Dry cell batteries? How much is to much?

[a1bummer]

When it comes time to put in a new battery in my MKI, I was thinking of going with a dry cell. I was looking on Summit just out of curiosity. They have several that will fit and put out anywhere from 210-425CCA's or more. That got me to wondering how many CCA's the OEM type battery put out. I still had the old battery down in the basement that hasn't been recycled yet and it only says 20Amps. Then of course I had to ask myself, what's the difference between Amps and Cold Cranking Amps? Nothing from what I can tell. Except of course for the whole CA's at 32* and CCA's at 0* thing of course.

 

Then there's the extra 200-400 or so CCA's. Some better battery cables would also help to better handle the extra lead as well as help the available power in the current battery get to where it's needed. But is all that extra current to much or even necessary? I sometimes ride even if it dips into the high 30's to low 40's. The extra current would be nice. It would also be nice for those hot engine starts. Which better cables would also help.

 

How much is to much???

[eusa1]

i spent about a month looking at "dry cell" battery options for the wifes 1100, and got quite the education.... most of the companies that state they sell a "dry cell" battery, actually do Not.

you wil find most of them use acid, just like your standard battery, the only thing different is they are not vented and don't have the six removeable caps, and use whats called a "agm" system that means the acid is soaked into a fiberglass mat inside the battery "absorbed glass mat" instead of being a free flowing liquid that you could adjust levels on, like your old battery.

it seems to be a great idea for most applications, however if You are replaceing the battery in a first generation venture, you will need to override the battery sensor with a kit that you can find in the tech section, or you will have an idiot light staying on. or stick with the standard battery that you can use the sensor in.

Everything that i can find on a "true dry cell" battery, tells me they are not recomended where temps could get cold, and are very limmited in sizes.

mike

[Snaggletooth]

Hey a1Bummer,

 

This is an older thread where the battey situation was covered pretty well. Check out the post by Jbo24 at the top of this page.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33375&highlight=deka&page=4

 

Jbo is Joshua from Bohannan Battery and he is a member here. He gave us some pretty good test results on the available batteries like Odessy PC680 and the DEKA ETX18L.

 

With that info I purchased the DEKA ETX18L a year ago and have NO REGRETS at all. It's AGM and fits like the OEM. Extra side posts to help with additional power feeds to. Heavy duty casing and just feels and looks tough.

 

You can't beat the CCA on this thing. I have started mine at 20 degrees with no hesitation at all the the hot crank issue is non existant. But I have a rebuilt starter and heavy cables to.

 

The CCA's......you can never hurt the system by having too much. These batteries will crank longer than any lead/acid battery that I know of.

 

But the price was the kicker. At that time it was $82.95 including shipping and arrived a few days later showing 12.8 volts out of the box. A year later.....still shows 12.8 volts every morning.

 

Consider it and take a look at their site.

 

www.bohannonbattery.com

 

Good people and a great battery.

 

Ask the guys here that bought one. Been a few that I know of.

 

Mike

[a1bummer]

Hey! Thanks for reminding me about the idiot light. I was thinking of that when I was looking at batteries but forgot about it while I was typing away earlier. And now that I take another look, they were AGM batteries, not dry-cells.

 

I'll take a look at that other post next and see if I can learn anything else.

 

Thanks guyz, Bill

 

P.S. What does the stock MKI stator put out?

[pick]

I'll second the vote on Bohanon, I too bought one from them for my 01 RSV. I think it was around 82 bucks shipped to the door, took 2-3 days? Very good service and so far its held a great charge, even in this cold winter we've had here inGa.

[Squeeze]

I recently mounted a new AGM Battery to my '99 Max.

 

I used a 12V/18Ah Battery for UPS use since 7 Years and this one got a bit weak ... So i decide to go shopping.

