The International Cessna 170 Association

I would get that starter checked out , those light weight starters have a quality control issue and the number I have seen over the last 36 months makes one ask how do they get away with it. Then we have the odyssey battery , well I was a great fan of them until 2 let me down in a bad places. There a group of of RV builders on the airport that used the odyssey batteries to keep their aircraft light and most now have changed to all different brands and types and one guy has been through 3 odyssey,s in the last 18 months and the others do not speak very highly except for a RV8 owner who claims it’s the best. Me I went back to the RC-25XC and a Original starter and so far so good . I have found over the years ,to keep a battery going is to keep it on a trickle charge when not in use . That reminds me ,I should practice what I preach I should go and put mine on charge . It seems the odyssey can’t take that initial heavy load hit when you first hit the starter.

lowNslow wrote:Richard, curious if you use a battery charger/maintainer when your aircraft is not in use?

Karl-
No, I do not use a maintainer when they sit for long periods, probably should, but 6 years is not too bad without one.

I have had the same or better luck/service with the Odyssey SBSJ-16 and PC 625.

This little charger is only $10 IN STORE (instead of the free-shipping triple-price of this link) https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-S ... /274135715. Here’s another link priced at $14: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-7 ... /160143527 Amazon also offers it. Schumacher Model SC1278 OR SC1299 both are good products. (This updated link shows higher prices, but my local WM had them for $10)

I bought 6 of them at my local WalMart and using extension cords have them on ALL my equipment ALL the time, 170, 172, 2 Tractors, LawnTractor, Generator. Despite the hype, IMO, automotive chargers are fine for aircraft and all aircraft batteries that are substituted for lead-acid batteries. (If specialized batteries (i.e., gel-cell, recombinant, etc etc) are approved replacements for systems that are designed for lead-acid... then those batts must accept the charging system of those lead-acid-designed systems. The cheap, modern, microprocessor little chargers such as I'm using see 13.1 volts the same regardless of which battery is producing it, and when the volts drop below the preset they trickle-charge it right back up to that level and then shut off and continue to monitor. No need to spend more money for that simple task. )

hilltop170 wrote: No, I do not use a maintainer when they sit for long periods, probably should, but 6 years is not too bad without one.

I have had the same or better luck/service with the Odyssey SBSJ-16 and PC 625.

Thanks Richard, I just wanted to get a reference as I had not used one either and usually got around 6 years as well. With the new battery I bought about 4 months ago I started using a maintenance charger and will see how it goes and if it's worth the effort.