The Only Battery Thread You Should Ever Post In

[AV6NHBP6SPD]

so we dont get offtopic in what you do to your 7th gen, here is new thread
i need to get new battery, which you recomend.

i found this
Interstate MEGA-TRON PLUS - 85 MONTHS - 640 CCA (800CA)  about $120
MEGA-TRON - 75 MONTHS - 550 CCA(690CA) about $113

Duralast Gold
35-DL 500CCA (625CA)  red top  $90
35-DLG 640CCA (800CA) yellow top  $100

honda
Honda Part 31500-SL5-100M   $84
http://www.hondapartsnow.com/Page_Produ ... TERY%20(V6)
battery cover is nice. i might get it as well

READ BEFORE YOU CHOOSE BATTERY. DEEP CYCLE VS REGULAR BATTERY

If you discharge or "deep cycle" a regular lead acid "starter" battery, it will never be able to fully recover to 100% capacity.  If you deep cycle your battery too many times, it becomes a boat anchor.  Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down to about 20% of their capacity, and still be able to be recharged to 100% capacity with no damage.  The benefits of a deep cycle battery is for people who run electronic accessories with their engine off.  Usually people who do car shows or audio shows would benefit from a deep cycle battery if they do not use a battery tender while showcasing their car.

Here's an article that can explain it a lot better than I can.

What is the difference between a normal lead-acid car battery and a deep cycle battery?

What is the difference between a normal lead-acid car battery and a deep cycle battery?
People who have recreational vehicles (RVs) and boats are familiar with deep cycle batteries. These batteries are also common in golf carts and large solar power systems (the sun produces power during the day and the batteries store some of the power for use at night). If you have read the article How Emergency Power Systems Work, then you also know that an alternative to gasoline-powered generators is an inverter powered by one or more deep cycle batteries.
Quiz Corner
How much you know about batteries and what they do? Test your knowledge with our Batteries Quiz!

Both car batteries and deep cycle batteries are lead-acid batteries that use exactly the same chemistry for their operation (see How Batteries Work for more information). The difference is in the way that the batteries optimize their design:

A car's battery is designed to provide a very large amount of current for a short period of time. This surge of current is needed to turn the engine over during starting. Once the engine starts, the alternator provides all the power that the car needs, so a car battery may go through its entire life without ever being drained more than 20 percent of its total capacity. Used in this way, a car battery can last a number of years. To achieve a large amount of current, a car battery uses thin plates in order to increase its surface area.

A deep cycle battery is designed to provide a steady amount of current over a long period of time. A deep cycle battery can provide a surge when needed, but nothing like the surge a car battery can. A deep cycle battery is also designed to be deeply discharged over and over again (something that would ruin a car battery very quickly). To accomplish this, a deep cycle battery uses thicker plates.

A car battery typically has two ratings:

    * CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) - The number of amps that the battery can produce at 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) for 30 seconds
    * RC (Reserve Capacity) - The number of minutes that the battery can deliver 25 amps while keeping its voltage above 10.5 volts

Typically, a deep cycle battery will have two or three times the RC of a car battery, but will deliver one-half or three-quarters the CCAs. In addition, a deep cycle battery can withstand several hundred total discharge/recharge cycles, while a car battery is not designed to be totally discharged.

Here's some more info that I also found.

Starting (sometimes called SLI, for starting, lighting, ignition) batteries are commonly used to start and run engines. Engine starters need a very large starting current for a very short time. Starting batteries have a large number of thin plates for maximum surface area. The plates are composed of a Lead "sponge", similar in appearance to a very fine foam sponge. This gives a very large surface area, but if deep cycled, this sponge will quickly be consumed and fall to the bottom of the cells. Automotive batteries will generally fail after 30-150 deep cycles if deep cycled, while they may last for thousands of cycles in normal starting use (2-5% discharge).

Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down as much as 80% time after time, and have much thicker plates. The major difference between a true deep cycle battery and others is that the plates are SOLID Lead plates - not sponge. This gives less surface area, thus less "instant" power like starting batteries need.
Unfortunately, it is often impossible to tell what you are really buying in some of the discount stores or places that specialize in automotive batteries. The golf car battery is quite popular for small systems and RV's. The problem is that "golf car" refers to a size of battery (commonly called GC-2, or T-105), not the type or construction - so the quality and construction of a golf car battery can vary considerably - ranging from the cheap off brand with thin plates up the true deep cycle brands, such as Crown, Deka, Trojan, etc. In general, you get what you pay for.

