Thread: New battery box

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Does anyone know how the odyssey batteries compare to Braille carbon fiber batteries?

I don't know from personal experience, but they are the same type of design. A comparable Braille battery has more cold cranking amps than an Odyssey, but it also costs more. It appears the main difference is the Braille is made with carbon fiber while the Odyssey is made with fiberglass.

www.summitracing.com/parts/ODY-PC680/?rtype=10

www.summitracing.com/parts/BRL-B2015/

wow lynn that looks really great.

Very nice battery box, Lynn, and overall a very tastefully done trunk.

You might also check XS Power for future reference:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/XSP-S680/
They are in between on crank power, and just a bit cheaper. Calling them factory direct sometimes finds special pricing, including some free shipping. I believe their plates are just a bit thinner due to a bit higher purity of materials, and the mats are a bit thinner, giving higher plate area for a given volume.

This AGM market is fun to watch evolve. Over the past few years more apparent options have come about with competition. The thing to keep in mind is the production facilities for batteries in general are fairly expensive to build. For conventional lead/acid batteries there are basically three companies in the US that produce them, but hundreds of brands out there. Hmmmmm, all of them are produced in one of those three factories. And this is for the mature part of the market.

In AGM, to my knowledge, there is only one manufacturer, Hawker Co. They market a non-starter rated version of these batteries under the Hawker Genesis name, and their military grade, starter rated battery under the Odyssey name. The Odyssey brand comes out of a subsidiary company named Enersys, but it's still the same mother company/technology. If you look at the XS it's part number ends in 680, just like the Odyssey equivalent shape/size that's PC680. These same batts are marketed under a lot of other brand names such as Stinger, and others, often aimed at the stereo market for auxiliary power.

Then last week at the NSRA gig at Louisville there was a "NEW" product, named Hot Rod Battery...................hmmmmm, looks just like the two 680 versions discussed here. The case moldings are identical, the terminals are identical, and the specs, though there's some manipulation going on there, are pretty much the same. Personally I can't imagine that each of these resellers are putting up money to develope a better battery to be built by Hawker. I suppose it's possible, but unlikely.

The upshot is it looks like competition is doing to pricing what it does; stabilizes, maybe even lowers. A quick check of the net shows the bottom price for the 680 series, in various brands, is at about $130, with some deeper searching might be less. The Summit deal might end up being a plus given that they have a fairly low fixed shipping charge, and they occasionally do discount "coupons" on almost any product they sell. Others may or may not be as competitive on shipping. And something else important, given their size their inventory might turn more regularly, possibly ensuring a fresher battery. But it wouldn't hurt to check on that nomatter who you buy from.

Bob,
I was not aware of the Hawker Company being the one builder of AGM units - very interesting as you point out.

As I said in my earlier post, you might consider checking with the suppliers directly if you are shopping. When I contacted XS Power in March '10 their "special" was their S680 12V Combo Automotive Package, which included the S680 battery, SAE terminals (battery posts), and their 512 mounting box - I asked and they substituted their 511 Aluminum box which fit my needs better, all for $119 delivered to my door via FedEx. Summit offers the S680 which is the regular battery in a steel sleeve case, plus SAE terminals, but no mounting box. I cannot assure that you will get such a deal every day (or even today ), but that's what I got in March.

The information about metal purity and plate thickness came from the tech guy at XS Power - not unusual for them to bash the competition a bit, right??

Good score Roger! Pops will be very envious.

XS has another battery line that is even smaller. We first saw them a couple years or so ago at SEMA. Ken Thurm was especially interested in the technology and was going to follow up with them. Maybe he'll see this and comment.

The verbage the XS guy gave you is almost verbatum from the Hawker literature. I've seen the same thing with some of the other suppliers, which is part of what convinces me they all procure from Hawker. Here are a couple of the Hawker brochures for your entertainment.

http://www.commutercars.com/downloads/HawkerGuide.pdf

http://www.odysseybattery.com/docume...S-004_0209.pdf

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Good score Roger! Pops will be very envious.

XS has another battery line that is even smaller. We first saw them a couple years or so ago at SEMA. Ken Thurm was especially interested in the technology and was going to follow up with them. Maybe he'll see this and comment.

Bob,
Yes, I talked to the XS tech guys about their Lithium cells, but they are currently only offering them for racing applications, and focused on short durations w/o on-board charging. They take a special microprocessor controlled charger, and the Lithium battery has an internal microprocessor, too. They are indeed small, but they are also pricey at around $2,000 for a battery/charger combo Too rich for my blood, by a long shot!!
Also, they do not have any on-line order process. I called them to discuss the application of their P680 for a street rod, and to find out about the Lithium units, asked if they took orders direct and got a pleasant surprise on their special with free shipping.