Date:         Tue, 6 May 2008 18:30:20 -0700
Reply-To:     Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Solar Panel: Charge Controller & Vents
Comments: To: obeechi@RUNBOX.COM
In-Reply-To:  <E1JtWU5-0000C4-Vs@garm.runbox.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

It depends! My opinion: if you are tossing at sea and your life depends on
it, get a Trojan or some other real deep-cycle. On the other hand, if you
plan to be near a Sears or Wal*Mart, then get whatever flooded "deep
cycle" they have -- it may not actually be a real deep-cycle, but it'll be
less expensive than an Odyssey, will work just fine for non-critical
applications, and when it craps out you can bring it in for replacement
under warranty, usually, for a new one. Or just buy a new one, they're not
boutique batteries and don't carry a premium price tag. Again, my opinion.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR



On 5/6/2008 4:22 PM Mark C wrote:

> Okay then, so which batteries do you guys think is best?
>
> From: Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Solar Panel: Charge Controller & Vents
>
>> Excellent advice from Dennis. I can say firsthand that the Odyssey batteries are not all they're cracked up to be. I've been having a lot of trouble with mine recently keeping it charged. It seems to take a sustained high amps before it will start to accept it charge. If it drops below a certain point, my standard alternator will not charge it. I then have to remove my front seat to allow me to get the chargers leads in there, and then run the charger on manual for about four hours. A royal PITA. One nice thing, is they can be deeply discharged and still be recovered. A standard battery would be toast under similar circumstances. I paid a whopping $175 for mine. Not sure what else fits behind the seat though.
>>
>> Troy
>>
>>
>> <<Seems like an awful lot of money to accomplish what? Never mind carrying
>> around 300 pounds of battery. The best part of the Odyssey batteries is the
>> advertisements. You would be much better off in the long run with good
>> flooded batteries. They are charge and temparature sensitve and have high
>> failure rates. Check the current warranty.
>>
>
> ----- End Original Message -----
>