Cheap red top battery

[Robin427]

Had a friend round to inspect the Cob as he is building an aircraft. Couldn't get it to start as my battery is a bit knackered. He mentioned red-top batteries but I said they were too expensive for me at the moment. He then said that a friend had told him that inside the Halfords battery booster kits, there is a dry-cell battery. He duly bought one of these for about £40 and took it apart. Lo and behold, there was a red-top style battery in there which he has successfully used to start his 3L aeroplane engine, a diesel dumper truck and all sorts of things.

He's got a spare he said I could try... sounds like a good idea

Comments?

[SimonP]

AFAIK, these batteries are not usually full vehicle start spec - they rely on there being SOME charge in the existing vehicle battery (enough to make it turm half a revolution , then the starter chatter) and add sufficient to actually make the engine crank.

You can get a proper vehicle battery for £40, of sufficient spec to reliably start the engine.
I use an up-rated code 063: 50Ah, 500CCA.

Vented "wet" cells are far more tolerant of charging circuit performance than gel cells are.

Simon.

[Robin427]

I thought it might be too good to be true. I'll get another lead acid battery then, seeing as I've knackered this one. Should buy a conditioner too

[SimonP]

You shouldn't need a conditioner.
If you use a battery master switch, you won't be draining those few little milli-amps for months and won't end up with a knackered battery, as long as it is fully charged before being left standing.

One of my mates left an old Alfa for 18 months with the battery disconnected.
When re-connected, it spun the engine over no problem.

Simon.

Simon.

[craigh]

buy an optima red top,best 100 quid you will ever spend,it will sit for months and still perform when called upon