 

I found a Battery from Panasonic which is only 5 mm higher than the stock Battery(12V17Ah), but is 22Ah rated. I decided to bite the Bullet, because the Panasonic wasn't cheap, about the Price of good Brand standard Vehicle Battery. Well, it was not the best Shot because i had to fabricate 2 Copper Brackets to extend the Terminals more to the outside of the Battery, the get the Coils mounted. .... However, the Battery is great ...

 

The Reason i mention it here is the Size of the Battery ... it is smaller than the 20 Ah Stock Battery of a 1Gen !

 

I haven't had the Option to measure the exact Differences, but getting more Power out of smaller Unit allways sounds sweet to me.

 

When using a Vmax Battery Box, the availble Space may well be used for Relocating the TCI, or placing other Goodies there, i.e. mounting a Vmax Airbox instead of the very restricted 1Gen Airbox and on ....

 

Here's a Battery i found on the Web, don't know anything about the Vendors or the Quality of this Products, but it shows the Stats and is not too expensive. If i had found that before purchasing the Panasonic, i'd have gave these a Shot.

 

http://www.powerstarsla.com/ps12-22.html

 

or ...

 

http://www.atbatt.com/product/22505/sla/ritar/12v-22ah/battery

[wild hair 39]

http://mail.yimg.com/a/i/us/pim/mail/video.giftalking about,battarys,anyone seen this

[oldandcrotchety]

I don't reckon there's a chance of "too much cca". I have a full size car battery in my '83 and ain't had no problems at all. Don't remember the cold cranking amps, but it sure got rid of my hard starting problems and hasn't hurt anything so far.

[Flyinfool]

Ah (Amp Hours) and CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) are two very different things.

 

CCA is the number of amps a new, fully charged battery can deliver at 0° Fahrenheit for 30 seconds, while maintaining a voltage of at least 7.2 volts, for a 12 volt battery.

 

Ah is a little more complex to explain. Basically it is how many amps can the battery supply so that in 20 hours it will be completely dead. For an example if you have a 22aH battery, you can discharge it at 1.1 amps and in 20 hours it will be completely dead.

1.1A X 20 hours = 22Ah.

 

Typically, starting batteries are rated in CCA, and deep cycle batteries are rated in Ah.

 

There is no such thing as having to many amps available to a correctly working circuit.

The load circuit determines the amps that it will use, not the source.

Just because you have a 20amp battery in your bike does not mean that it is putting out 20 amps when you open the trunk and that little light goes on.

[a1bummer]

Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking in the back of my head there must be a difference. But then I didn't have to do much research to find my answer. If any for that matter. Sometimes it's just plain easier and/or quicker to ask you guys. You guys are good at filling in the gaps in my brain.

[frogmaster]

Look here too. http://www.bigcrank.com

[Scooter Bob]

www.bigcrank.com

 

bigcrank.com:Im not listening to

 

Slow down there Charlie, Remember, this is a PG site...

 

Later, Scooter Bob

[sgn]

Put the Exide AGM in my 83 VR.

 

Bought from local distibutor, he had it in stock.

 

Showed him a print of the price from Bohannon and he said he could not match it but did get within $5.00 of the shipped price plus tax.

 

It works like a dream, next I'm going to upgrade the battery cables and replace the fuse block. Neat up some of my own wiring additions and call it a done deal.

 

Steve

[Snaggletooth]

Hey Steve.

 

You're going to be happy with the AGM. They are tough. But if you have had hot start problems like so many guys have had with these bike and you haven't had your starter out yet........give it some thought.

 

Mine was a bear when it was hot when I first got it. Even with a new battery it just wouldn't crank worth a dang until it cooled off. I pulled my starter and stripped it down. It was the usual dirty, gungy stuff. I cleaned it up, filed the grooves in the armature and lubed the bearings, I did install new brushes as they were about 1/2 gone. Stuck her back in and it worked way better than before. After that I did all the other improvements with better results after every one of them.

 

With the AGM battery, the heavy cables and upgraded fuse panel all my starting problems are gone.