Marine batteries are usually a "hybrid", and fall between the starting and deep-cycle batteries, though a few (Rolls-Surrette and Concorde, for example) are true deep cycle. In the hybrid, the plates may be composed of Lead sponge, but it is coarser and heavier than that used in starting batteries. It is often hard to tell what you are getting in a "marine" battery, but most are a hybrid. Starting batteries are usually rated at "CCA", or cold cranking amps, or "MCA", Marine cranking amps - the same as "CA". Any battery with the capacity shown in CA or MCA may not be a true deep-cycle battery. It is sometimes hard to tell, as the term deep cycle is often overused. CA and MCA ratings are at 32 degrees F, while CCA is at zero degree F. Unfortunately, the only positive way to tell with some batteries is to buy one and cut it open - not much of an option.

Using a deep cycle battery as a starting battery

There is generally no problem with this, providing that allowance is made for the lower cranking amps compared to a similar size starting battery. As a general rule, if you are going to use a true deep cycle battery (such as the Concorde SunXtender) also as a starting battery, it should be oversized about 20% compared to the existing or recommended starting battery group size to get the same cranking amps. That is about the same as replacing a group 24 with a group 31. With modern engines with fuel injection and electronic ignition, it generally takes much less battery power to crank and start them, so raw cranking amps is less important than it used to be. On the other hand, many cars, boats, and RV's are more heavily loaded with power sucking "appliances", such as megawatt stereo systems etc. that are more suited for deep cycle batteries. We have used the Concorde SunXtender AGM batteries in some of our vehicles with no problems.

It will not hurt a deep cycle battery to be used as a starting battery, but for the same size battery they cannot supply as much cranking amps as a regular starting battery.

Battery Construction Materials

Nearly all large rechargeable batteries in common use are Lead-Acid type. (There are some NiCads in use, but for most purposes the very high initial expense, and the high expense of disposal, does not justify them). The acid is typically 30% Sulfuric acid and 70% water at full charge. NiFe (Nickel-Iron) batteries are also available - these have a very long life, but rather poor efficiency (60-70%) and the voltages are different, making it more difficult to match up with standard 12v/24/48v systems and inverters. The biggest problem with NiFe batteries is that you may have to put in 100 watts to get 70 watts of charge - they are much less efficient than Lead-Acid. What you save on batteries you will have to make up for by buying a larger solar panel system. NiCads are also inefficient - typically around 65% - and very expensive. However, NiCads can be frozen without damage, so are sometimes used in areas where the temperatures may fall below -50 degrees F. Most AGM batteries will also survive freezing with no problems, even though the output when frozen will be little or nothing.
Industrial deep cycle batteries

Sometimes called "fork lift", "traction" or "stationary" batteries, are used where power is needed over a longer period of time, and are designed to be "deep cycled", or discharged down as low as 20% of full charge (80% DOD, or Depth of Discharge). These are often called traction batteries because of their widespread use in forklifts, golf carts, and floor sweepers (from which we get the "GC" and "FS" series of battery sizes). Deep cycle batteries have much thicker plates than automotive batteries.

Cycles vs Life
A battery "cycle" is one complete discharge and recharge cycle. It is usually considered to be discharging from 100% to 20%, and then back to 100%. However, there are often ratings for other depth of discharge cycles, the most common ones are 10%, 20%, and 50%. You have to be careful when looking at ratings that list how many cycles a battery is rated for unless it also states how far down it is being discharged. For example, one of the widely advertised telephone type (float service) batteries have been advertised as having a 20-year life. If you look at the fine print, it has that rating only at 5% DOD - it is much less when used in an application where they are cycled deeper on a regular basis. Those same batteries are rated at less than 5 years if cycled to 50%. For example, most golf cart batteries are rated for about 550 cycles to 50% discharge - which equates to about 2 years.

How depth of discharge affects cycle life on batteriesBattery life is directly related to how deep the battery is cycled each time. If a battery is discharged to 50% every day, it will last about twice as long as if it is cycled to 80% DOD. If cycled only 10% DOD, it will last about 5 times as long as one cycled to 50%. Obviously, there are some practical limitations on this - you don't usually want to have a 5 ton pile of batteries sitting there just to reduce the DOD. The most practical number to use is 50% DOD on a regular basis. This does NOT mean you cannot go to 80% once in a while. It's just that when designing a system when you have some idea of the loads, you should figure on an average DOD of around 50% for the best storage vs cost factor. Also, there is an upper limit - a battery that is continually cycled 5% or less will usually not last as long as one cycled down 10%. This happens because at very shallow cycles, the Lead Dioxide tends to build up in clumps on the the positive plates rather in an even film. The graph above shows how lifespan is affected by depth of discharge. The chart is for a Concorde Lifeline battery, but all lead-acid batteries will be similar in the shape of the curve, although the number of cycles will vary.

