Odyssey Batteries ~ why fit them

[JST]

lots of people rave about them, whats so good about them to justify the cost?

Sorry ODYSSEY

Edited September 23, 2015 by Happyoldgit
Fixed typo in title :)

[qwakers]

according to my local dealer you can discharge them 100% and not damage them.

[Dave W]

There are a few reasons they are popular...

1) They offer a high current output for a sustained period, many batteries have a good theoretical output on paper but in practice high demand activities such as winching see them drop off in current very quickly.

2) They seem to be able to maintain a good current output almost to the point of being discharged, a bit like NiCd batteries that fall off a cliff rather than traditional battery designs that start to lose output capabilities once they're more than a few % discharged. I run autos so the last thing I need is a battery that won't spin the engine over fast enough when it's at 50% capacity.

3) They are very reliable, taking a lot of "abuse" and still coming back from it afterwards. I've tried pretty much every brand of gel battery and several of the traditional and hybrid setups and none of them have lasted as long as the Odyssey batteries currently fitted in my competition motor. Previous Optimas, Numax and Exxide in my challenge vehicle have not lasted more than 2 years before collapsing under the strain (and the abuse !). The current Odyssey batteries were installed in 2007 and are still going strong.

If I had any criticism of them (other than the price !) it would be that they seem to need a full 24 hour trickle charge if they get fully discharged because the charging rate from the alternator seems quite slow although that may just be down to the capacity.

[Cynic-al]

Although not a feature specific to odyssey batteries an advantage over a standard wet cell battery is they don't leak when you tip your car over.

I bought one as I thought my stock battery was good enough until I needed a jump start once, I've never known the engine spin so fast! Obviously the old battery was tired but it was enough to convince me to spend the extra on a replacement.

I've also used it on the caravan when my numax leisure battery failed and in my opinion the motor mover ran better.

I'm not sure about discharging it 100%, the care leaflet didn't suggest it was recommended and leaving it flat isn't recommended either.

[JST]

i am comparing a PC1500 to Numax CVX27 (i think its called), thank you so far.

[Cynic-al]

My Numax on the caravan was a CXV35MF leisure battery. It got flattened regularly as it turns out when you turn off the master switch on the caravan it leaves the alarm and radio powered which flattened the battery surprisingly quickly. The battery only lasted a year. I swapped the PC1500 from Land Rover to Caravan for a few trips then eventually bought another Numax CXV35MF. In that time I felt the motor mover ran better than on the Numax but it's all based on feeling. I now take the Numax off and put it on a maintenance charger when the caravans going to be stood for more than a few weeks. Can't afford to buy one every year

I've not got any technical evidence, I haven't done any back to back testing, it's all gut feel, but I paid £160 for the PC1500 and in my opinion it was worth the extra over the Varta I had in before which I think was around £80 for the offroader due to the winch and tipping over. That said if it was just an engine starting battery on a vehicle that's unlikely to get tipped on its side I would go with a stock Varta or Bosch or whatever and just change it every 5 years or so. You usually get £10 to £15 back in scrap for the old one so it can be quite economical.

[landroversforever]

Good luck getting that much for a battery now, my local place its less than a quid a battery!!

I tried an Odyssey in my 90 after the previous Optima died and it was night and day different. The engine was almost instant when starting, even when really cold. I'll be buying a second one to keep it company in the truck to replace the numax that was in there.

[need4speed]

Never mind all that. Al where did you get the PC1500 for £160?

[Cynic-al]

Last time I took some in I got 50p a kilo, I took 2 60kg truck batteries and 6 20kg car batteries I knew it had come down but a quid a battery is shocking!

The pc1500 was an eBay buy it now. I was expecting something to be wrong for the price but it was new in a box with all the paperwork from a trade seller and it works so meh! The local shops wanted over £200.

[JST]

£160 was good! about £250 now

[Cynic-al]

It was September last year and the seller was;

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Premier-Battery-Services-Ltd

[need4speed]

Cheapest I've seen just now is about £230..

[Cynic-al]

Guess I was just lucky :/

[Boydie]

The Odyssey has several advantages over a standard wet cell battery, they are gel filled and are, like many other modern batteries maintenance free, it can be totally discharged and it wont affect the recharged performance, pound for pound it has a higher discharge than 90% of other comparable size batteries on the market and it can be installed in any position other than upside down. I have had several of them over the years and have found them to be excellent however their price is outrageous.

[JST]

pound for pound it has a higher discharge than 90% of other comparable size batteries

sorry, what does this mean? it discharges quicker?

[need4speed]

I think what he means is they can be discharged to a far lower level than 90% of other batteries and still be successfully take a charge.

At least I take it that's what he means

[landroversforever]

That's also what I'd have said he means

[Boydie]

Agreed, my bad. They can be discharged to about 5% of total capacity and still recharged without any ill effects, just how many times you can do this without stuffing up the battery isn't stated in any of their blurbs.

[tweetyduck]

Theres some blurb you've not seen then Boydie. Theres a PDF on the net with it all on now.

its about 500 times to 80%. Then its end of life.

its about 300 times to 90%. Then its end of life.

Just over 200 times to almost 100% flat but this is not recommended.

I've talked to the guys there about one that was completely flat retuned under warantee (which it wasn't covered for) and its was knackered. They forensically tested it and it was gone. This takes a lot of time and they do it as they are very heavy on quality and it could have been an issue. All that said i've got them in my exMOD as they are standard fit.

[honitonhobbit]

I buy my batteries through a local wholesaler - I have a trade account there. Typical old chaps who should be retired but don't want to. Be doing batteries, diesel injectors and other leccy stuff all their lives.

I only buy Numax from them - £ for £ it's more reliable for my customers and Numax work well with Solar chargers, unlike Optima. They won't supply Odyssey Batteries unless really pushed - don't like them and feel they are a rip off. Mind you if you take an Optima in for a re-furb they pretty much as spit on the floor

However the benefit of not having acid dripping down your neck has to be worth the pennies...

James - would you like me to get you a trade price?

[JST]

Hi David, thank you for the offer, think i am sorted now, went for Numax a few weeks back!

[honitonhobbit]

Good choice

[darthdicky]

Where did you get them from James and which model? The one I have seems to be discontinued? https://www.tayna.co.uk/Numax-CXV-X-1000-Amp-P7632.html

It seems that mine is dead, although it starts fine from cold it's incapable of reliably re-starting a hot engine!

[jackmac]

Running 2 of these numax in mine to provide a permanent 12V circuit and selectable 24V circuit.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/Numax-CXV31MF-P3694.html

Been spot on for the year and a half I've had them

[jai_landrover]

I've hav had numax from Tanya batteries for 7 years now twin setup. Cannot fault them 1000cca @ 0degc and can't remember if they were 95a or 110a? Will check later on. They have not been treated nicely at all and have survived well.