[a1bummer]

Well after a couple hard starts on these cooler mornings at work, (low 40's this morning), I finally got around to ordering one of those DEKA ETX18L batteries you guys suggested. I got kind of hard on the current battery a few times last summer when the stator went out. I don't think it ever came back to its full potential. I did the battery cable upgrade earlier this summer and it helped. I'll see how well this battery works when it comes.

 

I'll keep ya posted,

Bill

 

P.S. I think I have to do some carb adjustments/cleaning too. I'll just stick to the adjusting for now and do the rebuild this winter. I took off the YICS and put on some pipes I got off eBay, synced the carbs but forgot to adjust the screws.

[GeorgeS]

I have a PC-545 in my 99 Busa. its going on 5 years now!! No trouble !!

The stock Yuasa's only lasted about 12 months in that bike.

 

I have PC-680 in my 89 Venture, close to 4 years of service, still going strong.

 

However the DEKA's have higher output rateing, and are exact fit.

 

Don't even think twice, get the AGM type !!!

Edited September 5, 2010 by GeorgeS

[Snaggletooth]

Just a side note on the DEKA ETX18L. I bought mine a couple of years ago now. Got almost two full seasons on it. Been great and absolutly reliable.

 

A week or so ago I was out riding and I noticed my voltmeter in the dash was kinda low so I flipped on the digital meter and it was only showing 12.8, then 12.6 then 12.4 and kept dropping. I was about 25 miles from the house and headed back. By the time I got home the digital was showing well under 12 volts all the time.

 

Pulled it into garage and THEN I noticed the smoke coming from under the swing arm. R/R. Dang. Toasted. I shut it off and tried to start it again and had no power. No dash lights, no head light, no cranky. Dead. Battery check with meter was showing enough volts to crank but not happening. I found the main fuse, the 40 amper was blown.

 

Ok, Replaced the main fuse and got power back on line. Tested the stator, a Buckeye upgrade, tested fine. Got my hands on a used R/R from Skydoc_17 and installed that.

 

But this was supposed to be about the battery right. Ok, it's been several days since the failure. A 25 mile ride home without a working R/R and how many miles before I noticed the failure? Who knows. I had a spare battery standing by incase the DEKA was too low. When I hit the meter it showed 12.8 volts. Well ok, surface charge...maybe a false reading so I load tested it. It showed 96% charge!!! Hit the key and it spun right over and fired. After a twenty minute ride it was showing back to 100% charged. I rode it to KC today and back with no problems.

 

That battery is tough!!! DEKA will be my battery of choice for as long as I can get my hands on one.

 

Mike

[bongobobny]

Earl (Skydoc) sells the Deka and gives us VR folk a decent price shipped. Fast delivery too!!

 

 

I have a 3 year old Odessey in my '84 and it holds it's charge all winter without a tender, and just put a Deka (from Earl) in the '09 to gewt a more powerful battery. Both are great batteries!

 

You may want to consider upgrading your battery cables and switch to a 4 brush starter motor to improve your cranking on your 1st gen...

[GeorgeS]

I have installed Amateur Radio, HF Radiio equipment on my 89. Finished the installation about 2 months ago. An Icom IC-7000 Transciever, HF, VHF, UHF and 6 meters. ( If you are in Ham radio, you will understand )

 

This radio is a 100 Watt Transmitter on HF and 50 Watt on VHF and UHF.

 

With the Two Odyessy PC-680's I have been able to sit in the drive way, and use the radio for about 45 min. and transmitt for about 10Min. total time, and still have about 12.4 volts across both batteries. ( thats about 40 precent charged )

 

I have taken 2 road trips since the installation, and used the Transmitter extensivly and have had no trouble with the batteries or charging system.

 

I do have the upgraded " Electrix " stator installed.

Just got back from 700 mile run, and next morning checked the voltage on both batteries, both reading 12.9 Volts, fully charged.

