Anyone running Aerovoltz battery?

[wildirishtime]

Thinking of switching from my Odyssey, can someone write some feedback on how well a 2.5lb battery can turn over a 912ULS compared to the Odessey?

The Odyssey claims to have 625CCA for a few seconds, then 500something for 10 seconds, yet the Aerovoltz claims 410 CCA. Anyone know if the Aerovoltz is sufficient to turn it over nice and strong even in cold weather? This CCA question is my main concern.... appreciate anyone's input that actually has run this installation themselves?

~B

[cubtractor]

I am running the Aerovoltz battery. It has worked great. The only thing it doesn't like is getting cold soaked which is typical of a lithium battery. I preheat it along with the engine in the winter.

[jdmcbean]

Have been running it in our factory demonstrators for over 2 years and it is standard in the SLSA installation optional in the kits.. It has been working very well. 12+ lbs lighter then the Odyssey. Because it is Lithium it should be balanced periodically.. requires a balance charger. (we have done it about every 8 months)
Down sides... If you leave the master on and completely drain the Lithium you may not get it charged again or it may not hold a charge very well. Also, it does not appear to have the "staying" power that a conventional gel cell or AGM offers. Meaning when working on the aircraft and you turn the master on for troubleshooting it does not seem to have as long a life. We work around that by using a 5a charger during and the balance charger after to bring it back to full life.

I love the weight savings and the size.. You could carry a complete spare battery with you and still be 7 to 10 lbs lighter.

We do stock the 12 cell and have an aluminum mounting tray.

[neville]

I have the aerovoltz 12 cell in my ss7 with rotax 912is. It cranks the engine fine but have not had any cold weather yet. I would highly recommend also purchasing the aerovoltz smart charger which will
balance all cells. I had occasion to contact Steve Johnson at aerovoltz
sjohnson@everythingaero.net and found them very responsive and
ready to support the customer.

[Geowitz]

John - I see that you have mentioned below that you notice a definite decrease in "staying power". Is there any way you could quantify that?

I was considering running the Aerovoltz on my HKS 700T. The CCA's are not really a concern for me, but I have not been able to find a straight answer on actual real world amp hours. Everyone only wants to talk about CCA's.

Since the 700T uses electronic ignition I need a certain amount of "staying power" to keep the fan up front running long enough to not create a imminent threat if the alternator quits. I'd like to have plenty of time for a safe on airport landing.

Any thoughts?

[jonstark]

I've been running the same Odyssey in my Cessna 180 for seven troublefree years. An Aerovoltz would have to be mighty special for me to change.

jon

[wildirishtime]

I've got one installed now but have yet to start the motor (in the middle of my annual). Thanks to the CG placement of a lighter battery and the addition of the crazy heavy Airmaster electric prop on my Kitfox, I can now remove tailweight that I had added - so my net weight savings is beyond just the 11lbs in the battery alone and my useful aft luggage works out better in my W&B sheet.

~Brendan

[kmach]

Hi All,

Any update info appreciated, I have been thinking of replaceing my current battery with the aerovoltz 12 or 16 cell.

How is the aerovoltz 12 cell holding up in cold weather operation , say at -10 to -15 F ?

Anyone running the 16 cell ?

[wildirishtime]

We have been really impressed with the LiFE battery technology (so much so we are now offer our own version) - to answer your question, that low of temperatures will be slow starting - the LiFE batteries have a very interesting cold start routine - you've got to heat the battery internals using resistance like turning your starter over a few times (or external heat source).

Funny part is it 'sounds' like a traditional dead battery at temps under 25 degrees UNTIL you heat the internals through successive starter engagements, THEN it starts beautifully. It feels very awkward for those of us used to Lead batteries - however the weight savings is tremendous at 2.4lbs on the 12cell.

We have not tested down to -15F, Oregon doesn't get that cold ;) But under 20F we definitely have to go through the above process, but the LiFE technology Batteries (Ours, AeroVoltz, etc) SHOULD start as long as they are fully balance charged using an appropriate balance charger.

~Brendan

[cubtractor]

Ditto what Brendan says. I preheat the battery or load it a couple times when cold to get the electrons flowing, then it cranks right over. Again, I've never tried it at -15.

[neville]

My SS7 has the 912iS engine. The firewall fwd kit came with the 12 cell aerovoltz. The 912iS requires that the master sw, the glass panel, two
electric fuel pumps, and two engine computers be on prior to start.
If the 12 cell was fully charged and the temp is not below 30deg or so,
the engine will start ok. However, in the event the battery has dropped to
11.5v/12v it may crank slower and IF the volts drop below 9v the engine
computers will shut down along with the glass panel resulting in no start.
Twice I had to jump the aerovolts. BUT, I switched to the 16 cell and have
never had a bit of problem. The engine cranks very well (20 deg F ) and starts immediately. The 12 cell battery mount can be extended with a small
modification and the addition of two diagonal supports.

[neville]

An update on my switch to the 16 cell Aerovoltz. I had communicated with
Steve at Aerovolts and subsequently sent him the 12 cell for testing. They
found it defective (could have been my fault due to taking the battery too
low while cranking) and have sent a new one under warranty, NO CHARGE. I will install it as a dedicated backup battery for the engine computers and retain the 16 cell as the main battery.

The Aerovoltz response to the issue has been outstanding.