[k24low20z]

so we dont get offtopic in what you do to your 7th gen, here is new thread
i need to get new battery, which you recomend.

i found this
Interstate MEGA-TRON PLUS - 85 MONTHS - 640 CCA (800CA)  about $120
MEGA-TRON - 75 MONTHS - 550 CCA(690CA) about $113

Duralast Gold
35-DL 500CCA (625CA)  red top  $90
35-DLG 640CCA (800CA) yellow top  $100

honda
Honda Part 31500-SL5-100M   $84
http://www.hondapartsnow.com/Page_Produ ... TERY%20(V6)
battery cover is nice. i might get it as well

red, yellow, blue top optima batteries ftmfw!

[Abailey4]

^Due to the recent news Thien gave us an Oddysey may be a better choice.

[MyNameIsThien]

You might want to reconsider Optima. Optima is going out of business. Their new design in batteries are inferior. They no longer have cells in every tube, but instead in every other tube. They had a mass recall 2-3 months ago. The plant use to be located here in Colorado, only a few miles from my place. They shutdown that plant and moved to Mexico. Two to three months of the plant being opened in Mexico, it has now shutdown.

Interstate use to own Optima, but they have no dropped the company due to bad engineering and new management. Expect to no longer see Optima batteries on the shelves. I recommened either Interstate or Exide. Interstate offers a good warranty, but they do no have many deep cell options out. Exide on the other hand do offer deep cell, but they do come at a heavy price. Another battery to look into is the Odyssey batteries. They are a lightweight deep cell battery, but again, they do come at a hefty price.

I hope this helps you out on your decision on a battery.

[cna]

I have used the Duralast Gold 35-DLG 640CCA (800CA) yellow top $100 they worked decent never any problems

[timot_one]

My next battery is either going to be an Exide Select Orbital XCD Deep Cycle battery or Odyssey PC1500DT for DD use and an Odyssey ER15 lightweight battery for the track.

[Abailey4]

You might want to reconsider Optima. Optima is going out of business. Their new design in batteries are inferior. They no longer have cells in every tube, but instead in every other tube. They had a mass recall 2-3 months ago. The plant use to be located here in Colorado, only a few miles from my place. They shutdown that plant and moved to Mexico. Two to three months of the plant being opened in Mexico, it has now shutdown.

Interstate use to own Optima, but they have no dropped the company due to bad engineering and new management. Expect to no longer see Optima batteries on the shelves. I recommened either Interstate or Exide. Interstate offers a good warranty, but they do no have many deep cell options out. Exide on the other hand do offer deep cell, but they do come at a heavy price. Another battery to look into is the Odyssey batteries. They are a lightweight deep cell battery, but again, they do come at a hefty price.

I hope this helps you out on your decision on a battery.

So basically if the little issue I'm having happens to be the battery I need to move quick so I can take advantage of the warranty.

[AV6NHBP6SPD]

Tim. can you shed some light of benefits of deep cycle?

[timot_one]

If you discharge or "deep cycle" a regular lead acid "starter" battery, it will never be able to fully recover to 100% capacity.  If you deep cycle your battery too many times, it becomes a boat anchor.  Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down to about 20% of their capacity, and still be able to be recharged to 100% capacity with no damage.  The benefits of a deep cycle battery is for people who run electronic accessories with their engine off.  Usually people who do car shows or audio shows would benefit from a deep cycle battery if they do not use a battery tender while showcasing their car.

Here's an article that can explain it a lot better than I can.

What is the difference between a normal lead-acid car battery and a deep cycle battery?

What is the difference between a normal lead-acid car battery and a deep cycle battery?
People who have recreational vehicles (RVs) and boats are familiar with deep cycle batteries. These batteries are also common in golf carts and large solar power systems (the sun produces power during the day and the batteries store some of the power for use at night). If you have read the article How Emergency Power Systems Work, then you also know that an alternative to gasoline-powered generators is an inverter powered by one or more deep cycle batteries.
Quiz Corner
How much you know about batteries and what they do? Test your knowledge with our Batteries Quiz!

