Odyssey vs. Diehard Platinum

[jeffjeeptj]

Here is a pic of an Odyssey 1700 in my 2003 Sequoia. Minor adjustment of ground cable, and plastic bottom battery holder , IIRC. It was installed in Dec 2005, and has not been cleaned since, neither battery case/area nor terminals. Disregard the custom hold down spacer, that's been in place since Dec 2005, too.
The OEM battery would grow corrosion very quickly, even within the first 6 months of Sequoia ownership, attacking the hold down clamp, and more importantly the underside of the hood (bonnet).
I have seriously drained the Odyssey twice since new. Most recent was in May 2010. Left headlights on for 30 hours. The Sequoia will sometimes sit for 7 - 10 days, even now, with no starting troubles. It does not get a lot of expedition use.
I have a single PC1500, in my Jeep LJ, that I bought in 2007. It sees a winch load, lights on, and small trailer towing/charging. The trailer has a PC2250 and gets a lot of deep cycling (long duration:light/medium load). 2250 is inside trailer box, no corrosion/acid leaks/smell.
I'm really satisfied with Odyssey. I appear to be the poster with the longest duration of ownership, but not Platinum.
HTH

 

[Redline]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I hope my Odysseys last a good 8-10 years. I've got three Odyssey PC1750s that have been installed since March 2008. Two in a 1996 Power Stroke Diesel that sits most of the time with very occasional use, and one in my '06 4Runner that currently only has a single battery system and gets plenty of use.

...'snip

I appear to be the poster with the longest duration of ownership, but not Platinum.
HTH

 

[HenryJ]

I finished my further testing of the Optima YellowTop in my old truck and did not find it worth keeping. They resist discharge and the reverse as well. In order to attain a full charge (12.9V) periodic charging with a 120V battery charger was needed. My charging system was enhanced well beyond stock condition and far exceeded the needs required, yet still was unable to fully charge the battery under normal use. It just seems to be the nature of that battery as I found the same situation when using their batteries in the past. The New Mexico built batteries were supposed to be the "answer", but it does not seem to have worked out that way in my testing. I still have three of the older optimas in service and serving me very well, but my hardcore faith in their new batteries is lost.

I did more research recently and came close to buying an Odyssey PC1500DT. Having a hard time finding a large enough dual terminal battery for my trailers power box online, it seemed like the thing to do. The price gap between the Diehard Platinum and Odyssey has closed in the last year. The savings is not what it once was. Warranties are the same with four years full replacement. The Diehard is $40-$50 less $$ still.

I bought two Diehard Platinum dual terminal batteries in the last month.
The first was a second battery for the truck. Purchased online:

It is a 75/86DT which is now the only dual terminal battery Sears offers for sale online. $209 to my door.

Getting ready for spring I needed to replace the trailer battery that found its way into the truck as my main battery.

A trip to the closest Sears Automotive center found three on the shelf. These are the 34/78DT, a twin to the Odyssey PC1500DT. Larger than the 75/86DT and offering a better reserve capacity. The price on the shelf was $199. I had to pay Idaho sales tax on top of that.

Lesson learned? Shop local and check there first. Online may be convenient, but "buying locally" keeps the people who support your community employed. The price even with tax was very close and I got a bigger battery.

Seems a little crazy to be spending that kind of $$, but I came across some "mad money" from sold vehicle parts and decided to reinvest. I am now three platinums strong and ready for exploring this spring!

 

[radio_jumper]

i have an odyssey pc1500 as my primary battery in my fj cruiser. I installed it last may along with a yellow top optima in a dual bat setup. The odyssey is no longer holding a charge and I have to jump with the optima if I leave the fj sitting for more than a few hours.

I purchased the odyssey online and the only dealer in my area is batteries plus, but they wont swap it out since i didnt buy from them.

Odyssey support has been top notch. They are sending me a replacement.

This being said, had I got the rebranded dihard sears would have swapped it out no problem. So my next battery purchase will no doubt be what ever I can get local that has national support, that puts dihard on the top of my list.

 

[benedmonson]

Diehard Platinum DIED!

Just an FYI and not to bash any brand here. I had two Sears Diehard Platinums installed in Oct. 2010. One went into my National Luna Portable Power Pack which was the Sears Diehard Platinum Marine Group 31. During my 6 week trip to Baja it ran the fridge non-stop and did extremely well. I kept it charge while setting with my 60 watt foldable solar panel. The cranking battery was a Sears Diehard Platinum P-5. during the second week of our Baja trip it just killed over while setting on a remote beach. Thankfully I was able to use my National Luna Portable Power Pack to jump myself and run the vehicle without any problem. I drove to Loreto and found a very small replacement battery with reversed post for $59.00 USD. It only had 440 CCA's, but would get me through the rest of my trip and home to Colorado.

