Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers
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Couple of questions for Jan on the Viking engine
Jan
1.You appears you are no longer promoting the EarthX batteries.Is there something about them that those of us that use the battery should be concerned about?
2. I'm confused about what grade of gas to use for the 130. It appears that you are advocating 100LL or 89 octane mogas.
In a previous post you said that the 130 was not picky and any gas would work. I have been using 86 mogas with no issues. Should I switch to 89? And, I understand you want marvel mystery oil to be used if running 100LL. Is this correct?
Thanks
Glenn Davis
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Loren Warner on
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Since our fuel is oftentimes a 100LL/Mogas mix, we decided to just add 4oz MMO per tank every time we refuel. By the way, we have the 15 gal tanks.
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Permalink Reply by Ronald LeBlanc on
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Both my EarthX batteries failed on the shelf before I was able to install them. EarthX sent a warranty replacement battery and it failed on the shelf also. I looked at the battery used by the snowmobile and the 4 wheel drive off road people. I purchased 2 Ballistic batteries with the same ratings as the EarthX batteries I received in the Firewall Forward from Viking. 2 batteries and a monitor that you attach to check the state and a charger. No failures since purchase last year.
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What do you mean they failed on the shelf before you were able to install? What model batteries were they, and any information as to why they had failed?
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To add to my last, if your batteries were old to begin with, and/or you allowed your batteries to sit discharged for a long time, then it's understandable the battery would fail. All batteries fail if they sit too long, that's why there's a shelf life.
Did you ever send your batteries back to EarthX so they could evaluate why they failed? Considering the cost of batteries, I'd have returned them. I only know of one person who had a failed EarthX battery, that was Norm Neuls. EarthX replaced his battery without question before he returned the old one, but they did ask the old battery be returned for evaluation.Good luck getting the same good service from Ballistic batteries as what EarthX provides. I believe Ballistic batteries went out of business nearly a year ago.
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Permalink Reply by Glenn Davis on
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I would also like to hear more about the failures. Although he did not answer the question maybe these type of failures are part of what turned Jan off to Earthx.
Thorough explanations of battery failures helps all of us....
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Jan sold us using EarthX batteries, and the batteries have turned out to be much better than expected. I prefer to hear from people who properly maintain their batteries, and the battery failed anyway. We're going into the 2nd winter with our aircraft stowed outside, with temperatures that will likely go into the negatives (fahrenheit). We'll let you know in the spring how well these batteries hold up.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Neuls on
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A bit of a correction to Loren's post above. Back in 2015 I was trouble shooting an annoying problem with my electrical system that employed two EarthX batteries. The original Viking wiring diagram for the 110 had an electrolytic capacitor between positive and ground. When turning on one battery(it seemed to favor #1 battery) randomly the contactor would cycle on/off. I concluded(incorrectly) that the battery was the cause of the problem. I contacted EarthX and relayed my problem. With out any hesitation they sent me a new battery and paid for the return shipping of the suspected bad one. Turned out the returned one was not defective. I removed the capacitor and the problem disappeared. I contacted Viking and shortly thereafter the capacitor was removed from the electrical schematic. I still have those original EarthX's and have not had any problems at all.
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Ballistic Batteries went out of business around a year ago.
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Permalink Reply by David J. Beaulieu on
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I also run a two battery electrical system with the EarthX 680's. During my Phase 1 testing, I did end up with a charging issue (likely due to my R/R connections and a battery QC issue) which presented as a battery fault light. After more evaluation and electrical maintenance, which did not resolve the charging issue with the battery I sent it back to EarthX for evaluation. They cross shipped a new battery, evaluated the one I sent them and discovered a bad battery which led to the charging issue. Kathy and Reggie were superb to work with! The battery was indeed not quite up to snuff internally and the new one along with the original are functioning quite well over the past two years up here in Maine - year round.
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Permalink Reply by Jan Eggenfellner on
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We have had bad customer service from the company. They have also told us they buy Chinese parts in bulk, then discard what does not meet requirements. We don't work that way with airplanes. Only Lithium batteries have ever given any issues. So we now use what works 100% of the time. We want reliability, not a gamble of if it will work today.
Use the best auto gas available to prevent lack of octane from the gasoline sitting around.
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Permalink Reply by Kathy Nicoson on
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Dear Glenn,
This is Kathy at EarthX and we received a request today to respond to this inquiry and to address the concern of technical compatibility with the Viking engines. Based on working directly with Viking for the past 6 years and our mutual customers, there is no technical or compatibility issues and we continue to support and sell batteries to this market. You can also buy the batteries directly from Zenith.
To address the use and quality of the EarthX batteries, we have been privileged to work directly with many homebuilt aircraft manufactures, kit plane manufacturers and experimental aircraft manufacturers over the years, with Zenith being one of them. We also have the privilege of working with engine manufacturers such as Rotax and their extensive engineering department, and this sharing of vital technical information assures a quality charging system with all the parts working properly together. EarthX is the first company, ever, to achieve a 12V TSO certified lithium battery as a testament to the soundness of this technology. But as with all products, they are not perfect, and we will have warranties. Batteries do have a useful life, every single type of battery, and EarthX is no different. Please know you can always reach out to EarthX for technical support by either calling our dedicated tech line, (970) 674-8884 Option 3 or you can email us at sales@earthxbatteries.com. We also have an extensive amount of information on the website at www.earthxbatteries.com.
Thank you.
Kathy Nicoson- EarthX Lithium Batteries
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Permalink Reply by charles love on
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Hello all;
This whole discussion is now moot, why ? , because Sodium Ion batteries are now available from Aerolithium.
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