Anyone with head-to-head experience? I am needing to replace my main group 31 in my 100 series and am struggling with the trade offs. I have solar so shouldn’t deeply discharge the battery too often, but given I’m running a single battery system want to have all the insurance I can get. The Extreme series PC1250 is $534 out the door with a 4 year warranty at my local Autozone, but the Performance series 31M925 is $420 with a 3 year warranty. See spec comparison below, main difference seems to be the cranking amps. Odyssey rates the Extreme batteries to 400 deep discharges, but doesn’t say anything about the Performance series.
Odyssey Performance v Extreme series
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Honestly the extreme probably just comes with more cranking amps. The specs clearly state that. I'd guess based on the weight that they achieve that with more lead plates packed into the case. Since it weighs about 8 pounds more. At that point you would have to decide if the 4 year over the 3 year warranty is worth it to you.
I just had a Group 34R Extreme fail on a recent trip to Death Valley. I'm not too sure what caused the battery to fail. Maybe it was the harsh washboard road. The battery showed good voltage but no amps at all. I sent Odyssey all the info they needed to get a warranty claim started and a few days later I had a new battery. Also bought it from Amazon originally. If I had bought a Performance line battery instead then I would have been past the 3 year warranty.
FYI, you can get the Group 31 extreme on amazon about $50 cheaper than autozone ($447 but add in some tax). Also crazy that I paid $340 for the same battery back at the beginning of 2017.
I just had a Group 34R Extreme fail on a recent trip to Death Valley. I'm not too sure what caused the battery to fail. Maybe it was the harsh washboard road. The battery showed good voltage but no amps at all. I sent Odyssey all the info they needed to get a warranty claim started and a few days later I had a new battery. Also bought it from Amazon originally. If I had bought a Performance line battery instead then I would have been past the 3 year warranty.
FYI, you can get the Group 31 extreme on amazon about $50 cheaper than autozone ($447 but add in some tax). Also crazy that I paid $340 for the same battery back at the beginning of 2017.
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That’s super helpful thanks man. Seems like the extra year of warranty might be worth the extra $$. Good to know they will warranty without having you mail it back on their dime, I had settled on Autozone and Odyssey because they’re local.
When my 34R suddenly went bad I had noticed from searching online that Autozone also sells them. I thought to myself that if I had just bought the battery from there then the warranty process may be easier since they would probably provide the replacement instead of directly from Odyssey. I also noticed that they would have to order the battery since the stores don't carry any in stock. So how much time do you really save.
Honestly a warranty is a wonderful thing to have, but I hope to never have to use it.
Now I'm trying to figure out if they have made some change to their AGM technology. My older 34R says from 2018 says "AGM" on the bottom left corner. The new 34R says "AGM^2". Not sure if its just marketing or if they are physically different in some way.
Knocking on wood...my Odyssey G31 Extreme is now 8+ years old and keeping the starting position happy on the spressoWAGON.
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For what it's worth, my 14 year old Sears Diehard Platinum in my 2004 Taco, essentially a rebadged Odyssey, not sure of the size, but is 800CCA, is now down to about 320 CCA, so it's on it's way out. I just ordered an ODX-AGM34R (34R-PC1500T) to replace it. This is a slightly larger battery with 880 CCA, so I hope it lasts at least as long as the Platinum.
I could not find a local distributor with one in stock, so had to order one. I chose to order from Odyssey, and they farmed the order out to West Coast Batteries.
I could not find a local distributor with one in stock, so had to order one. I chose to order from Odyssey, and they farmed the order out to West Coast Batteries.
Just got 2 new Extremes group 34, setting me back $640. Hope they will last a long time. My previous AGM Diehards lasted 12 years.
As you probably know, keeping them on a battery charger/conditioner when the rig is sitting for more than a few days is key to AGM longevity. And dual bank charger for...dual batteries.
Exactly.
I have not been impressed with my Noco genius charger when it comes to maintaining by Odyssey batteries. The odyssey batteries say they want between 13.5 and 13.8 volts for a float charge. I'd found the Noco even in the AGM mode doesn't even hold them that high. I've also noticed that when it gets to its "maintenance" mode that its really not providing anything to the battery and the voltage actually has to drop to some lower voltage for the charger to turn back on. It never seemed like it held the battery at a higher voltage than the resting voltage. I think this is a main reason why Noco is not an approved charger for Odysseys.