New battery in Baja with custom tape/wood lift beside dead Sears Battery

Well now I'm home and took the dead Sears Diehard Platinum battery to Sears where it tested BAD. They replaced it promptly without and problems and let me get a larger battery instead. They didn't up charge me since the new P-2 battery cost the same as the P-5.
My question now is how to install the larger battery with non-reversed terminals into my FZJ80??? I saw the conversion cables listed in this thread, is this the best way to go?

 

[Antichrist]

My question now is how to install the larger battery with non-reversed terminals into my FZJ80??? I saw the conversion cables listed in this thread, is this the best way to go?

The best way is to use cables of the correct length. It's just a matter of if you want to spend the money.

 

[zimm]

Just an FYI and not to bash any brand here. I had two Sears Diehard Platinums installed in Oct. 2010. One went into my National Luna Portable Power Pack which was the Sears Diehard Platinum Marine Group 31. During my 6 week trip to Baja it ran the fridge non-stop and did extremely well. I kept it charge while setting with my 60 watt foldable solar panel. The cranking battery was a Sears Diehard Platinum P-5. during the second week of our Baja trip it just killed over while setting on a remote beach. Thankfully I was able to use my National Luna Portable Power Pack to jump myself and run the vehicle without any problem. I drove to Loreto and found a very small replacement battery with reversed post for $59.00 USD. It only had 440 CCA's, but would get me through the rest of my trip and home to Colorado.

New battery in Baja with custom tape/wood lift beside dead Sears Battery

Well now I'm home and took the dead Sears Diehard Platinum battery to Sears where it tested BAD. They replaced it promptly without and problems and let me get a larger battery instead. They didn't up charge me since the new P-2 battery cost the same as the P-5.
My question now is how to install the larger battery with non-reversed terminals into my FZJ80??? I saw the conversion cables listed in this thread, is this the best way to go?

i would take this opportunity to mount a battery disconnect solenoid.

 

[benedmonson]

i would take this opportunity to mount a battery disconnect solenoid.

thanks Meh.
I should have posted earlier that I went ahead and moved the Sears Die Hard Platinum Marine from my National Luna Portable Power Pack to use as my cranking battery. It fit with the small shaving mod perfectly. I put the P-2 in my PPP. As far as the disconnect soleniod, I have the solenoid in my PPP which I can control to connect or disconnect. Is this what you are talking about?

 

[zimm]

thanks Meh.
I should have posted earlier that I went ahead and moved the Sears Die Hard Platinum Marine from my National Luna Portable Power Pack to use as my cranking battery. It fit with the small shaving mod perfectly. I put the P-2 in my PPP. As far as the disconnect soleniod, I have the solenoid in my PPP which I can control to connect or disconnect. Is this what you are talking about?

i was thinking you were worried about stock cable lengths reaching the posts. myself, i like to be able to break the electrical connections to entire truck, so i was suggesting you add a "kill" switch to the short positive cable and extend it in that manner. i may have misinterpreted your setup.

funny though, the batter talk made me go out to start the fj40 thats been sitting for a month. turns out my dual battery solenoid must have fried and grounded out without me knowing. i have two bone dead platinums (5v). im not even gonna attempt to revive them.

back to sears they go. technically it wasnt a problem with the batteries, so i'll post up if the return is successful. i really hope so, they were only 2 years old.

i think the flaw in my setup, is its the "painless" style, where one battery is in reserve and the belleview winch feeds off of the main. the solenoid was getting fussy, and i think it occurred b/c i had grouped the batteries while yanking logs on a friends property. winching thru that solenoid was an issue in my head that i sort of.... said meh to.... except for that flaw (i think all designs have one) i like the setup concept. so.. instead of a redesign im gonna hit the problem with a hammer and use a PAC 500 solenoid. for 68 bucks we'll see if i can kill it. if that fails ill just hit the eaton UPS parts catalog and procure something big and **************'.

 

[teotwaki]

i was thinking you were worried about stock cable lengths reaching the posts. myself, i like to be able to break the electrical connections to entire truck, so i was suggesting you add a "kill" switch to the short positive cable and extend it in that manner. i may have misinterpreted your setup.

funny though, the batter talk made me go out to start the fj40 thats been sitting for a month. turns out my dual battery solenoid must have fried and grounded out without me knowing. i have two bone dead platinums (5v). im not even gonna attempt to revive them.

back to sears they go. technically it wasnt a problem with the batteries, so i'll post up if the return is successful. i really hope so, they were only 2 years old.

i think the flaw in my setup, is its the "painless" style, where one battery is in reserve and the belleview winch feeds off of the main. the solenoid was getting fussy, and i think it occurred b/c i had grouped the batteries while yanking logs on a friends property. winching thru that solenoid was an issue in my head that i sort of.... said meh to.... except for that flaw (i think all designs have one) i like the setup concept. so.. instead of a redesign im gonna hit the problem with a hammer and use a PAC 500 solenoid. for 68 bucks we'll see if i can kill it. if that fails ill just hit the eaton UPS parts catalog and procure something big and **************'.

