by Rich » Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:47 pm
To help deal with battery heat I do a few things.
1. Make sure the scat tube that provides inflight cooling air to the battery enclosure is in good shape - no holes or kinks in it.
2. Keep the battery cover installed. It's possible to mount the battery without it and it's tempting to do so, since it makes battery access easier. But the cover routes that cooling air along the sides of the battery. This air plus the cover itself provides an impediment to heat from the engine reaching the battery.
3. Especially in hot weather, open the dipstick access port after flying to allow residual heated air to escape from the engine accessory area.
The BatteryMinder adjusts float voltage based on ambient air temperature. They used to supply a temperature probe intended to mount to the battery itself, but it was really inconvenient to use. So the current models have a probe attached to a dongle protruding from the BM itself. This works fine, even though in some cases it's not precisely accurate in that first hour or so after returning to the hangar.
To help deal with battery heat I do a few things.
1. Make sure the scat tube that provides inflight cooling air to the battery enclosure is in good shape - no holes or kinks in it.
2. Keep the battery cover installed. It's possible to mount the battery without it and it's tempting to do so, since it makes battery access easier. But the cover routes that cooling air along the sides of the battery. This air plus the cover itself provides an impediment to heat from the engine reaching the battery.
3. Especially in hot weather, open the dipstick access port after flying to allow residual heated air to escape from the engine accessory area.
The BatteryMinder adjusts float voltage based on ambient air temperature. They used to supply a temperature probe intended to mount to the battery itself, but it was really inconvenient to use. So the current models have a probe attached to a dongle protruding from the BM itself. This works fine, even though in some cases it's not precisely accurate in that first hour or so after returning to the hangar.