I had the SMS Prinz Eugen out for the first run of the year. I was down at Graham's Grove. It wasn't a bad run but I noticed the speed was not what I wanted. The battery was charged. I wonder if the SLA's are getting weak.
It's possible Paul. If they been in storage for more than 6 months without a inbetween charge or if they were stored without a charge and in a cold place they may not recover fully. The voltage may be there but the amprh would be done . Other factors to consider is the grease in teh stuffing tube , if its packed tight it would add more resistance and drain the battery more. If the props are too small or if the motors are underpowered. Glad to hear that you had a first run. I had only one so far this spring due to the weather and committments elsewhere . I am hoping to get the 4 beasts out with the NC.
I usually top up the charge every 3 months. I drained the battery as best I can. I will probably charge over night to see how they turn out.
I generally assume an SLAs life is 1 - 5 years, and after 3 I dont really trust them. Probably time for new. I have no empirical data to support this, so YMMV.
The SLA seemed to charge up fairly quickly. I might try one of my newer sla's sto see if it is a battery or motor issue
