# Sears Platinum deep cycle?



## dscheckman (Apr 20, 2008)

Searches seem to show that the sears diehard platinum size 34 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02850090000P
is the same as the odyssey 1500. Sears lists this battery as an automotive battery no mention of deep cycle. They also list a marine version with the same exact specs which is deep cycle.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...e=Batteries+&+Chargers&sName=Marine+Batteries

Besides being $10 cheaper, the warranty on the automotive version is much better. Any thoughts on whether the automotive version is, in fact, deep cycle? Our local sears claims not, but the sales guy is looking at the same web description as me and doesn't really seem to understand the difference. Thanks for any insight,

David Scheckman


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## Electric_Rav (Aug 11, 2008)

I've been keeping my eyes on the Sears batteries as well as it has been said that they are the same as the Odyssey batteries. Is that really true though? I find it hard to believe that;

this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02850131000P?mv=rr

is the same as 

this http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc2150.htm

The Sears version is $250 and when I search all the battery outlets the Odyssey battery hovers from $315 to $360 then shipping and what about when one goes bad. Shipping back.

If the Sears version is really the same, then I'm heading to my local Sears soon!

I cannot seem to get any decent specs on the Sears battery. Anybody have any experience with them?


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## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

They would be ok for a trolling motor, NOT for an EV.

The CCA rating tells you it is no good for an EV...

You might get 6 months to a year if you are lucky.

True deep cycle batteries are the best bet....
Check out these AGMs...
http://www.gruberpower.com/gruberpower/advertising/Batteries/golfcartbatteries/

More bang for the buck.


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## Electric_Rav (Aug 11, 2008)

Coley said:


> More bang for the buck.


The prices do seem good but we have to compare too the amount of times these batteries can be cycled. I looked at making a higher voltage EV (280v) and contemplated using batteries commonly found on wheelchairs or UPS backups. My theory was that since there are so many of those motorized wheel chairs or UPS backups out there that I should be able to find a good price on them. I learned 2 things. The prices really were not very good and the amount of times these things could be cycled down to 80% was in the 200 to 300 times range which I though was awful. So I'm still looking. I almost have to go with an AGM type because of limited space and I want to mount them on their sides. I'm personally looking for at least 400 cycles at 80%DOD and a range of 30 miles for less than $3000 for a vehicle that will end up weighing 3000 pounds when I'm done.

I sometimes find batteries with c20 rates and CCA ratings so don't automatically shun any battery that has a CCA rating. I try to look and find the 1 hour rate. This data is hard to find though.

Back to the orignal post; I would think even though the Sears battery is labeled marine that it would still be OK. Especially if it is rebadged Hawker Oddysey. But that too us perhaps not the case.


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## notnull (Jul 30, 2008)

I am using ten of the Platinum Diehard Deep Cycle batteries that you referenced and from my research I think they are the same battery as the PC1500. Again, my research was just stuff I found on the internet but you could call Odyssey and ask them. The warranty on the batteries is 36 months free replacement, not a prorated deal. I honestly don't see how you can go wrong. The specs look better than the Excide Orbital 34XCD battery I was planning to use. I got ten of them from my local Sears for under $2,000 including tax. I have never had any trouble with Sears honoring a warranty, so if they do start going bad I will just happily exchange them until my warranty expires.

I just fired up the car for the first time about an hour ago, still on the jack stands. I won't really have any useful data to report until I get a chance to put it on the ground this weekend. I will keep people updated about the batteries.

My project may be different from most people as I have a very short commute where the maximum speed limit is 30mph. As long as I get 10 miles per day, I am happy. I will be adding my car to the garage as soon as I get some time to take pics.

Steve


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## Electric_Rav (Aug 11, 2008)

notnull said:


> but you could call Odyssey and ask them.


I took your advice and did just that. I asked. First before I tell the results I learned more in the last 30 minutes on the phone than I did the last 5 months farting around on the Internet. 

The first phone call I made was to what I thought was the manufacturer but it turned out to be a distributor that was very willing to work with me on price. They will be calling back with a quote soon on this battery. http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc2150.htm
They suggested I call the factory. And that is what I did and talked to another very helpful individual that told me *point blank* that the Odyssey 2150 and the Sears PM-1 is the same thing inside. The price difference is between $55 to $100 more for the orange case! 

So my advice is that if you want the orange case, talk to a distributor and ask them if they will price match the Sears PM-1.

In my discussions with the factory I also had a question about charging this battery and I'm disappointed to find that they suggestion to charge these batteries with a 40 to 50 amp 12 volt charger on each battery! There goes my idea of having an onboard charger. I asked what kind of damage may be done by charging it at 3 amps rather than 40 amps and they are getting back to me on that. My guess is that if I charge them with 3 amps for opportunity charging along with high amp charging when I get home. Then I would need two chargers and there goes my budget!

Suggestions welcome.

To the orignal poster, I would suggest calling the Odyssey battery folks to answer your question about the difference between the two Sears models. They may be able to help you determain what the difference is. (if any)


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## vgslimo (Oct 21, 2008)

unique answer to high amp charger.. i'm no expert but think on this.. get a high output alternator, ..)_http://cgi.ebay.com/HighAmp-PMA-Perm...QQcmdZViewItem_ and power it by say a 1.5 hp ac motor. by changing appropriate pully ratio you can control voltage and amperage by need! just a thought but total price is maybe $500.00 us.


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## saab96 (Mar 19, 2008)

notnull said:


> I have never had any trouble with Sears honoring a warranty, so if they do start going bad I will just happily exchange them until my warranty expires.


