Guys, I've grown tired of having to rebuy duralite/tbm/fromenco li-ion batteries every year and have migrated to A123's. I'm used to having a smart-fly in between these guys so I haven't had to worry about buying a separate switch for awhile...which is the best? Thanks



Luis

I tried a search and couldn't find something related.

Luis,
Can you explain why you need to buy batteries every year. I fly Duralites and Fromenco, and I had great results with both. Thanks.
Joe C!!

I have a duralite 5300 that I cant get to charge and has transformed itself into an expensive paperweight, I have two TBM 5300's that fully charged give me less that 6.9volts (they are now my fuel pump power source) . The duralite is over a year old, but both TBM ones are under a year old. I'm biting off on the advertisement on the A123's and hope that they last longer than a year. If I'm happy with the results, I'll transform my fleet to A123's. Batteries arnt cheap, and you don't want to skimp with these so I spend on what I believe is best for my situation. I just haven't had any luck with these li-ion batteries.

Luis

Are you sure it's not your charger that's faulty?

Fomeco has manufactured a new switch just for use with the A123 batteries. It's called the Kodiak. It's not on their website yet, but it is available for purchase. It is rated at 30 amps, and has Deans in, Deans out, with a Deans charge port. It also has a digital, mah counter incorporated into the switch to use like a fuel gauge for the batteries, since reading the voltage on A123's is not a very good indication of the batteries remaining capacity.
I'm switching all of my planes over to A123's now, and I've purchased several of these new Kodiak switches to use with the A123 batteries.

Another thing I will mention is that the Fromeco lithium ions seem to last longer than the other brands. I think they use better cells in their packs. You could try them if you decide not to switch to A123's.

FROMECO 30 AMP SWITCH Available now. This switch is for LiPhosphate batteries (A123's). Note the dean's connector so that you can charge your battery at a 10 amp rate. The really unique part about this switch is that it counts the amount of amps which flows through it. It continues to add to the total until you reset the counter, so you can fly time and time again and not worry about running out of battery. Of course charging takes just a few minutes. Li Phosphate is coming, and the technology is here to stay...for awhile.



Jim

Can I get a link to the fromeco switch you are referring to? How much is it?

There is no link because it's not on the website yet.
It's $65. I'll post some pics of mine installed on a 35% Edge 540, give me a minute.

Jim

Here you go.

Jim

No, my charger works fine on the other 5 li-ion batteries I have.


That sounds like an awesome switch Hammbone! Thanks!!

Luis

You can see the mah counter numbers in this pic. It's not showing up very well in the pic, but shows up great in person, very easy to read. I'm sure you could read it through a canopy.

Jim

Oh, it is also a failsafe switch.

Jim

Hey Luis,

just put a pink one in that will do the trick

How is recurrent flight training going?

Dawn Ellzey

Very funny Dawn...they dont make them in pink[>:]

As far as flight training... They have blessed me and givin me the keys to the family car. I've been flying as AC for about 2 months now. Very busy work, but I cant describe the feeling of doing whatever the hell YOU want to do with a multi-million dollar asset. As long as I keep bringing it back in one piece everything will be ok How is everything in your neck on the woods? I cant wait for Austin again, had way too much fun last year.

Luis

Guys, I've decided on a switch.. Thanks for the help

AMEN Bruther

I'll drink to that!!!