I am planning to convert to A123 batteries when I purchase a 2.4 transmitter. Will I need to send in my ECU to be reset to 6.6 volts?

No. . .the voltage setting is the setting for the lowest voltage necessary, not the maximum. We will advise after our tests with A-123 batteries are concluded.

Thanks,
Eric Clapp
Jet Central Micro Turbines

Hello guys,

Is anybody has a picture of how to set up this A123 batteries on the plane? I relly need to know where to plug the cables!

Thanks a lot in advance

Any updates on this Eric? I went to an A123 Battery over the weekend and had a hell of a time getting the turbine to run correctly. I realize I had to "reteach" it the throttle curve, but I believe some setting such as Accel Delay have to be rethought with the lower voltage battery. Let me know what you guys come up with.


Luis

A-123 preliminary tests show that the lower voltage although it works, confuses the ECU. By that I mean a perfectly good running turbine is now dealing with lower voltage. During start up, the starter motor turns at a lower RPM due to amp draw. You now risk the possibility of a Hot Start.

Once running at Idle, it is necessary to bring the throttle up to full throttle. When reaching High throttle or WOT, you must leave the throttle at full until the RPM's reach the pre set maximum then. . .reduce 1 click at a time pausing for 5 seconds each click until you reach idle. It is not necessary to alter the Throttle curve in the ECU (Linear - Half Expo and Full Expo) as this is only trying to compensate for an ECU which has not learned it's new data based upon a battery change. Throttle curve should be left at Full Expo for this exercise, then flown and if and only if you feel the need to change the throttle curve. . .do it now.

ECU is pre set at 6.v for low voltage cut off. Do not change this setting as it affects "start up."

We are continuing to work with A123 set ups. Still prefer the LiIon 7.4v battery we supply for the ECU.

Best regards,
Eric Clapp
Jet Central Micro Turbines
Lifetime Warranty

Sent from Mexico. . .I return to the US on 24 May

Eric,

How will the ICS handle a 3s A123 pack which is 9.9V? I also have a Duralite 7.4v pack but would prefer to use the A123 9.9v pack due to the extra weight needed up front.

Hope that you're enjoying Mexico!

Best regards,
Mike

This is interesting. I had just switched over my F-15 to A123's a few days before the Mid Atlantic Jet Rally this past weekend. I cycled the batteries a few times but didn't get to run the engine. I made the first flight late in the day without performing any calibration and it went fine. When trying to squeeze in a second flight before I had to leave, I had the engine running and had to wait for two other planes to take off so it was idling for maybe three or four minutes. Just when it was my turn to taxi out, I brought the idle up and the engine shutdown just as the RPM's started to come up from idle. There was no puff of smoke. It just shutdown. I tried to check the data terminal to see what happened but I probably didn't get into the right menu to see and people were waiting on me to pack up so I could give them a ride home. I'm wondering if the lower voltage of the 123's had anything to do with this. I haven't run the engine yet to see.

Marty

Im going back to LiIon for the ECU. I didnt like the way my engine ran with the A123's. I'm surprised that your spool-up time wasnt reduced Marty. My Rhino went from a quick 5 second idle/max to around 15 seconds...very noticable.

Luis

Luis,
After just going through the manual, I realized that the ECU saves the info and I just powered it up and it shows the shutdown due to low RPM ,temp 406c PW 167.

I don't think my spool up was that slow but I was a bit nervous as I only had a few flights on the plane last year and this was the first time this season and I changed out the radio and rx to 2.4 as well as changed out struts using the existing retracts so I had a few other things on my mind.

Marty

Marty and Luis,

Are you guys using 2 cell A123 (6.6v) or 3 cell 9.9v?

Thanks,
Mike

2 cell Mike.

Marty

We still haven't received an answer from Jet Central Mexico on the 3 cell packs. They do work well on the JetCat ECU when it's programmed for the 8 cell nicad setting. I'm unsure if the Jet Central ICS has that setting ability. I'd hate to fry an ICS on an experiment.

Mike

2 Cell 6.6v as well. I looked, but didnt see a setting for 8v Nicad on the ECU.

Luis

Ok, Just got back from the backyard. I retaught the ECU just for the heck of it and started the Eagle. Ibrought it up to full throttle which according to the manual should be 128k and idle should be 32K. I followed Erics instructions and brought the throttle down one click at a time for five seconds at each click. Everything seems fine. The idle is in the 30-31K area and WOT is around 128k. Acceleration from idle to 128k is about 5-6 seconds. Seems pretty much the same as when I was using the LI-Mn 2 cell packs. Still am not sure why I had the the "low speed' shutdown indication at Fentress on Saturday.

Marty

One thing I noticed Marty when I was playing with the A123 batteries was that the voltage on the packs went down as low as 6.3 volts when commanded to WOT. The cutoff is 6.0v for the ECU. It was a bit close for comfort for me. I'm thinking that with a battery thats not up to par, the voltage would drop below the cutoff and thats where problems arise. I'm no expert but I thought that these batteries gave a continous 6.6 so I was surprised to see the drop.

Luis

According to the fadec manual the low battery voltage cutoff only applies to the start phase, once the engine is running it will take the battery down pretty low which is not good for LiPo's. As for going to 3S A123 you could run the risk of damage to the solenoid valves which I believe are 6V, not sure what the pump and starter are good to voltage wise, probably around 7V.

Eric:<div>
</div><div>From reading earlier posts, it sounded like 6.6v A123 packs were working fine with the Super Bee engine. Has this continued to be the case? Were there any negative effects to the lower voltage, like slower spool time, etc?</div><div>
</div><div>I need an ECU pack that I can safely charge in the plane with my Cellpro 10s charger. I am using A123 for the receiver, so I was considering the same for my ECU.</div>

Looks like I will just have to order an A123 pack and test for myself.

Jet Central Turbines (gas start) have been operating fine on 2 cell A-123 batteries for over a year.

Our current products with kero start however, do not perform well with the 2 cell A-123 batteries. The 3 cell provides too much voltage and may damage our fuel pump, fuel and kero start solenoids. These required componsnets perform fine with the included 7.4 v 2s2p LiManganese battery packs as supplied by Duralite.
The gas start ceramic igniter draws an estimated 15amps for 8 seconds. Duralite product in use is good for 25 amps for 30 seconds continuous.
The kero start system however, draws more amps and for 20 seconds during the kero / fuel ramp sequence. For this reason, we tested and changed to the LiMangenese battery pack.

We will advise readers of future battery data as we develop it.

Regards,
Eric

Thank you. I would be using it in a gas start super bee, so it sounds like I should be OK.