Both car batteries and deep cycle batteries are lead-acid batteries that use exactly the same chemistry for their operation (see How Batteries Work for more information). The difference is in the way that the batteries optimize their design:

A car's battery is designed to provide a very large amount of current for a short period of time. This surge of current is needed to turn the engine over during starting. Once the engine starts, the alternator provides all the power that the car needs, so a car battery may go through its entire life without ever being drained more than 20 percent of its total capacity. Used in this way, a car battery can last a number of years. To achieve a large amount of current, a car battery uses thin plates in order to increase its surface area.

A deep cycle battery is designed to provide a steady amount of current over a long period of time. A deep cycle battery can provide a surge when needed, but nothing like the surge a car battery can. A deep cycle battery is also designed to be deeply discharged over and over again (something that would ruin a car battery very quickly). To accomplish this, a deep cycle battery uses thicker plates.

A car battery typically has two ratings:

    * CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) - The number of amps that the battery can produce at 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) for 30 seconds
    * RC (Reserve Capacity) - The number of minutes that the battery can deliver 25 amps while keeping its voltage above 10.5 volts

Typically, a deep cycle battery will have two or three times the RC of a car battery, but will deliver one-half or three-quarters the CCAs. In addition, a deep cycle battery can withstand several hundred total discharge/recharge cycles, while a car battery is not designed to be totally discharged.

Here's some more info that I also found.

Starting (sometimes called SLI, for starting, lighting, ignition) batteries are commonly used to start and run engines. Engine starters need a very large starting current for a very short time. Starting batteries have a large number of thin plates for maximum surface area. The plates are composed of a Lead "sponge", similar in appearance to a very fine foam sponge. This gives a very large surface area, but if deep cycled, this sponge will quickly be consumed and fall to the bottom of the cells. Automotive batteries will generally fail after 30-150 deep cycles if deep cycled, while they may last for thousands of cycles in normal starting use (2-5% discharge).

Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down as much as 80% time after time, and have much thicker plates. The major difference between a true deep cycle battery and others is that the plates are SOLID Lead plates - not sponge. This gives less surface area, thus less "instant" power like starting batteries need.
Unfortunately, it is often impossible to tell what you are really buying in some of the discount stores or places that specialize in automotive batteries. The golf car battery is quite popular for small systems and RV's. The problem is that "golf car" refers to a size of battery (commonly called GC-2, or T-105), not the type or construction - so the quality and construction of a golf car battery can vary considerably - ranging from the cheap off brand with thin plates up the true deep cycle brands, such as Crown, Deka, Trojan, etc. In general, you get what you pay for.

Marine batteries are usually a "hybrid", and fall between the starting and deep-cycle batteries, though a few (Rolls-Surrette and Concorde, for example) are true deep cycle. In the hybrid, the plates may be composed of Lead sponge, but it is coarser and heavier than that used in starting batteries. It is often hard to tell what you are getting in a "marine" battery, but most are a hybrid. Starting batteries are usually rated at "CCA", or cold cranking amps, or "MCA", Marine cranking amps - the same as "CA". Any battery with the capacity shown in CA or MCA may not be a true deep-cycle battery. It is sometimes hard to tell, as the term deep cycle is often overused. CA and MCA ratings are at 32 degrees F, while CCA is at zero degree F. Unfortunately, the only positive way to tell with some batteries is to buy one and cut it open - not much of an option.

Using a deep cycle battery as a starting battery

There is generally no problem with this, providing that allowance is made for the lower cranking amps compared to a similar size starting battery. As a general rule, if you are going to use a true deep cycle battery (such as the Concorde SunXtender) also as a starting battery, it should be oversized about 20% compared to the existing or recommended starting battery group size to get the same cranking amps. That is about the same as replacing a group 24 with a group 31. With modern engines with fuel injection and electronic ignition, it generally takes much less battery power to crank and start them, so raw cranking amps is less important than it used to be. On the other hand, many cars, boats, and RV's are more heavily loaded with power sucking "appliances", such as megawatt stereo systems etc. that are more suited for deep cycle batteries. We have used the Concorde SunXtender AGM batteries in some of our vehicles with no problems.

It will not hurt a deep cycle battery to be used as a starting battery, but for the same size battery they cannot supply as much cranking amps as a regular starting battery.

