National Aeronca Association Bulletin Board

I am installing a C85-12 with an O-200 crank and a Sky-Tech starter (no alternator or generator). I'm looking for a battery that works well and can be recharged on the ground. What batteries have other members used and what is your experience with the ones you tried?

Odessey Battery--check Aircraft Spruce for inforamtion.

Grumps wrote:Odessey Battery--check Aircraft Spruce for inforamtion.

In particular, the Odyssey PC-680 gets great reviews in the RV crowd. I have one in mine, and have found that it gives god cranking performance, is lightweight (13 lbs?), and can take abuse. The abuse I'm talking about is that I left the master on last fall during a bad weather window, and came back 2 weeks later to find a dead, dead, dead battery.

A couple of days on a trickle charger, followed off by another day on a "real" charger at 2A, and the battery worked just fine, and is going strong today.

You can usually find 'em cheaper on Ebay than anywhere else.

Go to Batterymart.com they have the battery cheaper than Spruce and usually get free shipping.

Doug

Everyone should be aware that there are TWO Odyssey 680 batteries. One doesn't have a steel housing, one does. The only Odyssey battery that is certified for use on aircraft (except experimentals), is the steel housing one. Its the one that costs more.

Mike

CptKelly wrote:Everyone should be aware that there are TWO Odyssey 680 batteries. One doesn't have a steel housing, one does. The only Odyssey battery that is certified for use on aircraft (except experimentals), is the steel housing one. Its the one that costs more.

Mike

Really? None of my "aviation" batteries had a steel housing. Also, the Odyssey would be a field approval anyway, 'cause it isn't certified for a Champ, as far as I can tell.

kyleb wrote:

CptKelly wrote:Everyone should be aware that there are TWO Odyssey 680 batteries. One doesn't have a steel housing, one does. The only Odyssey battery that is certified for use on aircraft (except experimentals), is the steel housing one. Its the one that costs more.

Mike

Really? None of my "aviation" batteries had a steel housing. Also, the Odyssey would be a field approval anyway, 'cause it isn't certified for a Champ, as far as I can tell.

My experience with the FAA and the Odyssey battery in certified aircraft is they want the one that has been approved for some 12v aircraft systems and it is the more expensive one. You can try for field approval on the cheaper one but I doubt you will be successful.

Robert

I have one of the small, light (14.7 including case) Odysee installed on the firewall of my sedan N1266H.
I ran it down to almost nothing one day this winter...trying to start it with the mixture pulled...and on the last twist of the prop it slowly turned and started.
Battery charged right up in flight... but radio lost it's tune from resulting low voltage (should have let it charge up a little before selecting frequency...).
The mechanic who installed it in my plane has two of the little things to produce 24 V in a de H. Otter (geared 1340 P&W ) and used same two batteries for years so far!!
So I like it.
Easy access to hook batt. charger to it; the case has just a hold-down strap (light weight and no fumes)
Bill

Bought the Odyssey 680 approved in the Pipers.

Right, Dick...
I'm going out to his house today and get the entry in the log book by the mechanic.
I was looking for the 337 and he said"All it needs is a log book entry" so I said "Well then we need that !"
Aeronca 15AC Sedan.

So I'll quiz him on the requirements...

He's a good friend (used to fly for me) and an AI and he says he finally changed out the Odyseys for two new ones (24V) after 7 or 8 years just because he got nervous...it's a working floatplane and he didn't want problems in the middle of the Season...but he kept the old ones handy because "THere's nothing wrong with them"!!
So I hope you have good luck with it...I'll add a post on the paper work.
"No affiliation"
Bill