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Since buying my first Concorde battery about
16 years ago, my experiences were nothing but positive with their quality and
longevity I received from their products. The vast majority of independent tests
and forum raves about the Concorde battery continues to reinforce the notion
with many pilots that: "If you need a battery, buy a Concorde!"
HERE is a Consumer article on Battery
Comparisons
Many folks, however, have run into a snag in
using the Concorde battery in their Baron as the Concorde battery was somehow
not "approved" for use in the Baron.
NEWS FLASH: Find a
Beech drawing showing Concorde as a battery source for Barons
HERE
Well, here is a pirep from Baron owner Kevin
Morris who took the AC23-27 Rule
book to task on a Concorde vs. Gill comparison.
RG24-11 Drawing
HERE
RG-35A Drawing
HERE
Here is Kevin's story from his post on
BeechTalk and his pictures:
Needing two new batteries for our B55 baron and reading all the posts
in Beech talk and the Aviation consumer report on batteries I concluded that the
Concorde RG25XC batteries would be my next purchase. The only problem was that
based on what I read about the weight of the Batteries and the advisory circular
from the FAA stating that the batteries could not be + or - one pound of the
original equipment (Gill G25) I was concerned about buying the Concorde
batteries.
Well I purchased the Concorde Batteries and weighed the old Gill G25
with battery acid and then my new RG25XC and found that both batteries were
exactly the same weight and for all intentional purposes were identical in size.
Bottom line is that the batteries fit in the battery box and there was no need
to modify the battery box or lid with my hold down bars that were factory
installed.
The problem that I had encountered from all the website data from Gill
was that the battery weighed 21 pounds versus the actual weight when it is
filled with battery acid of 22.5 pounds. So bottom line is that you can use
either battery and be compliant with AC23-27.
Looks like a winner to me!
Here is some other photo evidence that will
qualify under AC23-27, and NOT require some $100 STC piece of paper to put an
aviation battery into an aviation application! Gill 242 vs Concorde RG24
Gill 242 Battery @ 28#
Concorde RG24 @ 28#
PS: As of March 2013, my nearly 8 year old
Concorde batteries still passed the capacity check! However, in December of 2013
they were showing signs of swelling at the positive terminal posts and were
removed from service. Long live the CB25XC battery!
Below are some helpful charts on batteries
HERE is the Concorde Operating Manual for their
RG Series batteries.
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Concorde
vs. Gill Comparison (Or: Can I use a Concorde Battery in place
of a Gill?)