Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers
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replacing PC680 battery wih eartx etx900vnt
I had a corvair install and used the PC 680, I am on my second battery.
I replaced corvair with O200 so now I only need reserve power for facet fuel pumps, without distributor energizing.
Have any corvair powered AC gone LIpo? Im thinking of EarthX etx900vnt mounting in aft location as in my corvair mount
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ken Pavlou on
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I replaced my PC680 with an EarthX battery. The EarthX worked great until one month after the warranty expired one of the cells went bad and the battery was useless. I was disappointed a $400 battery only lasted two years. I replaced the EarthX with my now eight year old PC680 and have had no problems.
Good Luck,
Ken
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Permalink Reply by John Austin on
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Ken,
The PC680's are near-bulletproof as evidenced by your 8 year-old still working well! OTOH, I've had a good experience with the EarthX, too.
Just curious, did you contact EarthX even though the battery was out-of-warranty? I've not had any out-of-warranty issues, but they have such good customer support I wondered if they might have offered at least some sort of adjustment in price on a replacement?
John
N750A
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John,
I contacted EarthX and had no problems with their customer service. They offered me a discount on a replacement battery, which I considered, but buying another EarthX even with the discount would cost more than twice that of a PC680. I wish it lasted longer because it worked well and weighed around 10 pounds less than the PC680. Ultimately, I decided that reliability was more important than weight savings. Its possible I got a dud but I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars to prove or disprove that. I'm glad your EarthX is working well for you.
-Ken
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Permalink Reply by christopher fryatt on
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so far earthx etx900vnt working very well, like the external vent. I also installed OV light instead of ems hookup. My PC 680 was pulling a big amp load to recharge and mostly was below min volts alert on my dynon ems. Using B&C alt 20 amp output eexternal regulator with crowbar OV protection.
Ken could the Earthx failure be to overvoltage high current recharge from alternator?
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Christopher,
It’s unlikely the failure is due to any charging issues. My charging voltage is a steady 13.8 - 14 volts and I’ve never tripped the overvoltage protection device. Moreover, if I understand correctly, the EarthX internal circuitry should prevent overcharging and overdischarging.
-Ken
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Permalink Reply by Vance Lucas on
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I have an Aerovoltz AV012 from Aircraft Spruce in my Corvair powered CH-750. Purchased it 03/21/16 for $320.00 Canadian, used it for all my panel testing and playing before my first flight April 8, 2017 and now have 170 hours on it with no problems at all.
Cheers,
Vance
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Reporting back, so far no issues with Earthx ETX900VNT . Replaced batt in motorcycle to EarthX too.
Earthx better at holding voltage on those Start, Taxi,...... fuel, Start,...... fly days
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Permalink Reply by Ernest Christley on
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I switched to LiPo, but I didn't pay the EarthX tax. I bought a Scorpion. The big payoff was that it helped clean up my landing. The Corvair being so heavy, the nose wheel would drop hard nearly as soon as the mains touched. Loosing 10lbs of battery weight seemed to fix that.
It also turned the engine a lot faster on startup.
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Permalink Reply by LARRY TRAMEL on
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Has anyone installed the battery in the luggage compartment of the 750 STOL? Would that help with the weight distribution?
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Permalink Reply by charlie rosenzweig on
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I had dual LifePO4 batteries in my other (non-Zenith) airplane. The power to weight they have is amazing. I had them for 2 years and they worked great. And the LIFePO4 are reportedly safer than the older LiPO technology......but.....I went back to a PC680 for my corvair powered Cruzer.
The LiFePo4 with their BMS make them a lot different from a "standard" battery like the PC680. When the BMS decides the voltage is too high or too low it will shut down the battery. Sounds good in theory, but IMHO, if you only have one battery,, then you should (must?) check and verify when that particular low volt limit is. Hypothetically if it shuts down at say 10.4 volts, you may not like that. You may wish you had an older basic style batter that would continue to operate past that 10.4 volts giving you valuable time to pick your landing spot.
The other thing to know is that the LIFEPo4 battery voltage drop curve (charging failure) is rather steep compared to older style batteries like the PC680 which have a more gradual voltage drop which is nice in some respects because you have more time (hopefully) to recognize you are having a charging system failure.
Not to divert from the topic, but when is the last time anyone checked at what low voltage their master solenoid (contactor) drops it's connection?
Charlie
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Using the corvair gurus method the pumps are directly wired to battery, master solenoid not involved in power to pump. With voltage, and amp read out What's the concern? I could care less about 10.4 V i see no lower than 12.6 V on start and 12.8 after lift off , becomes 13-14 enroute. Any less is a no-go or land to investigate
5 years no problems, fast start everytime
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Some people have not considered or know when their BMS is going to disconnect the battery from providing power. The point of the discussion on comparing a battery with a BMS vs a LA battery with no BMS was simply how long your system is going to last if you have a charging system failure. As WW and others have discussed, the BMS systems could shut your battery down much sooner than if a person was using a LA battery like the PC680. At that point the pilot is going to care very much. I do like the concept WW offers up of wiring the ignition and fuel pumps upwind from the solenoid. It is one of several advantages that the corvair set up has over higher (electrical) demand systems have - in that they can continue to run much longer with lower voltage in the event of a charging system failure.....
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