My Odyssey experience

[Matt_E]

I just destroyed my second Odyssey PC625 battery. I bought my first one in February 2005. It saw some mild use in my Seadoo XP DI for a couple of months. Then I started using it in my Roundnose Superjet.
Everything worked great.
In July of 2005 I started using an MSD Total Loss Ignition, so I had to charge the battery every 2-3 days or so.
Around Labor Day, the battery broke. It had a steady 12.6 Volts across terminals, and the charger would indicate a fully charged battery. However, the battery could not carry a load heavier than a bilge pump - it would just click the starter relay instead.
I got a warranty replacement and chalked this failure up to bad luck and perhaps using the wrong charger since using Total Loss.
The ski ran fine the remainder of last season. It ran fine for the past two months I've been running it this season.
Alas, last Saturday, my current PC625 broke. Exact same failure....engine stops cold (after a stab), and I can't get the bitch started 200 yards from shore, alone.
Charger tells me it's fully charged, voltage is fine, but no current capacity.
So I started checking into this a bit. I have talked to a couple of people, and have done some research.
The failure wasn't really electrical per say. The constant vibration inside the bilge, always charging it with a charger instead of the mild stocker charging system, apparently weakens the welds between plates inside the battery.
Toss in freestyle-jerks on the battery - in other words, more mechanical stress, and sooner or later, one or more of the plates break off completely inside the battery. The result is diminished or non-existent current capacity (while voltage is still there!). Of course, a charger would sense it's charged, since it's not accepting any current.
When I did my stab this past Saturday, one of the plates broke off, stopping my motor due to loss of ignition.
I think the Odyssey battery can be a quite good battery - in the right application. I, however, will not run another.
I will be getting a free warranty replacement for this battery and sell that. I have ordered a Jetworks KB35XC battery due to recommendations from a couple of folks (with the same application as me.)
Take it for what it's worth - I've had bad experiences with the Odyssey battery, despite its raving reputation. I believe that experience has been consistently bad and not a fluke.

 

[keefer]

I personally will not spend $80-90 for a battery. Sounds to me like the Odyssey fairs no better than a generic flooded battery when it comes to vibration resistance. I have broken several standard batteries over the years. I have since been running the Deka AGM battery that I paid around $50 from a wholesaler that I have known for years. I have seen this same battery listed for $65 from an online battery shop. I have had it for going on 3 years and all is ok so far. We wave jump, stab, thrash every weekend. Good luck with the Jet Works.

 

[Matt_E]

To be fair, I only paid 66 bucks for that Odyssey, shipped.

 

[ski4]

just to add my 2 cents, i have a deka agm and it too is acting like matt)_e' oddessy, i have never had this problem withthe old acid type battery, may not get 5 years of use out of them but they seem to hold up at least 2-4 season usually and are cheap

right now i have a yusa little sealed battery in my super jet that my old ski came with and that seems to be holding up quite well also, only bummer being i have to pack stuff under it to keep it in as it is smaller than stock

 

[Matt_E]

Keep in mind, one of my biggest considerations for a battery has to be how well it holds up to continuous discharging/recharging with a charger.
The good ole lead acid stuff may hold up fine to the stress of vibration and freestyle, but I don't think they would do well in my application.

 

[CG Racing]

glad i just bought 2 new odyssey batteries for mellow yellow... oh well, jetworks it is, even though i freggin hate the terminals

 

[superrob750]

http://www.batteriesplus.com/pc-327... HIGH PERFORMANCE AGM POWERSPORT BATTERY.aspx
I have been using that one for the last 2 years. I never charged it once.
But than again i dont have total loss either..

 

[tricky1]

glad i just bought 2 new odyssey batteries for mellow yellow... oh well, jetworks it is, even though i freggin hate the terminals

So far so good on my odysseys. I am running 4 of them on the dual digital total loss systems. I think the key to long term life is the charger used to maintain them. This will be the forth season on the oldest one.

 

[Matt_E]

That's what I thought, too, Tricky. But the failure was mechanical, in both cases.

BTW, what charger do you use?

 

[tricky1]

That's what I thought, too, Tricky. But the failure was mechanical, in both cases.

BTW, what charger do you use?

I have a black & Decker smart charger. I set it on AGM 10amp.

http://www.invertersrus.com/vec1089abd.html

 

[Idok]

I have a black & Decker smart charger. I set it on AGM 10amp.

http://www.invertersrus.com/vec1089abd.html

we have one of those too........butti got it after an oddysey failure as well, we thought it was from leaving it on the tender once every other week or so..

 

[Matt_E]

I had a similar charger for the first battery (smart charger, fixed current)
Then I read that you're not supposed to use a fixed current charger, so I switched to a fixed voltage charger for the second battery.
Again, I don't think the failure had that much to do with the type of charging, but rather the mechanical stress.
Perhaps the Total Loss brings it out faster.

 

[keefer]

Yup, what Tricky1 said. These recombinant technology batteries definitely want a specific type of charger or they will die. As to the mechanical failure, I was under the impression that due to the design of the AGM and Gel batteries that the chance of breaking or shorting the plates should be minimal. This is because the plates are not immersed in electolyte but bound between an Absorbed Glass Mat which should be very resistant to vibration and breakage compared to a flooded cell battery. Thats my .02c worth.

 

[Matt_E]

Yup, what Tricky1 said. These recombinant technology batteries definitely want a specific type of charger or they will die. As to the mechanical failure, I was under the impression that due to the design of the AGM and Gel batteries that the chance of breaking or shorting the plates should be minimal. This is because the plates are not immersed in electolyte but bound between an Absorbed Glass Mat which should be very resistant to vibration and breakage compared to a flooded cell battery. Thats my .02c worth.

Those were my impressions. I have tried both types of chargers.
2 complete failures later, I am reluctant to try yet another approach.

 

[keefer]

Maybe your boat is just too bad a$$ and just shakes the life out the poor battery. Shaken battery syndrome??:biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[Matt_E]

That would explain why none of you poor fockers have had one fail. :biggrin: :arms:

 

[Mouthfulloflake]

The failure wasn't really electrical per say. The constant vibration inside the bilge, always charging it with a charger instead of the mild stocker charging system, apparently weakens the welds between plates inside the battery.
Toss in freestyle-jerks on the battery - in other words, more mechanical stress, and sooner or later, one or more of the plates break off completely inside the battery. The result is diminished or non-existent current capacity (while voltage is still there!). Of course, a charger would sense it's charged, since it's not accepting any current.

Hey Matt, did you cut the battery open to diagnose this?

 

[Matt_E]

No, and I won't, as that will void my warranty.

I am not guaranteeing it was mechanical failure, but the very sudden stop and failure symptoms (as well as some of my reading) point in that direction.

 

[surfgy45]

I recommend the JetWorks batteries. You'll find yourself years later, finally, if ever having a problem.

 

[butti]

i have 3 oddyseys.the oldest is about 2.5 years it has been used and abused.it ran total loss on a charging system for several months,it also came unstrapped during a backy attemt and then i rode around for another 20 minutes or so in the surf doing stabs reentrys and another bf pancake,i didnt even know until i got back to the launch and opened my hood and it was upside down on top of the pipe:bigeyes: its all beat up and mangled looking from bouncing around in there but its still going strong.i decided after that i would never buy anything but odeysey again.im getting one for my lawn mower too!!!