 

If any Ham Radio guys out there are considering M/C Mobil Ham radio, I highly reccomend the IC-7000 transciever. Also gives you AM, FM, in addition to All Ham frequencies. I am useing Hustler Antenna's. I have installed two antenna mounts, and can switch between the two.

 

I am considering buying and SGC Antenna tuner, so I can use just one antenna for all frequencies. The Ham antenna seems to work good for AM and FM station receptiion.

 

Still haveing problems with the 40Meter band, RF feed back problems.

 

The main point to all of this is the AGM Batteries !! Useing old Lead Acid types, I would not be able to operate this system. Simply not enough current draw avialable.

 

I have #4 Battery cables installed to both batteries, and use double Starter Solinoid set up. The transmitter pulls about 20 Amps on transmit function, and about 3.5 amps on receive. Anyway so far , so good.

 

Why?? well, mainly just to see if I could make it work on a motorcycle. And, being retired, I had nothing else to do this summer. The equipment also doubles for use in the TrailBlazer, and a quick move to the work bench in the garage to use with my main Ham Station Antenna's.

 

If any Ham operators out there are interested in the details, would be glad to discuss the details.

[bkuhr]

I have installed Amateur Radio, HF Radiio equipment on my 89. Finished the installation about 2 months ago. An Icom IC-7000 Transciever, HF, VHF, UHF and 6 meters. ( If you are in Ham radio, you will understand )

 

This radio is a 100 Watt Transmitter on HF and 50 Watt on VHF and UHF.

 

With the Two Odyessy PC-680's I have been able to sit in the drive way, and use the radio for about 45 min. and transmitt for about 10Min. total time, and still have about 12.4 volts across both batteries. ( thats about 40 precent charged )

 

I have taken 2 road trips since the installation, and used the Transmitter extensivly and have had no trouble with the batteries or charging system.

 

I do have the upgraded " Electrix " stator installed.

Just got back from 700 mile run, and next morning checked the voltage on both batteries, both reading 12.9 Volts, fully charged.

 

If any Ham Radio guys out there are considering M/C Mobil Ham radio, I highly reccomend the IC-7000 transciever. Also gives you AM, FM, in addition to All Ham frequencies. I am useing Hustler Antenna's. I have installed two antenna mounts, and can switch between the two.

 

I am considering buying and SGC Antenna tuner, so I can use just one antenna for all frequencies. The Ham antenna seems to work good for AM and FM station receptiion.

 

Still haveing problems with the 40Meter band, RF feed back problems.

 

The main point to all of this is the AGM Batteries !! Useing old Lead Acid types, I would not be able to operate this system. Simply not enough current draw avialable.

 

I have #4 Battery cables installed to both batteries, and use double Starter Solinoid set up. The transmitter pulls about 20 Amps on transmit function, and about 3.5 amps on receive. Anyway so far , so good.

 

Why?? well, mainly just to see if I could make it work on a motorcycle. And, being retired, I had nothing else to do this summer. The equipment also doubles for use in the TrailBlazer, and a quick move to the work bench in the garage to use with my main Ham Station Antenna's.

 

If any Ham operators out there are interested in the details, would be glad to discuss the details.

 

Played with HAM long time ago in high school electronics. Never got much into it, but seems to me ground plane was important. Hows this works on scoot with next to nothing for sheetmetal as in cage?

Also would be a little concerned of effect of 100watt HF transmitter within feet of unsheilded scoot electonics such as TCI in plastic box.

We (telco) are infrequently fighting ham operators causing interference on copper phone lines. Usually operator need to re-adjust antenna.

Good job getting it working, would make good mobile base for local emergencies:thumbsup2:

[DesertRider]

I bought a Yausa for my 83 back in 03 and it lasted until last spring - 7 years. The one I replaced it with I bought from Autozone this year. I was thinking it was a dry cell but maybe it's an agm but it is noticeably heavier than the Yausa. And It's got more cranking power than the Yausa did when it was new. Just hope it lasts as long as the Yausa.