lovetwinprops
Pre-Flight
Hi-
My partner and I bought a used tug for our Commander 114. (Getting the plane out of the hangar is downhill and no problem; getting it back in is a chore, especially at the end of a long day!) The tug is big, and is definitely overkill for our plane, but it was relatively inexpensive and available.
The tug is a 24-volt model, with a Schauer fully automatic battery charger. There are two 12-volt batteries linked together in series to power the 24-volt system. The batteries are Autozone Duralast Gold car batteries, both dated from 2009(!).
Well, one of the batteries blew up sometime this week. It didn't go from the sides, but rather blew its top off, tearing the top into several pieces! The charger was connected, but after the batteries are charged, the Schauer is supposed to go in "float" mode. My guess is the battery water got low, allowing a build-up of hydrogen gas. Luckily, the battery acid that blew all over the wing of the Commander didn't damage the paint, making me think the explosion had just happened within the previous day or so.
So my question is: For a tug that will be used at most 5-6 times a month, moving the plane about 30-50 feet each time, is there any reason to buy deep cycle RV type batteries? Or should we just get the cheapest car batteries we can get?
Thanks!
Gerry
My partner and I bought a used tug for our Commander 114. (Getting the plane out of the hangar is downhill and no problem; getting it back in is a chore, especially at the end of a long day!) The tug is big, and is definitely overkill for our plane, but it was relatively inexpensive and available.
The tug is a 24-volt model, with a Schauer fully automatic battery charger. There are two 12-volt batteries linked together in series to power the 24-volt system. The batteries are Autozone Duralast Gold car batteries, both dated from 2009(!).
Well, one of the batteries blew up sometime this week. It didn't go from the sides, but rather blew its top off, tearing the top into several pieces! The charger was connected, but after the batteries are charged, the Schauer is supposed to go in "float" mode. My guess is the battery water got low, allowing a build-up of hydrogen gas. Luckily, the battery acid that blew all over the wing of the Commander didn't damage the paint, making me think the explosion had just happened within the previous day or so.
So my question is: For a tug that will be used at most 5-6 times a month, moving the plane about 30-50 feet each time, is there any reason to buy deep cycle RV type batteries? Or should we just get the cheapest car batteries we can get?
Thanks!
Gerry
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