Normal Battery discharge pattern?

Hi, All;

I posted this on the Zenith Builders FB page, but the only info offered was that I bought a cheap battery and I should go with Odyssey.

I installed a Powersonic battery in my Cruzer, the model number as spec'd in the Zenith plans. Always follow the plans, right?!?   ;-)

I'm not yet flying. I have not even connected the battery to the airframe/avionics yet.

As I'm getting real close to finishing my wiring and connecting the battery, I thought that it's been a few months since I received the battery, so I checked it's voltage.  It was running 10.xx volts.  Hmmm... well, ok, I never charged it so do that first.

After a few hours, I checked again, and the voltage was 13.45 VDC, right about where it should be. Then within the hour it was 12.5 v, and continued a slow drain down. It's in the low 11's now, about 48 hrs after charging.  Remember - it's not connected to anything.

Bum battery, or is this typical of this make/model?

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Permalink Reply by Loren Warner on October 19, 2020 at 12:40pm

Which Powersonic battery are you using?  Is it a lead acid battery or lithium?  If lead acid, is it a sealed battery.  A  few hours is not typically enough time to properly charge any battery.  Also, are you using the proper charge for that battery?

Permalink Reply by Carl Orton on October 19, 2020 at 12:51pm
Don’t recall the model. I’m at the drs so can’t chk. 1280? It’s about 8x7x2.5. Sealed lead acid. Few is relative. May have been 4-6 hrs. I use a taper charger. Starts at 12A for cars, but this started at 2A tapering down time barely above zero.
Permalink Reply by Ian Robb on October 19, 2020 at 2:42pm

I would slow charge it for at least a few days to give it a good base charge. Then, always keep it on a maintainer/power supply when powering the avionics/lights/etc..

Permalink Reply by Loren Warner on October 19, 2020 at 6:34pm

I'd charge at whatever rate, and however long, the manufacturer recommends.  What is the shelf date on the battery?  If the battery sat to long in a discharged state, it could prevent a battery from holding a charge.  The lead plates sometimes need an equalizer charge, but use caution.   

Permalink Reply by Carl Orton on October 19, 2020 at 9:28pm

Thanks for making me think through some items, Loren.

It is a Model PS-12180 (left out the "1"). While PS recommends their own chargers, the charging cycles spec'd are within the range of my charger. More interesting is the shelf life specs on their tech sheets - 80% at 6 months on the shelf. My battery was made 3/21/2020, and I purchased on 6/19/2020, so it's 7 months old and was never charged by me. 80% of 13.45 volts is 10.76, right about where it was reading. I may do as suggested above and put it on a nice slow charge for a few days. And here I thought that once the charger needle was almost to zero that I was done.

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