DieHard Platinum 31M DEAD

[Jacket]

I've got a 5 year old DHP 34M auxiliary battery in my 80 that's still going strong - no issues. And I've got a DHP 34 starting battery in the 40 going strong for the last 3 years. That's in cold Colorado winters coupled with hot Colorado front range summers.

 

[superjuice]

My first set of 31M's went out within two years, second set are entering into their second year now. I've been topping off the second set every few weeks with an agm charger to help prolong their life.

Sears definitely doesn't want to hear that these are being used in a vehicle, make something else up when your returning them. It really is too bad these aren't bringing the peace of mind I had hoped for, more like a headache making sure they are still hanging in there

 

[9180ltd]

LOL! There's no way I'm stick an optima in my truck. They're junk now days

I don't daily my truck which is why I haven't experienced this issue. If worse comes to worse I'll stick the DHP in the 2nd batt slot and get an Odyssey, but that's at the tail end of my list. I've got an axle job to do

It's funny, I have had 2 optima yellow tops in my diesel cruiser for going on 5 years now.... Never a problem.

 

[Azonic84]

Mine s*** the bed after 10 months. Taking it in today too see if I can get it replaced.

 

[whereischadjones]

I put a new platinum die hard in just before I started my project, and it died after just sitting there for three weeks. I can't even get it to charge now...gotta take it in!

 

[PDoyle]

Remember to take the battery in by itself they don't like to see them in cars /trucks.

 

[Kernal]

FWIW wondering if the digital battery chargers are part of the problem, either home units or the units they use to test the batteries at the stores?? ie: the batteries may not be permanently damaged, just too low to charge with the automatic chargers?? I brought back to life a dead dual purpose Marine battery (reading only 4 Volts) that the store said was bad. I used a Battery-Tender+ for two days followed by my digital charger (that wouldn't charge it initially) for another day. It's been holding 12.55 Volts for a couple of weeks since then.

 

[mattafact]

I've taken 2 back this year. Disappointing to say the least.

 

[80t0ylc]

Remember to take the battery in by itself they don't like to see them in cars /trucks.

You know, for a SUV rig, you should be using the 34/78DT instead of the 31M. The 3478DT is the correct physical size and rating for our rigs (at least it's the correct size for the 80 series). That's the reason for the fitment issues mentioned in this thread. And I'm thinking maybe some of the other negative issues that are mentioned, might not be experienced. They are both rated as deep cycle and for specs the 31M appears to be the winner, but I don't think it is cut out to be an automotive battery. If you look at the descriptions and specs on the Sears Sites, you could conclude (at least I did) that it's possible they are interchangable, but the 31M says Marine and the 34/78DT says automotive. Yeah, I know, old school experience says, hell - they're just batteries. But, think about it seriously, why did Sears spend the $ to market them for different environments? Something, whether it's apparent or not, matters in the design enough for Sears to rate them for specific uses. Each of us will rationalize our reasons to buy and use something outside it's designer's intended purpose. And when the performance doesn't match our expectations, we're quick to blame the product and believe that it's competitors are superior, when really the heart of the matter is that the product is not being used as designed.

31M Sears webpage

34/78DT Sears webpage

 

[ppc]

The marine environment is considered harsher than automotive. Marine designs generally account for higher vibration with thicker isolation barriers between plates, deeper and more frequent discharging with longer periods without use and charging. Because of that they are also higher priced.

 

[PDoyle]

I know the negitive terminal hits the hood when it's closed
So I placed a few prices of electrical tape on the spot and haven't had any problems so far on battery number 2 installed in December.
Another Mud member added a solar panel to his roof with the idea that the battery is never getting a full charge from the charging system.

 

[alia176]

I have to chime in here as well for the DHP batts, I'm not overly impressed with their longevity. Frequently, I'll stick the float charger on the batts since I do have a constant draw. My smart float charger tells me that the batts are experiencing sulfatization and I can't seem to de-sulfate them with this fancy unit.

However, it seems that what little draw I have (about 0.5amp), the main group 35 batt goes belly up within a week or so if not driven every few days. It's rather disappointing given the cost.

 

[ChaseTruck]

...added a solar panel to his roof with the idea that the battery is never getting a full charge from the charging system.

