best battery (1 Viewer)

[Beowulf]

That battery picture is my nomination for the 2009 Darwin award.

You should consider running out with your digicam, taking a new picture, and updating your threads with the new picture. A lot of guys here on 'Mud can't read or won't read and they only look at the pictures.

-B-

 

[unwiredadventures]

How did you get a 31 to fit? I tried to put two (2) Sears Platinum 31 Marine batteries in my LC and they would not fit in either of the two (2) battery locations.

You need to do a little trimming in the battery tray, get longer j bolts and make a new hold down:

 

[SeanAndHis80]

You need to do a little trimming in the battery tray, get longer j bolts and make a new hold down:

Nice job! Notes taken and steeling the idea! Way better than what I came up with.

 

[Beowulf]

Agreed. Where did you trim the battery tray?

-B-

 

[unwiredadventures]

Agreed. Where did you trim the battery tray?

I don't remember exactly the spot. It was obvious that the tray needed a trim in that particular spot. Once trimmed, it fit great. Best to to take the tray out first and test fit. This battery is heavy.

I'm using the stock battery cable. There are a couple of hold downs for this cable on the inner fender. These needed to be released for the cable to reach this battery's terminal. Then I added some zip-ties to secure it. I also needed to make a little jumper cable to connect the other cables that connect directly to the battery. The stock length is just a couple inches short.

The hold down is some aluminum stock I got at OSH. Note that the fender side j bolt needed a trim to fit under the hood.

I wanted this large size battery since I run a fridge all the time. So far it's worked perfectly. A 2nd battery is coming soon.

 

[alia176]

Holy cow, nice fitment! With a battery this mondo size, do you still need a second batt?

 

[jamisobe]

I bought this Odyssey PC2150 on ebay about 3 years ago for $225. It shares the tray with an optima 6v that is tied in series to another 6v fastened to the fender support on the passenger side. That is a stainless over-the-center 300lb tie-down fastener holding down the weight.

 

[sdnative]

I have a group 31 odyssey (PC1700MJT) and it fit in the stock tray without trimming. I had to make a spacer out of some wood as the odyssey is shorter than the original. I also ended up bending the j hooks slightly about an inch or two from the end to get them to go through the holes on the cross bar. It is a very secure setup.

 

[unwiredadventures]

Holy cow, nice fitment! With a battery this mondo size, do you still need a second batt?

Nothing feels better than overkill.

Odyssey PC2150. That is a stainless over-the-center 300lb tie-down fastener holding down the weight.

Where did you get the tie down? Where is it connected, to hold down the battery?

I have a group 31 odyssey (PC1700MJT) and it fit in the stock tray without trimming. I had to make a spacer out of some wood as the odyssey is shorter than the original. I also ended up bending the j hooks slightly about an inch or two from the end to get them to go through the holes on the cross bar. It is a very secure setup.

Please post a photo of this.

 

[jamisobe]

Where did you get the tie down? Where is it connected, to hold down the battery?

I acquired the tie down about 3 years ago from a industrial tie-down supplier. At the time I could not find it retail so I called the supplier and was told they did not do small orders, but she volunteered to send me a free sample.

Try a google search on over-the-center tie downs. I think I saw somewhere recently where you could get these retail now.

I had my wife help me thread and sew webbing straps into hardware used to bolt them down. I used existing battery tray bolt locations directly under the batteries for anchor points.

 

[treerootCO]

Can someone fill me in why the majority in this thread decided against using the "Ford" 27F battery terminal configuration? I am looking for a set of Deka batteries for the 80 and would like them to be interchangeable left to right and between other 80s in the event of a failure. The most common batteries out there seem to have the terminals reversed from what the 80 come with. The positive is to the right if you put the posts toward the rear.

 

[sdnative]

The PC1700MJT has the terminals in the correct orientation, as do several of the other odysseys. That was a prerequisite for me. No stretching of cables or anything. Maybe the DHP doesn't have as many configurations as the odyssey.

 

[Greg_B]

Here is some good reading on the different types of batteries: http://www.dekabatteries.com/assets/base/1081.pdf

Spend some time at the Penn State/Deka website, and read the PDF's in the RV, Marine, and Auto battery area. Lots of data for the Techie...EAST PENN manufacturing co., inc.: Lead-Acid Batteries; Battery Manufacturers; Thousands of Different Types of Batteries, Cable & Wire Product

I've not had much success with red or yellow tops, but then most my applications are 24V which will find and exacerbate any battery charge differences.

