# [EVDL] Which Exide Orbital to Get?



## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

I have used the 34XCD and liked them.

I would be skeptical that the others would last very long in an EV, but I
have no experience with them.

Joe Smalley
Rural Kitsap County WA
Former owner of 48 Volt Fiesta
NEDRA 48 volt street conversion record holder
[email protected]


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Dymaxion" <[email protected]>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 9:50 PM
Subject: [EVDL] Which Exide Orbital to Get?


> It is getting close to time to buy batteries for my conversion. I've
settled on Exide Orbital batteries. There are three that have low internal
resistance:
>
> 34XCD, or Orb 78, or Orb 75
>
> The 34XCD is billed as a "deep cycle" battery. The Orb78 and Orb75
batteries are called "starting" batteries. The specs seem very close,
though, and scale with the slightly different weights (41 to 36 pounds) and
sizes.
>
> All things being equal I want to get the lighter ones. Are the "deep
cycle" vs. "starting" actually hugely different? Thanks for the info! Will I
ruin an Orb75 "starting" battery with EV use?
>
>
>
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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> David Dymaxion wrote:
> > Exide Orbital batteries... three that have low internal resistance:
> > 34XCD, or Orb 78, or Orb 75... The 34XCD is billed as a "deep cycle"
> > battery. The Orb78 and Orb75 batteries are called "starting"
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Testing is a good idea. Theoretical question: Suppose "battery A" is 41 pounds and also has slightly larger size is solely due to thicker plates (or something like that), compared to the 36 pound "battery B". Could it be possible the two batteries would have similar resistance and capacity, but battery A would last much longer? In other words, could any short term test show better cycle life?

Analogous case: The Optima Yellow Top and Optima Red top have similar specs, but I've heard the Yellow Top lasts much longer.

I'll plan to call Exide and see what they say, I'll post that to the list.



----- Original Message ----
From: Lee Hart <[email protected]>
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 7:37:14 AM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] Which Exide Orbital to Get?



> David Dymaxion wrote:
> > Exide Orbital batteries... three that have low internal resistance:
> > 34XCD, or Orb 78, or Orb 75... The 34XCD is billed as a "deep cycle"
> > battery. The Orb78 and Orb75 batteries are called "starting"
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> David Dymaxion wrote:
> >
> >
> > Analogous case: The Optima Yellow Top and Optima Red top have similar
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> David Dymaxion wrote:
> >
> >
> > I'll plan to call Exide and see what they say, I'll post that to the list.
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> David Dymaxion wrote:
> > Suppose "battery A" is 41 pounds and slightly larger due to thicker
> > plates (or something like that), compared to the 36 pound "battery
> > B". Could it be possible the two batteries would have similar
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> David Dymaxion wrote:
> >
> >
> > Analogous case: The Optima Yellow Top and Optima Red top have similar
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Yes, we developed the battery blaster with yellow tops.

Dave Cloud has used red tops for years in his competition cars and had good
results.

Most of our tests are on the website download page.

There are battery blasts for a yellow top, a small red top, and SVR
batteries. I don't see the full size red top test data. We may not have
recorded them.

If I recall correctly, the red top was slightly better at dishing out the
amps and staying cooler when drag racing. As far as I know, we have never
had one long enough to wear it out. They always seem to end up in some ICE
rig well before they expire.

The battery blaster was destroyed when a car drove over it. The carbon pile
survived but all of the housing and electrical parts were damaged beyond
use. Even the control knob was shattered beyond use.

If we had a fresh red top, we might be able to throw together enough parts
to do a test next week.

Joe Smalley
Rural Kitsap County WA
Former owner of 48 Volt Fiesta
NEDRA 48 volt street conversion record holder
[email protected]


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tim Humphrey" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] Which Exide Orbital to Get?



> Joe; have you or Rich ever put a Redtop on the battery blaster? Do you
have
> the time?

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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

I found some fine print on the Exide web site. The Orb75 and Orb 78 are starting batteries, and then they have some marine batteries, and then they have the deep cycle 34XCD.

I didn't realize "XCD" stood for "eXtreme Cycle Duty" and not "exceed" or something like that. What's in a name, eh?

Also interesting, the 34XCD is marketed to the low rider crowd for powering their hydraulics. You could say that is an EV of sorts, just in the up and down direction instead of forward and back.

So it sounds like the 34XCD is the clear choice for EV use.



----- Original Message ----
From: Tim Humphrey <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 12:39:37 PM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] Which Exide Orbital to Get?



> David Dymaxion wrote:
> >
> >
> > I'll plan to call Exide and see what they say, I'll post that to the list.
> ...


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