I replaced my Gil with a sealed 35, I found a hole in the battery box after the box was removed, it was determined the stringer would need to be replaced and skin patched. Battery acid is nasty on aluminum.

My 182 is a L, the FA dodge stc only runs to H, I know there was a change from gen to alternator after that year, I will try for a field app but any reason not to move the battery forward?

My only concern is if the smaller battery can run a preoiler and boost pump before the starter. Then again the original cables probably have a bit of loss themselves with the 10ft run.

I’ve always liked the idea of putting the battery on the firewall, but I purposely try and keep weight in my extended baggage as it is to keep the nose light..

I have 56 model with firewall mounted battery. If two up front and full tanks with no baggage plane is nose heavy. So I always keep 50 pounds of camping and survival stuff in baggage and extended baggage. That way I do not take up valuable shelf stace. Also helps with CG.

Tim

Sealed battery is worth the extra expense wherever mounted. Helping with the monthly hundred hour, I spent more time cleaning the battery box than any other pilot duty until we got sealed batteries. After sealed batteries, I spent more time cleaning the extra lead of 100LL off plugs.

alaskan9974 wrote:I replaced my Gil with a sealed 35, I found a hole in the battery box after the box was removed, it was determined the stringer would need to be replaced and skin patched. Battery acid is nasty on aluminum.

My 182 is a L, the FA dodge stc only runs to H, I know there was a change from gen to alternator after that year, I will try for a field app but any reason not to move the battery forward?

My only concern is if the smaller battery can run a preoiler and boost pump before the starter. Then again the original cables probably have a bit of loss themselves with the 10ft run.

I suggest that you do some calculations of W&B before going to the trouble of changing from a tail-mounted battery to a firewall mounted battery. The positives of shorter cable runs and less weight might be offset by having to carry extra weight in the baggage area to keep the W&B in line--and if it can't be flown by a normal weight pilot without that weight, it wouldn't be a legal change.

FWIW, my battery box (in the tail) of my P172D is made of fiberglass, so it's unlikely to develop a hole. However, I replaced my Gill with a Concorde AGM about 7 years ago, and it's still doing its job. I do notice that it turns the prop a little slower now, and so I suspect it's getting long in the tooth, but it seems to have plenty of staying power on those days when the engine is balky starting (mine's always been sensitive to the right amount of prime on cold days). I don't have a pre-oiler, but I do run the boost pump to pressurize the lines before priming and cranking.

Cary

I went to the light weight battery but left it in the original location in my 1966 182. Saved a bunch of weight without making my already nose heavy bird any worse. With the Pponk, 3 blade and big tire I don't want any more weight up there. I've been running this battery for 5 years with no issues. Turns over faster than the Gil 35 did. I went with the Odyssey PC680 I believe. Just filled the remaining space in the original battery box with foam insulation and did the appropriate paperwork. No regrets.

I moved my battery using the FAdodge mount on my 182A. The only reason I did it was to have a full size extended baggage. It is also beneficial when preheating to have the battery in the warming part of the airplane rather then the freezing tail cone.
I have the same issue as 66skylane. My airplane is super nose heavy. If I had it to do over I would have left it in the back and just installed a light weight battery in the old box.


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Batteries generally last longer when not exposed to the heat in the engine compartment.

Seven years is tempting fate. Battery design life is for about five years. I replace at three. Floatplane and off-airport ops increase the consequences of battery failure.

Pierre