Odyssey battery and Battery Tenders

[towerworker]

I got a quick education the other day on my Odyssey battery and my Battery Tender. We had a 50 degree day and sunny. Bike's been covered for at least 3 weeks while we endured all this white stuff (read that CRAP!). I thought Great! Take a nice ride!

Got all geared up, uncovered the bike. I've had this Battery Tender Jr for at least 7 years and have used it almost daily. The current battery is a Odyssey PC-680 and is just over 3 yrs old and has been kept on the tender daily. The light on the tender was green which means 100% charged. Unplugged tender, saddled up and put the key in the ignition and turned 'er on. Hit the starter button............click click click click. I hate that sound. I thought "what in the hell?" The lights green!!

I got out my 10 amp "smart charger" and after 30 minutes It had enough to start. I went out for an hour's ride and came back and put the bigger charger back on the bike. Couple hours later it says it's truly 100% and more importantly the battery's healthy with no bad or sulfated cells etc.
So in the meantime I had written an email to Odyssey to inquire about battery warranty. This is the response I received:

Hello Wayne,



Battery Tender branded chargers tend to float at less than 13.5V at the battery. This is why they are not listed on the approved charger listing. The Float voltage range is printed on the top label of the battery for consumer reference at 13.5-13.8V.



If maintained at less than 13.5V the battery will be pulled down and maintained in an undercharged state. This will cause sulfation an premature failure. Usually within 1-2 years. The service life for the ODYSSEY product in comparison the same sized/Ah rated conventional battery in the same application with the same usage is 2-3 times longer with proper charge maintenance. The battery has a design life of 8-12 years and has been known to last 20 years.



You can measure the charging voltage at the terminals of the battery when the charger settles into float mode. If it is less than 13.5V then it would not be considered compatible with ODYSSEY batteries. The minimum recommended charging voltage for the motorcycle is 14.0V with 14.4-14.8V being optimum and 14.2V at higher RPMS being standard. You can also measure the voltage at the battery terminals 8-24 hours off charge, even alternator or stator charging for a state of charge voltage reading. Fully charged, the battery will have a minimum rested voltage of 12.84V.



Thank you for contacting EnerSys/ODYSSEY.



Please visit http://www.odysseybattery.com for more information or contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Sincerely,



Kathy Mitchell

EnerSys Representative

Toll Free: 888-422-0317

Fax: 660-429-6397

[swamper]

Good info: I have the same battery and have never used a charger of any kind. Seems they have stayed charged between rides for me. I usually ride in the winter but have left my R 1150 R for a few months without using it and it has always started right up without fail. I was sort of wondering about the green light deal as my Odyssey in my Harley went low and when I plugged in the tender charger the light came on green so I didn't use it. Had to replace that battery but it was about 10 years old. Basically I don't use or worry about my Odyssey Batteries with any trickle charger.

[towerworker]

Well this is my 2nd Odyssey (1st was in my '03 that I totaled I guess 6 months into that new battery's life). I had made the assumption (WRONG) that I had the correct charger. I never read the info on Odyssey's web site. My bad. I'm a little bit smarter now though.

[swamper]

So, you must be getting younger.

[towerworker]

I wish. I'll be 60 in just over two weeks.

[swamper]

60 years young, early best wishes on your Birthday. Hope you get in a nice ride to celebrate it.

[towerworker]

60 years young, early best wishes on your Birthday. Hope you get in a nice ride to celebrate it.

Thanks Swamper

I had a nice ride today, part of which was riding thru the local city park. It's a one way loop about 2 1/2 miles. Got half way thru and found the back side had a long patch of solid snow and ice still covering the road. (We had about 8" two days ago) I wasn't going to take a chance so I turned around and went out against the traffic flow. Fist car I met was a city police officer. He gave me a curious look and stopped (so did I) and I quickly explained about the ice. He just nodded and told me to be careful going out. He probably thought "what idiot would be riding s bike in all this snow"! This one.

I need studded tires.

[CycleRob]

Wayne, I'll soon be 8 years older than you, in May.
About the charger . . .
In the interim, until you get the correct charger, you can still use the Deltran Tender. You just disconnect it as soon as the green light comes on -or- for a really really good charge, just unplug only the AC power for 5 seconds (the green light goes off) and reconnect the AC power plug to start the entire sequence over again. Then unhook it all when the green light comes on.

My Deltran Tender Plus model when first conected shows a solid red light -until- the 1.25 Amp charging current pushes the battery voltage to 14.7V. This can take from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the amount of discharge. Then the green comes on solid while the red light flashes slowly, maintaining 14.7V -until- the charging current drops to a small decimel value, indicating the battery is fully charged. That segment can take a few to 12+ hours, depending on how discharged the battery is. THEN, only the green light stays on and the charger's circuitry maintains a minimum of 13.1V.

The 13.1V float charge voltage is intended for flooded cell batteries, that have screw/push-in caps, so you can add distilled water. That 13.1V value minimizes electrolyte water evaporation.

BTW, my F800ST's original battery will be 6 years old June 9th. It sees the Tender only for short day periods as the charger stays hooked to my sedentary Pick-Up truck (with a flooded cell battery).

[towerworker]

Hi Rob,
I've had the new tender since Tuesday. I'm using it primarily at this moment for it's desulfation mode. All I have read says that they can in fact reverse some of the damage done by the use of an improper charger. So we'll see.

Question for you.......are you planning to come to the Bash this May? Sure would love to see you!

Wayne

[swamper]

Wayne: Is this Bash you mention the Beaker Bash???

[towerworker]

Yes it is! Being held this May 15-17 in Staunton,VA. Details in the Group Rides section of the board. Coming up soon!

Wayne

[Roger 04 rt]

My battery sulfated too and caused quite slow starting. I was using the BT Jr. extensively during a period of short rides. Odyssey walked me through the steps to recondition the battery:

--Use a resistor or headlight to discharge the battery to 10 volts (and take the load off right then, don't let the voltage go below 10V). That is their definition of a fully discharged battery.

--Use a proper charger to recharge the battery to 100%. (A car battery can be used for about a half hour to get the charge going well.)

--Run this discharge/charge cycle up to 5 times.

I did this three years ago and my battery is now as good as new.

Here is a link to the whole reconditioning thread from that experience: http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/u ... 202&page=5

[towerworker]

I appreciate that Roger! You just gave me my next rainy day project.

[Keppelj]

I had no sulfate problems with an Odyssey which was on a Tender on and off for most of 7 years. All of that charging I did through the BMW/John Deere outlet though I'd also added a jack to the battery under the seat. I have a BatteryMinder (desulfator) from another application and a new Odyssey. Any reason not to charge with that through the outlet also? Easy to pull the seats, of course, but the outlet is so convenient...

[towerworker]

No, charging thru the outlet is fine and is what very many do.

[jb44]

Hi Wayne,

I learned the hard way too with the PC680.

When I called Odyssey they went through all the details...apparently they receive more than a few calls on this subject.

I ended up buying one of the Odyssey chargers.

http://shop.odysseybattery.com/p/tmax-6a-1b

Since it is a 6 amp charger, I was concerned that it was too high an amperage. They assured me it would be fine.

The charger only comes with the alligator clamps so it wouldn't connect to the pigtail on my bike. I spliced on the proper connector and the setup has worked fine for 2 years...so far....I probably voided the warranty on the charger by altering the cable.

jb

[Keppelj]

No, charging thru the outlet is fine and is what very many do.

Thanks, Wayne.