My RV-10 now has 35 hours on it and I've been removing the cowling regularly to check everything out. Up until now everything was checking out fine but now I've discovered that my choice of battery location needed a little more thought. Being 14" from the nearest exhaust component, I thought the regular light weight battery box would be sufficient and no additional heat shielding would be needed. I was wrong.
Last week I was caught by some unforecasted weather and spent the afternoon doing short hops between storm bands to get back home and lengthy ground runs to keep some heat going in the cabin in the frigid weather. I suspect this is when the outer case of my EarthX ETX900 battery absorbed more heat than it was designed to handle.
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The battery is still performing perfectly but the deformation was concerning so I contacted EarthX for their advice. Reg immediately recognized the damage as being caused by radiated heat. The case areas exposed through the cutouts in the battery box were the only areas affected. They offered to inspect the battery and recase it at no cost even though it was my own set up that caused the problem. I opted to upgrade the battery to the ETX1200 at extra cost now that this model will fit in the original battery box. EarthX was excellent to deal with and Reg and Kathy handled my concerns quickly and efficiently. They have offered outstanding customer service and I'm glad I chose this product.
I opted to install the lightweight battery on the firewall for several reasons. One was to eliminate the need for the long run of 2 AWG wire but mostly to keep the C of G where it needed to be with the Whirlwind prop and lightweight engine accessories. This goes to show that if you stray from the plans make sure you give your planned choices a thorough risk analysis and mitigate accordingly.
The battery is now protected from radiant heat by installing a simple .063 bent aluminum plate to the front and bottom of the battery box. If you opt for a firewall mounted battery you really should consider adding the few extra ounces it takes to either modify the battery box to protect from radiant heat or make a battery box without openings.
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Colin
Last week I was caught by some unforecasted weather and spent the afternoon doing short hops between storm bands to get back home and lengthy ground runs to keep some heat going in the cabin in the frigid weather. I suspect this is when the outer case of my EarthX ETX900 battery absorbed more heat than it was designed to handle.
The battery is still performing perfectly but the deformation was concerning so I contacted EarthX for their advice. Reg immediately recognized the damage as being caused by radiated heat. The case areas exposed through the cutouts in the battery box were the only areas affected. They offered to inspect the battery and recase it at no cost even though it was my own set up that caused the problem. I opted to upgrade the battery to the ETX1200 at extra cost now that this model will fit in the original battery box. EarthX was excellent to deal with and Reg and Kathy handled my concerns quickly and efficiently. They have offered outstanding customer service and I'm glad I chose this product.
I opted to install the lightweight battery on the firewall for several reasons. One was to eliminate the need for the long run of 2 AWG wire but mostly to keep the C of G where it needed to be with the Whirlwind prop and lightweight engine accessories. This goes to show that if you stray from the plans make sure you give your planned choices a thorough risk analysis and mitigate accordingly.
The battery is now protected from radiant heat by installing a simple .063 bent aluminum plate to the front and bottom of the battery box. If you opt for a firewall mounted battery you really should consider adding the few extra ounces it takes to either modify the battery box to protect from radiant heat or make a battery box without openings.
Colin