Battery Construction Materials

Nearly all large rechargeable batteries in common use are Lead-Acid type. (There are some NiCads in use, but for most purposes the very high initial expense, and the high expense of disposal, does not justify them). The acid is typically 30% Sulfuric acid and 70% water at full charge. NiFe (Nickel-Iron) batteries are also available - these have a very long life, but rather poor efficiency (60-70%) and the voltages are different, making it more difficult to match up with standard 12v/24/48v systems and inverters. The biggest problem with NiFe batteries is that you may have to put in 100 watts to get 70 watts of charge - they are much less efficient than Lead-Acid. What you save on batteries you will have to make up for by buying a larger solar panel system. NiCads are also inefficient - typically around 65% - and very expensive. However, NiCads can be frozen without damage, so are sometimes used in areas where the temperatures may fall below -50 degrees F. Most AGM batteries will also survive freezing with no problems, even though the output when frozen will be little or nothing.
Industrial deep cycle batteries

Sometimes called "fork lift", "traction" or "stationary" batteries, are used where power is needed over a longer period of time, and are designed to be "deep cycled", or discharged down as low as 20% of full charge (80% DOD, or Depth of Discharge). These are often called traction batteries because of their widespread use in forklifts, golf carts, and floor sweepers (from which we get the "GC" and "FS" series of battery sizes). Deep cycle batteries have much thicker plates than automotive batteries.

Cycles vs Life
A battery "cycle" is one complete discharge and recharge cycle. It is usually considered to be discharging from 100% to 20%, and then back to 100%. However, there are often ratings for other depth of discharge cycles, the most common ones are 10%, 20%, and 50%. You have to be careful when looking at ratings that list how many cycles a battery is rated for unless it also states how far down it is being discharged. For example, one of the widely advertised telephone type (float service) batteries have been advertised as having a 20-year life. If you look at the fine print, it has that rating only at 5% DOD - it is much less when used in an application where they are cycled deeper on a regular basis. Those same batteries are rated at less than 5 years if cycled to 50%. For example, most golf cart batteries are rated for about 550 cycles to 50% discharge - which equates to about 2 years.

How depth of discharge affects cycle life on batteriesBattery life is directly related to how deep the battery is cycled each time. If a battery is discharged to 50% every day, it will last about twice as long as if it is cycled to 80% DOD. If cycled only 10% DOD, it will last about 5 times as long as one cycled to 50%. Obviously, there are some practical limitations on this - you don't usually want to have a 5 ton pile of batteries sitting there just to reduce the DOD. The most practical number to use is 50% DOD on a regular basis. This does NOT mean you cannot go to 80% once in a while. It's just that when designing a system when you have some idea of the loads, you should figure on an average DOD of around 50% for the best storage vs cost factor. Also, there is an upper limit - a battery that is continually cycled 5% or less will usually not last as long as one cycled down 10%. This happens because at very shallow cycles, the Lead Dioxide tends to build up in clumps on the the positive plates rather in an even film. The graph above shows how lifespan is affected by depth of discharge. The chart is for a Concorde Lifeline battery, but all lead-acid batteries will be similar in the shape of the curve, although the number of cycles will vary.

[MyNameIsThien]

You might want to reconsider Optima. Optima is going out of business. Their new design in batteries are inferior. They no longer have cells in every tube, but instead in every other tube. They had a mass recall 2-3 months ago. The plant use to be located here in Colorado, only a few miles from my place. They shutdown that plant and moved to Mexico. Two to three months of the plant being opened in Mexico, it has now shutdown.

Interstate use to own Optima, but they have no dropped the company due to bad engineering and new management. Expect to no longer see Optima batteries on the shelves. I recommened either Interstate or Exide. Interstate offers a good warranty, but they do no have many deep cell options out. Exide on the other hand do offer deep cell, but they do come at a heavy price. Another battery to look into is the Odyssey batteries. They are a lightweight deep cell battery, but again, they do come at a hefty price.

I hope this helps you out on your decision on a battery.

So basically if the little issue I'm having happens to be the battery I need to move quick so I can take advantage of the warranty.

Yes, if not you won't be able to take advantage anymore.

[suleman_manji]

i got a superstart (i know nothing about which batteries better lol; nothing crazy electrically in my car neither)

[MyNameIsThien]

I have an Interstate. Works good for me, and I got it only for $60 because I work for Firestone. Firestone is an authorized Interstate retailer.

[CrazyCreashunz]

I have an Interstate. Works good for me, and I got it only for $60 because I work for Firestone. Firestone is an authorized Interstate retailer.

So Thien since you have an Interstate, how is it for you? I wa thinking about getting the Mega Tron ll. I can get it for $80 by my house. Whatcha' think?

My battery is shot, can't hold a charge after being in the cold.

[MyNameIsThien]

Its a good starter battery. I got it like back in October, and my car started right up when it was 20 below.

[AV6NHBP6SPD]

anybody heard anything about Deka batteries? my friend can get them at discount and says he has it and works fine in his car