krhea

krhea

Well Known Member
Back in 2014 as i was completing my RV7, I bought an O-320 D2A out of a Piper Cherokee and installed a B&C L-40 alternator and LR3C-14 regulator. Fast forward about 600 hours and ten years and i replaced the last lead acid battery with a LIFEPO battery. The voltage on the Advanced 5600T was showing 12.9 volts and some 35 amps after starting so i wanted to up the voltage so the LIFEPO battery would give me good life. The NOCO battery says 14.6 volts is optimum. The LR3C-14 has an adjustment screw to change the voltage, so with voltmeter in hand and engine running at idle I attempted to increase the voltage but after 4 revolutions it didn't change, so i made the call to B&C and we did a couple of measurements and they told me to bring it up and they would check it. So this morning i drove the 40 or so miles from Wichita to Newton KS and left the regulator there and i left and went on an errand and 10 minutes later the tech calls and wants to verify that i wanted 14.6 volts, i said yes. Then 10 minutes later they called and said come and get it. I requested and invoice and they wouldn't charge me!!! I probably should have bought one anyhow, but i have been a customer a long time. 11 year old product and they could have easily charged a tech fee. If my starter ever gives up, i know who to call.

Keith Rhea
RV7
 
I just had my first interaction with them this morning, called them to discuss options for a new alternator for my new-to-me RV-6. Spent probably 20 minutes on the phone with me discussing pros and cons of various options, and kind of got into the weeds a little on my thought process for my electrical system for light IFR use. Hung up the phone and immediately ordered an alternator and external regulator. Really good people over there.
 
I can't say that I have any real world experience with the products themselves yet, but my pre-sales experience alone turned me into a customer. If I didn't know better, I would say I was the only customer they had, because they went out of their way to answer my emails and help me wrap my head around different options that existed. In the end, I decided to go with one of their new line of internally regulated alternators (SilverFlite line). I know there aren't many of those in service yet, but given the B&C reputation, I was more than willing to roll the dice to try one out. Great company.
 
B&C re-clocked my alternator for free, including freight back to me. Great company and good people.
 
krhea said:
... The LR3C-14 has an adjustment screw to change the voltage, so with voltmeter in hand and engine running at idle I attempted to increase the voltage but after 4 revolutions it didn't change, so i made the call to B&C and we did a couple of measurements and they told me to bring it up and they would check it. So this morning i drove the 40 or so miles from Wichita to Newton KS and left the regulator there and i left and went on an errand and 10 minutes later the tech calls and wants to verify that i wanted 14.6 volts, i said yes. Then 10 minutes later they called and said come and get it...
Click to expand...

What did their diagnosis determine?
 
krhea said:
Back in 2014 as i was completing my RV7, I bought an O-320 D2A out of a Piper Cherokee and installed a B&C L-40 alternator and LR3C-14 regulator. Fast forward about 600 hours and ten years and i replaced the last lead acid battery with a LIFEPO battery. The voltage on the Advanced 5600T was showing 12.9 volts and some 35 amps after starting so i wanted to up the voltage so the LIFEPO battery would give me good life. The NOCO battery says 14.6 volts is optimum. The LR3C-14 has an adjustment screw to change the voltage, so with voltmeter in hand and engine running at idle I attempted to increase the voltage but after 4 revolutions it didn't change, so i made the call to B&C and we did a couple of measurements and they told me to bring it up and they would check it. So this morning i drove the 40 or so miles from Wichita to Newton KS and left the regulator there and i left and went on an errand and 10 minutes later the tech calls and wants to verify that i wanted 14.6 volts, i said yes. Then 10 minutes later they called and said come and get it. I requested and invoice and they wouldn't charge me!!! I probably should have bought one anyhow, but i have been a customer a long time. 11 year old product and they could have easily charged a tech fee. If my starter ever gives up, i know who to call.

Keith Rhea
RV7
Click to expand...
That is GREAT service.
 
krhea said:
They just need to adjust voltage to 14.6. I may have lowered the output voltage based on previous Avionics manufacturers advice.


Keith
Click to expand...
Sorry for the off topic question, but LiFePO classically does not yield longest life if held at a constant voltage when not charging. Lead acid batteries are chemically well suited to a constant voltage charging system, LiFePO is not. Can you explain what is different about this specific formulation and why it is different from 99% of LiFePO chemistries?

Given a system ( not including starting) that had a LiFePO battery the battery (based on just about all chemistries) would like to be charged at a higher voltage (to produce current) but as soon as it is at capacity (100% SOC) then it would be better to reduce the voltage and not try to push current into the battery. i.e. not continue to heat the battery continuously. The buss would be powered by a buck/boost inverter to hold the aircraft loads at a constant voltage. The alternator would be varied to manage SOC recovery of the battery managed by current. This is (roughly) the way electric vehicle (and hybrids) main batteries get replenished. Chemistries have not been slowing down so maybe the world has changed.
 
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