I can see this counteracting a parasitic draw, but methinks it would be better to fix the charging system.

 

[Newps]

I’ve not had a positive experience with Gel batteries in my cruiser. I went through three of them in a year and a half, they all died a permanent death. They could not hold a charge for more then a week and a half. Once drained they never took a charge again. I tried everything to try and bring them back to life. Including taking them to my local O’Reilly’s and put on their $10,000 battery charger made to handle Gel batteries for days. On the other hand my $75 dollar Kirkland battery (8 year warrantee 1st three years is 100% replacement then pro-rated) has been maintenance free. I’ve let it go weeks without a charge and it’s never had an issue. My experience has been Gel batteries can not hold a charge and once discharged are done. Not good IMOP where being stranded without a operating battery could result in possible death. I guess it does live up to it’s name though, you will die hard .

 

[alia176]

I’ve not had a positive experience with Gel batteries in my cruiser. I went through three of them in a year and a half, they all died a permanent death. They could not hold a charge for more then a week and a half. Once drained they never took a charge again. I tried everything to try and bring them back to life. Including taking them to my local O’Reilly’s and put on their $10,000 battery charger made to handle Gel batteries for days. On the other hand my $75 dollar Kirkland battery (8 year warrantee 1st three years is 100% replacement then pro-rated) has been maintenance free. I’ve let it go weeks without a charge and it’s never had an issue. My experience has been Gel batteries can not hold a charge and once discharged are done. Not good IMOP where being stranded without a operating battery could result in possible death. I guess it does live up to it’s name though, you will die hard .

I agree, wet cell batts do fine in our rigs. In my case, I switched over to the AGMs due to the out-gassing of the acid and destroying the paint around the battery area. Maybe I'll return to the wet cells once these two give up the ghost!

 

[Salue]

I'm surprised to read about all these issues. I've had my dual battery setup with Marine Platinums over 4 years and not a single issue.

Cheers,
Salue

 

[mattafact]

The marine also has the threaded posts as well as the standard automotive ones.

 

[2000UZJ]

I've had the DieHard 31M for a few months. I have not had any issues. The sales guy at Sears did tell me they won't hold up with a automotive charging system. He claims they charge the battery to fast. I have the 100 connected to the small post via adapter, and a 12K winch on the main terminal. So far so good, everybody that I talk to with 31M's (Diehard) say they don't last. My original Toyota battery lasted until 2008. I installed a Duralast Gold (can't remember the model) and beat the living s*** out of it. I can't remember how many times I killed that battery, leaving lights on, tailgating all night. It probably had 50+ jump starts on it and several short outs (tools grounding out while tightening it). It wasn't until I installed the winch and did a really hard pull, I think I may of melted something inside of it. I then drove with a dead battery (7.4V) for a few weeks, it's now my 2nd battery and still kicking ass . I hope the DieHard, dies hard.

 

[ajax1]

My napa gold battery been good for 4.5 years now, I see typically in winter neg 20 to 40 degrees and run winch and it works great! Cost less than 100 bucks with a warranty

 

[hoser]

You know, for a SUV rig, you should be using the 34/78DT instead of the 31M. The 3478DT is the correct physical size and rating for our rigs (at least it's the correct size for the 80 series). That's the reason for the fitment issues mentioned in this thread. And I'm thinking maybe some of the other negative issues that are mentioned, might not be experienced. They are both rated as deep cycle and for specs the 31M appears to be the winner, but I don't think it is cut out to be an automotive battery. If you look at the descriptions and specs on the Sears Sites, you could conclude (at least I did) that it's possible they are interchangable, but the 31M says Marine and the 34/78DT says automotive. Yeah, I know, old school experience says, hell - they're just batteries.

I'm guessing the DHP marine and auto batteries are the same internally. It's just a matter of which size is marketed to which group. Group 31 is mostly used as a marine and commercial type battery but can be used at an auto battery. If you look at Odyssey website and click on the different categories: Marine, HD/Commerical, and Auto, only certain batteries will appear. But their group 31 sizes shows up in all three of those categories.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html

And like PPC said, the marine environment is harsher than automotive and hence the different in DHP warranty. 3 vs 4 years.