As far as just charging a battery the Noco does fine.
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We've had a run of bad Odyssey batteries at the shop. Ones made in the past 8 months are not keeping a charge. 4.2-8.1 is max after charging.
I have dedicated Odyssey chargers as well. Battery supply company said they have seen several as well, no answers yet from the MFG.
8 batteries in the past 5-6 weeks.
I have dedicated Odyssey chargers as well. Battery supply company said they have seen several as well, no answers yet from the MFG.
8 batteries in the past 5-6 weeks.
^ that sucks! Maybe CCP related...made/making a mess of many products.
I read the Odyssey/Enersys charger manual, and in the 'storage recondition mode' they raise the voltage up 14.7V for 3 hours per month, and the rest of the time they left it at around 13.05V.
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wonderful. i have a new-ish Odyssey AGM and a new NOCO 10-amp charger dedicated to the cruiser. a vintage car sits on a Battery Tender 1.25A. i spent too many brain cycles trying to pick a new charger and sounds like i didn't pick the optimal charger. dang.
what's a recommended charger for these batteries?
I've got a noco 5 and 10 and I'm hating it too. They do a great job at charging the battery and getting it to 100% but the maintaining part is where I'm disappointed.
Odyssey has a list of approved chargers. https://www.odysseybattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ODYSSEY_approved_12V_chargers.pdf
Battery Minder and Ctek are both chargers that are easier to get ahold of. They call for specific models of those brands so watch which one you get. I've got a Battery Minder Mode 12248 but not the specific version they list on their site as an approved charger and it holds the battery at the correct float charge. The best thing i like about the Noco chargers is the size. Its very small. Battery Minder chargers are definelty bigger. Ctek I believe are smaller in size.
What exactly are you noticing regarding the float charge? After how long do you see the voltage drop, and to what? I haven't actually put a volt meter on my battery during maintenance mode and I certainly don't have one fancy enough to plot me a chart.
I don't think the stock alternator on my 80 properly charges the AGM anyways
I don't know a ton about all these proper voltages. I just know that on the top of the Odyssey batteries it says a float voltage between 13.5 and 13.8 volts. When my noco is in its last mode I was noticing that the voltage would get down to between 12.9 and 12.8. Almost as if the charger was doing nothing but watching for the voltage to drop to a certain amount before it goes through its steps again. I'll have to hook it all up again and take some photos.What exactly are you noticing regarding the float charge? After how long do you see the voltage drop, and to what? I haven't actually put a volt meter on my battery during maintenance mode and I certainly don't have one fancy enough to plot me a chart.
I don't think the stock alternator on my 80 properly charges the AGM anyways
As far as the stock alternator. I notice that it will usually hold the voltage around 13.9 volts.
The more I read about maintaining these Odyssey TPPL AGM batteries, the more I noticed that trickle chargers are unnecessary for a fully charged battery, unless you have a parasitic drain from your vehicle.
FAQ: How to Properly Care for an ODYSSEY® Battery | ODYSSEY® Battery - https://www.odysseybattery.com/news/faq-how-to-properly-care-for-an-odyssey-battery/
"If you left it on a trickle charger, take these steps to ensure it’s good to go for the new season: You should be good to go if you used a trickle charger. Trickle chargers designed for AGM batteries are meant to overcome any parasitic amperage drain that is left when the vehicle is off, but the battery is still active. If you unhook that battery from the system, an ODYSSEY® battery can be left all winter without charging."
A similar message from Lifeline, page 29, in that trickle charging is not recommended for their AGM batteries, and that it should only be boosted every 90 days:
https://lifelinebatteries.com/wp-co...F-Lifeline-Technical-Manual-Final-5-06-19.pdf
Since a fully charged Odyssey Extreme battery has a voltage reading of 12.84V, there is no need to keep charging it. It can be stored for 24 months if kept at 77ºF, as stated on page 4 of their manual:
https://www.odysseybattery.com/wp-content/uploads/AM-ODY-OM.pdf
"ODYSSEY batteries should be fully charged prior to storage. A fully charged ODYSSEY battery can be stored for up to 24 months at 77ºF (25ºC). Battery voltage naturally decreases with time and with increased temperature. The battery voltage should be checked periodically. If the battery voltage drops to 12.0 volts (35% SOC) it should be recharged immediately to avoid permanent battery damage. The following can be used as a rough approximation for the potential storage times at different temperatures."