 

[Bret]

Put me on the list as no more Optima, ran fine 2 days ago, went out to start it and now it's deader than hell. To make matters worse they won't take a charge either.

2 yellow tops wired in parallel in the cab. Batts are about 4 years old.

 

[SeanAndHis80]

Can someone fill me in why the majority in this thread decided against using the "Ford" 27F battery terminal configuration? I am looking for a set of Deka batteries for the 80 and would like them to be interchangeable left to right and between other 80s in the event of a failure. The most common batteries out there seem to have the terminals reversed from what the 80 come with. The positive is to the right if you put the posts toward the rear.

Well, a lot of the batteries just don't come in that flavor. The excellent Diehard Marine 31M is a good example. Regardless either battery configuration will fit in the cruiser - with the terminals reversed you just need to push the fusable links into the battery tray area to get the positive lead connected. In an emergency on the trail - this would be a minor operation to do.

 

[SeanAndHis80]

Put me on the list as no more Optima, ran fine 2 days ago, went out to start it and now it's deader than hell. To make matters worse they won't take a charge either.

2 yellow tops wired in parallel in the cab. Batts are about 4 years old.

Two batts in parallel leads to parasitic loss over time. Meaning internal resistance differences between the batteries causes one to constantly try to charge the other when the alternator is not generating current. ...and, of course, if one fails it is very likely to bring down the other with it. It would be OK for a secondary system to power a winch or inverter - but I wouldn't want it for my primary system.

 

[Beowulf]

2 yellow tops wired in parallel in the cab. Batts are about 4 years old.

No isolator?

As Sean pointed out, wiring 2 batteries in parallel makes them just 1 battery. If both are good, they appear as 1 good battery. If either one is dead, they will appears as 1 dead battery.

-B-

 

[Filmpros]

Makes sense....it would not fit in my truck without serious jamming and modification ... did not want to do that. Went with a smaller set of Odyssey (Sears Platinum) batteries after having three (3) Optima Batteries in a row fail. I got about 2 months each out of the Yellow Tops and switched to the Odyssey (Sear Platinum) ..... and have had no troubles since.

Seems the Optima Yellow Tops fail once you get them below a certain voltage. Why they call them Deep Cycle I have no idea. They do not hold up after a deep discharge. From what I understand, The Odyssey (Sears Platinum) are more reliable.

Hey FILMPROS, here's what WEARSABROWNCOAT said about it.

 

[treerootCO]

Ok, so I broke down and bought the Deka series 78 for the main. It is not available in a 24F configuration according to the parts guy so I am going to rewire the truck.

 

[wxm]

Makes sense....it would not fit in my truck without serious jamming and modification ... did not want to do that. Went with a smaller set of Odyssey (Sears Platinum) batteries after having three (3) Optima Batteries in a row fail. I got about 2 months each out of the Yellow Tops and switched to the Odyssey (Sear Platinum) ..... and have had no troubles since.

Seems the Optima Yellow Tops fail once you get them below a certain voltage. Why they call them Deep Cycle I have no idea. They do not hold up after a deep discharge. From what I understand, The Odyssey (Sears Platinum) are more reliable.

As my understanding, most of the automotive use "Starting" batteries, which are designed for delivery large current in a short time. They are good for starting and running engine, but not very good for "deep cycle". That's why your battery dies quickly if you keep forgetting to turn off the overhead in-cabin light. On the other hand, the "Deep cycle" which allows to draw down up to 80% on each discharge can't deliver as much crank amp as the equivalent Starting batteries. That's the reason that it is recommended to use 20% larger capacity if one decide to use Deep Cycle battery also for starting...

IIRC, optima yellow is a deep cycle battery, it will be good as a backup for stereo amp, winch etc. But if you are use it to drive the starter, you might need a larger one (if it exists). So save yourself some money, try the red top (starting battery), or blue top (marine battery - between starting and deep cycle) if you have a large numbers of accessaries. That's said guys here (me included) seem to be happy with the DieHard Platinum. It's a bit pricer but not too much comparing to the Optima blue.