My experience with Gill batteries has been very similar to Ralph's. I fly regularly (about 150 hours per year) but have only been getting about 2 or sometimes 3 years from a Gill we cell battery before it dies.
After reading the most recent Aviation Consumer News article, I just switched to the most expensive Concord sealed battery last year and hope to have better luck with it. I also like the idea of having a sealed battery adjacent to the main spare - it's is a bit more of a 'warm fuzzy' than the wet cell... Dan Hall N3968H ----- Original Message ----- From: Ralph Finch To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 4:00 PM Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Battery Suggestion Aviation Consumer in January 2008 (http://www.aviationconsumer.com/issues/38_1/maintenancematters/5741-1.html, must be subscriber to read link) did a review of batteries. The headline reads "In flooded designs, Gill and Concorde are close. But owners complain—and our tests show—that Gill sealed models aren’t as long-lived as the Concordes." I tried a couple of Gill sealed batteries and they didn't last more than 2 years. Now have a Concorde sealed battery going past 2 years and it's as strong as when new. With the battery almost right over the spar, I won't use anything other than a sealed battery. From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Milton Bland Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:14 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Battery Suggestion I have used Gill batteries in various aircraft for a number of years with good success. I typically have replaced the G35 in My Cessna 182 every three years at annual time. However the one I installed last year was not holding residual charge so I contacted Gill. I learned a lot about aircraft batteries from that call and a number of follow-up calls. In particular, I learned of the many differences between aircraft batteries and car/motorcycle batteries. Aircraft batteries are designed to operate at a higher voltage and must be charged accordingly. Gill ended up replacing my 182 battery under warranty, but I expect the problem was more related to improper charging than it was to the battery having a factory defect. If anyone is having problems with a Gill battery, I suggest they contact Hector Vara at Gill Customer Service 800-456-0070 . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.11/1820 - Release Date: 11/29/2008 6:52 PM
