Thread: Removing the battery for a month. Any problems?

I'm not going to be flying for a month or more, and I'd like to keep my battery on a trickle charger in my garage, which will be nice and warm.

I have the Dynons, will my back-up battery drain? Should I connect a small battery in the meantime?

maybe john h. will chime in.

don't think a basic trickle charger is that good for your battery.

There is another thread somewhere in this forum from John at Sebring or Lockwood that says a basic trickle charger or regular battery charger are not what you want. You need a float charger that floats at a steady voltage which I think is around 13.5 V. So, I would do a little more research before just putting any trickle charger on the battery. I did by one from Lockwood and keep it on at all times the plane is not flying. In the almost 2 years I've used it there have been no problems.

What I have is not really a trickle charger. It's an Optimate desulfinating charger, 13.6V float with 30 min test cycles. It's designed for AGM type batteries. I don't want to use it when it's cold.

Your Dynon will be fine. There is no Keep alive any longer in any case (If you have a Keep Alive connected with SW version 4.0 or higher it should be removed). So your Dynon is normally totaly removed from the battery when the master is off.

As for the trickle charger be sure that it does not charge your battery above 13.7 volts at room temperature. Many trickle chargers peak before they float, so keep an eye on it.

Why take the battery out to keep it warm. Wouldn't it work just fine to plug it in while in the airplane, even if its cold? WF

Does it get cold in Dallas??

If you consider below freezing at night and low 40's during the day cold, then we're cold. This is reminding me of the winter of 1989.

It's rare to have to go more than a week without a good flying day (except for right before Page when it was LIFR for a solid week).

Just giving you a hard time. I spent 42 years in Alaska and I know cold. I also know that one of my coldest remberances was on the flight line in Mineral Wells, Texas going through Army rotary wing primary. T'was the winter of '68/69, the wind was blowing about 30 mph and the temperature was +15 F. They sent us out to preflight. That was cold! I can't remember how many engines actually started that morning. The theory was that with the sun coming up it would be warming up fast. I think they grounded the TH-55's that morning due to wind but they figured the old Hillers coud take it without the rotor hitting the tail boom. Apparently they were right.

So, I know it can get pretty chilly in Texas.

Update: The Optimate charger rated my battery at marginal (too much voltage drop in 30 minutes), but after 4 desufinating charges, it held 12.4V for a week. In the plane yesterday it cranked the prop like when it was new. I fixed two motorcycle batteries with it also. Best $80 I've spent in a long time.