Lithium battery

[Eric Page]

Be wary of lithium-based batteries that have unknown internals. Without a robust cell-balancing and battery protection system, they're potentially dangerous in aviation applications. Also, see the reviews on that Amazon listing for reports of cells going out of balance, leading to a failure to accept charge or to crank the engine. See also reports of elaborate required maintenance rituals using the Shorai-specific charger/maintainer.

I've only seen one report of failure of an EarthX battery, but the owner bought a new one and tossed the old; it was never analyzed to find the fault. Perhaps EarthX have cracked the code on lithium battery tech, but I'm still skeptical. A battery with active electronics inside which can disconnect the battery from the bus, and over which I have no control, doesn't appeal to me, despite the weight and cranking performance advantages.

[PapuaPilot]

A battery with active electronics inside which can disconnect the battery from the bus, and over which I have no control, doesn't appeal to me, despite the weight and cranking performance advantages.

Certified aircraft are being upgraded with lithium batteries. Concorde is doing beta testing and True Blue has an STC for theirs. Pretty soon you are going to need to give up flying if you don't want a lithium battery in your aircraft.

Shouldn't a pilot be able to keep flying and land safely without the main battery as long as engine ignition isn't a factor? I would much rather have a lithium battery that self disconnects than a cheap unknown brand that might get hot, catch on fire and not be able to be extinguished. An engine/cabin fire gives a pilot a horrific short time to try and get the plane on the ground before it is no longer able to fly.

FYI I upgraded to an Earth-X 680C a couple years ago and love it. I like that Earth-X has dual BMS circuitry in their aircraft batteries.