Auxiliary Power Units (APU)

[JimC]

Another question: do you think your battery will be run down so often that you need to have your own APU?

I think starting APUs make sense for FBOs - for individual owners, not so much. What am I missing?

[hharney]

Originally Posted by JimC

Another question: do you think your battery will be run down so often that you need to have your own APU?

I think starting APUs make sense for FBOs - for individual owners, not so much. What am I missing?

If you need an APU to start your Skymaster you probably have a bad battery or somebody left the master on. Once the battery is down beyond starting it will need to be charged before it's going to work properly if at all. Keep a battery conditioner on the battery at all times when it's not in use and the battery will provide good results for the time period expected. I change mine every 3 years even though it will still start the engine. These batteries only have an intended life of 3 to 4 years and that's if it is properly maintained. The maintenance between using is most important. Think about how long the battery is going to last when you loose alternators in IMC. I want the most I can get. Change the battery before it goes dead and maintain the battery between flights.