Sears may request that you bring in the vehicle to see if it is at fault for 2 dead batteries. Let us know what happens after you bring the batteries back!

 

[zimm]

Sears may request that you bring in the vehicle to see if it is at fault for 2 dead batteries. Let us know what happens after you bring the batteries back!

i walked in with two. one came up on their charger and the other didnt, so they charged the one and gave me one new.


now heres your lesson....

... i couldnt keep my mitts off the batteries that night. i just HAD to hit one of the agms with an old starter/charger set at 50 amps to drag it up to 11.2, then i put my agm charger on it.

i "saved" it.... doh... welll.... ive got 2 years left to kill it. i made it my primary and i see some logging in its future. i want it out.

i have it 90% rewired ripping out the PO's stupid ****. im haveing neighbor don make me a fake astray blanking plate where im going to put some switches and LED indicators

 

[Herbie]

Sorry to dredge up a waning thread with a slightly tangential question, but I'm not finding the info I'm searching for:

Can anybody comment on the necessary charging voltage for these Diehard Platinum batteries?

Coming from the industrial battery space I'm used to being able to see data sheets with all kinds of charge vs. temperature, etc. specs for any battery we use. Even the AGM deep cycles sold to the solar/wind customers tend to have pretty good documentation, but since I'm planning to use one of the PM-1 Platinum batteries as the house-battery in my van project, I'm a bit concerned about making sure I can get the battery fully charged.

The short form of my question is: Will this battery be adequately charged off of a normal alternator voltage (~14.1 or so), assuming a healthy alternator, etc.?

Thanks.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I'd say goto the Odyssey website for charging voltage specifics for any DHP battery.

Do not fall into the category of those who took one voltage reading at idle with a fully charged battery and believe that their alternator charging voltage is always the same.

The maximum charging voltage might be the same but the charging voltages will change with engine rpm and battery state of charge.

When my batteries are fully charged with the engine running, I will see 13.7. When they are low and being charged I might see 13.2 at idle but 14.7 at higher rpm.

It is not a constant or instant voltage thing, but very variable.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Odyssey does have battery specific chargers they recommend with a different charging profile than a standard auto battery charger:
http://www.odysseybattery.com/chargers.html

 

[dwh]

When my batteries are fully charged with the engine running, I will see 13.7. When they are low and being charged I might see 13.2 at idle but 14.7 at higher rpm.

x2. On my Ford camper van, I've seen as high as 14.8v.



Normal automotive alternator/voltage regulator setups don't usually get a battery truly up to 100% charge. It gets close, but it won't hold the voltage up to do a real absorption stage.

Those chargers on the Odyssey site are true 3-stage chargers that will hold the voltage up for a few hours (absorption stage) before dropping down to 13.6v for the float.

You can buy aftermarket voltage regulators that will do a proper 3-stage, but they are pricey and not really needed.


You should take a voltage reading with either a partially depleted battery, or with a good sized load on, like the lights and a/c both. Run the rpms up to highway speed and see what you get. If your charging system will crank out 14.6v or more, then that's about as good as you can expect and is fine for an AGM battery.

(Though it wouldn't hurt to occasionally top it up fully with one of the 3-stage chargers.)



Plain old automotive type chargers (and most older RV converter/chargers) are generally constant voltage - they just put out a voltage like 12.6v, 13.2v, or 13.6v and allow the battery to absorb whatever amps it can. A dead battery has a high resistance, so at first you generally only see a couple of amps, then as the voltage of the battery rises, the resistance goes down and more amps flow. As the voltage approaches the voltage that the charger is putting out, the amp flow starts dropping down again.

The big problem is that those voltages are "resting" voltages - where the battery should be after it's been fully charged and then allowed to settle down. That's the voltage range that a 3-stage charger will drop down to to "float" the battery indefinitely. Since those constant voltage chargers don't take the battery up to 14.4v or 14.7v or so (and hold it there a good while), they never do get that battery to 100% charged.

An alternator/regulator setup will generally take the battery up to a higher voltage, so they do get the battery "more full" than a regular old constant voltage charger, but since they don't hold it there for the absorption stage - not as full as a true 3-stage charger.