They have a no questions asked warranty? The warranty doesn't reset with each replacement does it? I'm just wondering how much you can 'game' the system.


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## notnull (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks for calling. I was fairly certain they were rebadged Odyssey batteries. I am using the PM-2 (PC-1500) and they recommend a 25 amp charger. Sears does not publish any information at all on what type of charger to use. I am using individual 12V chargers that are 10A; they were only $35 per charger. I recorded the data from a couple of them as they charged and found that they did indeed charge at 10A until about 14.2V and then the current starts to drop while pushing the voltage to 14.7V, then once it hit about 1A it drops into a trickle mode where the current continues to decrease but it only tries to hold the voltage at about 13.9V. This appears to match the profile that Odyssey recommends for their batteries, other than the bulk phase not being 25A. My vehicle is not running yet, so I don't want to recommend these chargers until I have had a chance to cycle the entire pack a few times. It should be on the ground running this weekend, so I expect I will be able to report back in about ten days.


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## Electric_Rav (Aug 11, 2008)

saab96 said:


> They have a no questions asked warranty? The warranty doesn't reset with each replacement does it? I'm just wondering how much you can 'game' the system.


The fact you can get these batteries at Sears, which for me will be convenient and if one or two batteries seem to have problems I can just simply go back for a new one but I personally draw the line at taking advantage of the system. I'm confident the batteries will not last 3 years in my EV since in that time I will have cycled them more than 400 times. I will buy new ones or preferably in 2 years something that is not so heavy. I'm afraid if too many folks took advantage of the system that the batteries will become more expensive for all of us. Those business that make, store, sell and support those batteries need to make money. I'm a business owner who from time to time gets taken advantage of so I see things from the other perspective. For years I use to sneak candy into the movie theater until my 10 year old asked if that was wrong. Since then I do my best to play by the rules. I urge others to do the same.

Maybe this is for another thread but I also have thoughts about the fact that after my conversion is complete that I am not contributing any money via tax to keep our roads and bridges in good shape. In time if there is a good percentage of electric cars on the road the legislators will have to address the issue.


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## Electric_Rav (Aug 11, 2008)

notnull said:


> I am using individual 12V chargers that are 10A


How many chargers do you have going at the same time? I'm curious as to how a 110 volt outlet could support up to 12 chargers at the same time. My guess is that you could only do like 4 to 6 chargers on one 110volt circuit before the breaker blows?


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## notnull (Jul 30, 2008)

saab96 said:


> They have a no questions asked warranty? The warranty doesn't reset with each replacement does it? I'm just wondering how much you can 'game' the system.


I didn't mean to imply that I was going to go to Sears every week and get a free replacement battery. It is just good to know that if I do have a battery go bad, there is a warranty and the Sears is only a couple miles from my house. 

Steve


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## Electric_Rav (Aug 11, 2008)

notnull said:


> I didn't mean to imply that I was going to go to Sears every week and get a free replacement battery. It is just good to know that if I do have a battery go bad, there is a warranty and the Sears is only a couple miles from my house.
> 
> Steve


I'm with ya. Over the last 5 months I've read (but not responded to) a few posts where folks were indeed taking advantage of the warranties like at Walmart or Sams. Sometimes I automatically assume the wrong thing. Sorry.

On another note, I just found out that Batteries Plus sells the Odyssey batteries as well. So theoretically you could go to one of their stores and ask if they would price match Sears. (If you like the orange case, I do)


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## notnull (Jul 30, 2008)

Electric_Rav said:


> How many chargers do you have going at the same time? I'm curious as to how a 110 volt outlet could support up to 12 chargers at the same time. My guess is that you could only do like 4 to 6 chargers on one 110volt circuit before the breaker blows?


You are correct about only about 5 of them on one circuit for 110V. However, the chargers will run on 110V or 220V. I just put the switch on 220V and I can run all ten of the chargers on one 220V circuit.

Steve


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## Electric_Rav (Aug 11, 2008)

notnull said:


> You are correct about only about 5 of them on one circuit for 110V. However, the chargers will run on 110V or 220V. I just put the switch on 220V and I can run all ten of the chargers on one 220V circuit.
> 
> Steve


An engineer from Odyssey called me and spoke to me at length about their batteries. He said to look in the November Consumer Reports to see how they stacked up with other AGM deep cycle batteries. He said they came in #1. So I guess the Sears model is basically #1 as well.

The main reason I needed to speak with an engineer is that I needed to know what kind of damage I would be doing to the batteries if they were charged at 3, 10, or 20 amps. (the PC2150 requires 40 to 50 amps). He told me that I would be severely reducing the battery's cycle life if I ran them down to 80%DOD and charged them with 10 amps. So I guess if I want to use this battery I better start looking for a high amp charger! I'm somewhat joking here but has anyone converted an arch welder to a battery charger? After the bulk charge is complete then use a regular charger to finish and equalize?


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## notnull (Jul 30, 2008)

The PM-1 battery is quite a bit bigger than the PM-2 battery I am using. I am still hoping that 10A will be enough, especially considering that I won't be running them down to 80% DOD. I expect to run them to about 50% DOD on my daily commute. 

I guess I could always slowly accrue a few of the Odyssey Ultimizer 12V battery chargers, the 25A version recommended for my battery is about $150. If I had five of these, I could always charge half the pack at one time on a weekend and then the other half. I can't imagine it taking more than 4 to 6 hours to charge up a 68AH battery with a 25A charger. Probably, two hours of bulk charge at the 25A rate and then 4 hours to complete the charge. I would stick with the 10A chargers for every day use and then hit them with the 25A chargers periodically.

Steve


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