Battery recommendation

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:45 am

turblediesel wrote:

My original red too battery only lasted 3 years. Replaced with Interstate which lasted 5years. Cheaper... better...

Same company makes both.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Sat Apr 09, 2016 8:06 am

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK wrote:

Joe Romas wrote:

Sears P1, nothing better but expensive. Mine is 4.5 years old and is also a AGM battery. Original Red Top lasted 2 years.
Optima the maker of Red Tops were bought out and quality nose dived before they were used in the US CRD's.
P1 has a higher full charge voltage and the 7 odd computers in the Liberty CRD get along better with proper voltage.

Am I correct when I state that the Sears P1 is a NorthStar battery?

I found the following, looks like Odyssey/EnerySys.

UPDATE: Looking further is seems the Sears P1 is no longer available :cry:

I e-mailed EnerSys this weekend, their response:

David:

That is a very astute observation. We private label the Sears DieHard
Platinum batteries and they are rebadged Odyssey batteries.

Thanks.

Kalyan Jana

Development Support Manager - Specialty Markets

Desk: (660) 429-7505

Cell: (816) 308-1543
Fax: (660) 429-1758

http://www.enersys.com

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK · **Joined:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm **Posts:** 1167

To the best of my understanding, Odyssey and NorthStar are sister companies. This was the case a few years ago, but it may not be so now.

thermorex · **Posted:** Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:33 am

tjkj2002 wrote:

thermorex wrote:

wilco549 wrote:

I've been using a NAPA 800cca lead acid for years. I can't see how the charging system could be optimized for the OEM Optima.

I think it has to do with the voltage from alternator, not sure exactly what's different but I have 2 battery chargers, each with a switch that toggles between agm and standard battery, so it must be a difference between charging those...

Charging voltage and amps is the difference.

Spiral cell AGM's charge best at 14.9+volts,flat plate AGM's are 14.5-14.9 volts and both at 20-40 amps.Traditional wet cell is 13.5-14volts and 2-10amps.

Makes sense, thanks for clarification TJ!

geordi · **Posted:** Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:16 pm

I get mine from Costco - As large as will fit the space with as many CCA as possible. Any Group 34 will do for the physical space. Costco is currently selling Interstate brand, and the warranty is amazing. No questions asked, full refund. Since lead acid batteries can be 100% recycled an infinite number of times, there really is no reason to ever keep one past the warranty anyway.

I never had any issues with the charging system overcharging it anyway, I always measured 13.6-14 volts from the engine and the battery likes that just fine. The charging system should be checking the voltage anyway and stopping the power when it detects it is full. The main reason they used an AGM battery was that it was spillproof if you managed to get your "trail rated" brand new $30,000 SUV upside down on a trail somewhere, or the supposed "diesel vibrations" that would be bad for the battery. Neither condition is really plausible. Run a standard wet cell and drive on. There are plenty of other things to re-engineer and overthink, batteries don't need to be on the list.

Mountainman · **Posted:** Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:41 pm

I do agree with Jeff on the cold weather stuff. I plan to get the best for -20 conditions, but the guys in the Midwest and Canada have it worse than I do. Oh, I'm also running the grid heater, so I'll need every ounce of juice I can get. I throw a spare battery in for the back-country adventures, vs the dual battery mod, which I might do eventually.

jrsavoie · **Posted:** Thu Apr 14, 2016 9:18 am

geordi wrote:

I get mine from Costco - As large as will fit the space with as many CCA as possible. Any Group 34 will do for the physical space. Costco is currently selling Interstate brand, and the warranty is amazing. No questions asked, full refund. Since lead acid batteries can be 100% recycled an infinite number of times, there really is no reason to ever keep one past the warranty anyway.

I never had any issues with the charging system overcharging it anyway, I always measured 13.6-14 volts from the engine and the battery likes that just fine. The charging system should be checking the voltage anyway and stopping the power when it detects it is full. The main reason they used an AGM battery was that it was spillproof if you managed to get your "trail rated" brand new $30,000 SUV upside down on a trail somewhere, or the supposed "diesel vibrations" that would be bad for the battery. Neither condition is really plausible. Run a standard wet cell and drive on. There are plenty of other things to re-engineer and overthink, batteries don't need to be on the list.

How does that compare in size to a group 78 battery?

I use the same group 78 dual post batteries I run in my 6.5 diesels. 800 to 850 CCA - The most cranking amps I can get at the time I need to purchase them and always dual post.

Group L" W"
34 - 78 10.30 6.80
35 9.10 6.90
36R 10.40 7.30
40R 10.90 6.90

Looks like group 34 and group 78 batteries are the same size. Are the posts on opposite sides of the batteries?

geordi · **Posted:** Thu Apr 14, 2016 10:37 am

I don't know - I am not familiar with the dimensions of the different group sizes. You may need to customize the tray somewhat (I just cut the end off of mine) and be creative to make it fit. But more CCA is always better.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Apr 14, 2016 11:15 am

Google is your friend. See for example https://www.interstatebatteries.com/con ... tate_f.asp Ideally what you pick should fit in the tray and not be too high for the hood to close. FYI OEM red top was 700CCA so around 800CCA is way better than OEM but a reminder that extreme cold cuts into CCA so for those way up north a battery blanket with/without power might be a good addition.

jrsavoie · **Posted:** Thu Apr 14, 2016 11:22 am

papaindigo wrote:

Google is your friend. See for example https://www.interstatebatteries.com/con ... tate_f.asp Ideally what you pick should fit in the tray and not be too high for the hood to close. FYI OEM red top was 700CCA so around 800CCA is way better than OEM but a reminder that extreme cold cuts into CCA so for those way up north a battery blanket with/without power might be a good addition.

Nice chart. Apparently you google better than I do

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