 25% more. Hopefully, it will be worth it.

Thanks for all the comments.

[Geowitz]

What are the specs on this battery? Amp hours, dimensions?

[MotReklaw]

Here are specs provided by Kitfox when I asked for them in June of this year:

The battery is $189.00
Weight: 2.5 lbs
Dims: 4.5 x 3.38 x 4.05
Voltage: 13.6
Amp: 20 Pbeq A/H
410 CCA


What are the specs on this battery? Amp hours, dimensions?

I'm using an iPad Geo, so I don't know how to cut and paste Kitfox's description. Will do it tomorrow.

Tommy
(Learning how to use an iPad).

[jiott]

I just finished installing that battery in my New SS7. It sure does save a lot of space on the firewall. I have not fired up or turned anything on yet.

Jim

[Geowitz]

Tommy,

Thanks for the specs. I am now considering getting one of those, but I have one more question hopefully someone can help me with...

When they talk about calculating the "lead equivalent" amp hour ratings will it really last as long as a 20 amp hour lead battery? I ask because I have electronic fuel injection on the HKS 700T and if my alternator goes out I need to have as much capacity/time as possible for the engine to run off of it. Have not been able to find an explanation on this yet. Most descriptions for these batteries talk only about how amp hour ratings relate to starting/quick draw capacity and recovery.

Also, It says not to charge over 14.4 volts. My alternator seems to put out 14.5 volts. Is that ok?