REFLECTOR: Battery Advice

[Laurence Coen]

Mark,

My first Optima was made in Colorado and the replacement was made in Mexico. 
I figured that was probably because of all the US restrictions on the use of 
lead.  When I got the first one in1998 Interstate was the only place you 
could buy one.

Larry Coen
N136LC

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Mark Magee" <edjonesbrady at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 6:06 AM
To: "sbjknox" <sbjknox at earthlink.net>; "Velocity Aircraft Owners and 
Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
Cc: "Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Battery Advice

> Sid,
> Thanks for that data on Odyssey battery. I've never owned one but will 
> consider one for the Velo. I've gone back to lead acids in my diesel's (at 
> one time I had 3 diesel vehicles, now only 1 left) as they seem more cost 
> effective. If you study the battery business and industry it is an amazing 
> business. As a Money Manager I've looked closely at such companies as 
> Johnson Controls, one of the bigger manufacturers. They design to get 
> those batteries to something short of the stated warranty so the purchaser 
> will Bring it back to the store chain where they purchased it to get 
> credit toward a new battery of the same brand. It's quite a money maker. 
> Years ago I thought Optima was the ticket off that merry-go-round. Maybe 
> it's Odyssey.
> Interestingly, when Optima first hit maybe 20 years ago, they were a 
> serious threat to the battery industry's business plan. Then, and I'm 
> working from memory here, I believe Interstate bought Optima and brought 
> them in-house. That is when the price started to rise and I believe the 
> quality began to fall a little. Interstate (again I think Interstate) had 
> to price-point them vs their lifespan to keep the merry-go-round spinning 
> to their advantage.
> Nobody seems to want to build a battery that lasts forever!
>
> Mark B. Magee
> Sent from IPhone 4S
>
> On Dec 10, 2012, at 9:32 PM, "sbjknox" <sbjknox at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ruben Creus" <ruben at vainneg.com>
>> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Battery Advice
>>
>>
>>> Talking about batteries, It is time to change mine; we had some 
>>> discharges
>>> over time and not holding well now. I am thinking on an Odyssey 925.
>>
>> I have four Odyssey 925 batterys, one in Velocity, one in Starduster, one 
>> in '57 Triumph TR3, and one in '89 Ford Probe.  Oldest is about 7 years 
>> old and as potent as when new.  The only one that gets a float charger 
>> (Harbor Freight, about $8) is the Probe because sometimes it sits for a 
>> few months between use and the computer (ECU) will slowly suck it dry. 
>> Odyssey batterys recover very well from a deep discharge.  Self-discharge 
>> is essentially zero.
>>
>> Sid Knox
>> Oklahoma
>>
>> Velocity  173 RG  N199RS
>> Starduster  N666SK
>> KR2         N24TC
>> W7QJQ
>> <Starduster Odyssey battery_c20.jpg>
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