As stated previously, Odyssey charger itself does NOT even hold the battery above 13.5V in its 'storage recondition mode', leaving it barely above 13V (contrary to what it recommended elsewhere.) Furthermore, it only upped the battery to 14.7V for 3 hours per month trying to dump some amp into it, yet it is debatable if that is even necessary because the battery is already fully charged. Read page 9/14 below:
https://www.odysseybattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ODYSSEY_battery_charger_manual.pdf
Bob-Is-The-Oil Guy forum has a discussion at length about this subject: Noco Genius 5 battery charger review - https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/noco-genius-5-battery-charger-review.334941/page-4
What I conclude after reading all of this is that to make sure after every ride, I should fully charge my Odyssey battery using a large amp charger, since during a short ride my alternator may not be able to fully recharge it and attempting to trickle charge it does NOT work. After being fully charged, it should hold for 2 months at the ideal temperature of 77ºF. A trickle charge is not needed. My Noco 10amp charger should work, I hope, and it also has an ambient temperature sensor to monitor the temperature condition and adjust the recharging pattern if necessary. A lot of assumptions are discussed here, including mine. Perhaps, get the Project-Farm Youtube guy to do a test comparison one of these days.
FAQ: How to Properly Care for an ODYSSEY® Battery | ODYSSEY® Battery - https://www.odysseybattery.com/news/faq-how-to-properly-care-for-an-odyssey-battery/
"If you left it on a trickle charger, take these steps to ensure it’s good to go for the new season: You should be good to go if you used a trickle charger. Trickle chargers designed for AGM batteries are meant to overcome any parasitic amperage drain that is left when the vehicle is off, but the battery is still active. If you unhook that battery from the system, an ODYSSEY® battery can be left all winter without charging."
A similar message from Lifeline, page 29, in that trickle charging is not recommended for their AGM batteries, and that it should only be boosted every 90 days:
https://lifelinebatteries.com/wp-co...F-Lifeline-Technical-Manual-Final-5-06-19.pdf
Since a fully charged Odyssey Extreme battery has a voltage reading of 12.84V, there is no need to keep charging it. It can be stored for 24 months if kept at 77ºF, as stated on page 4 of their manual:
https://www.odysseybattery.com/wp-content/uploads/AM-ODY-OM.pdf
"ODYSSEY batteries should be fully charged prior to storage. A fully charged ODYSSEY battery can be stored for up to 24 months at 77ºF (25ºC). Battery voltage naturally decreases with time and with increased temperature. The battery voltage should be checked periodically. If the battery voltage drops to 12.0 volts (35% SOC) it should be recharged immediately to avoid permanent battery damage. The following can be used as a rough approximation for the potential storage times at different temperatures."
As stated previously, Odyssey charger itself does NOT even hold the battery above 13.5V in its 'storage recondition mode', leaving it barely above 13V (contrary to what it recommended elsewhere.) Furthermore, it only upped the battery to 14.7V for 3 hours per month trying to dump some amp into it, yet it is debatable if that is even necessary because the battery is already fully charged. Read page 9/14 below:
https://www.odysseybattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ODYSSEY_battery_charger_manual.pdf
Bob-Is-The-Oil Guy forum has a discussion at length about this subject: Noco Genius 5 battery charger review - https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/noco-genius-5-battery-charger-review.334941/page-4
What I conclude after reading all of this is that to make sure after every ride, I should fully charge my Odyssey battery using a large amp charger, since during a short ride my alternator may not be able to fully recharge it and attempting to trickle charge it does NOT work. After being fully charged, it should hold for 2 months at the ideal temperature of 77ºF. A trickle charge is not needed. My Noco 10amp charger should work, I hope, and it also has an ambient temperature sensor to monitor the temperature condition and adjust the recharging pattern if necessary. A lot of assumptions are discussed here, including mine. Perhaps, get the Project-Farm Youtube guy to do a test comparison one of these days.
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