Battery on a budget

phactory · Post by **phactory** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:09 am

Definitely worth the extra $20 or $25 for a dry battery. They don't LEAK, and they last so much longer!

Phil

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:18 am

As my ol' woman would say: it's "cost-per-wear". The MotoBatteries unit seems to be excellent VFM.

AGMs aren't exactly dry; they're still a flooded (wet acid) battery but the electrolyte is immobilised by the glass mat. If you were to drill a hole in the casing you'd still get holes in your jeans from the sulphuric acid. It's totally sealed, as is an SLA or gel, and the heat produced by cycling the battery creates condensation inside the battery casing; this condensation drops back into the cell(s), thus affording replenishment.

brewsky · Post by **brewsky** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:42 am

What ever happened to the simple days when gas was gas, oil was oil and batteries were batteries?

Now you have to choose conventional lead acid, AGM, GEL, "dry", valve regulated, "maintenance free" etc, etc.

Now you have to choose the correct charger for the type battery you have or risk self imposed damage to your new high dollar battery.

Since the 305's don't have a voltage regulator, I wonder just how appropriate it is to use a GEL or AGM type which are more sensitive to overcharging. At least with a conventional battery, you can add distilled water and re-charge when necessary if some of the electrolyte boils off.

At least you can pop a cap on a conventional battery and test the electrolyte if you want to, and see if you have clean plates.

My experience with GEL batteries is that when they die they do so instantly, with no warning.

Regardless of the type you get, the most important thing is the initial charge before it is installed.
Dont't let the guy at the parts counter tell you it is already charged and ready to go!...read the instruction book for the battery and charge accordingly BEFORE it is ever installed.

phactory · Post by **phactory** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:53 am

Steve,

I'll try and remember not to drill any holes in my AGM battery cases!! :-)

Phil

e3steve · Post by **e3steve** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:45 pm

Yeah, good call there, Phil! ☺

Brew, there really isn't enough VA available from our alternators to damage a modern, tolerant AGM. Like gels, AGMs really require 14.1V to achieve a full charge and, as I mentioned in my last post here, the heat produced creates re-usable condensed electrolyte. On our bikes you'd need to ride for 4-5 hours non-stop to 'boil' a modern battery.

I did cook an OEM Yuasa in my first CB77, but it was old and they were old technology in '71. And it never measured more than 10V, quiescent, so obviously had a short-circuit cell.

AGMs are what gels should have been -- a bit like Windows 7 & Vistashite -- but the technology has been too expensive 'for the common man' until the last 3 or 4 years. Originally developed for aviation (and, thus, reliable!) and designed to work at any attitude -- including upside down -- the cost was kept high by low-volume production and bulky construction. All that has changed nowadays.

The MotoBatteries item is reasonably-priced and you just nail it straight in; mine measured 12.76V on arrival.

brewsky · Post by **brewsky** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 4:00 pm

Steve,
My recent paranoia regarding GEL batteries resulted from 3 fairly recent instantly disabling failures.

My 1 year old Gold Wing Yuasa battery went completely dead at a breakfast stop after starting the cold engine (approx 40 degrees F) like it was brand new. I was sure I blew a fuse or had a switch failure, as the dash wouldn't even illuminate, horn wouldn't chirp...nothing.

Replacement GEL battery lasted about a year and suffered the same fate.

Bought a new riding mower with a GEL battery and it also went instantly dead in about a year and a half.

I do use a battery tender during the off season (not continuously, just when the voltage drops below 12.5) on all my seasonal batteries.

I bought a cheap T E T brand "maintenance free" battery for my Dream a couple years ago for $20 or so at my local motorcycle shop. Had to add my own acid and install a "non-removable" strip instead of caps on top. I guess to T E T, "maintenance free" means you can't remove the caps.
It does have a vent hose.

At any rate, it holds its voltage above 12.6 longer than any other battery I have.....So far!

Maybe I'm just unlucky, but I don't recall any old batteries going bad that fast, they seemed to let me know ahead of time they were getting weak.

Just my observation...

houseowax · Post by **houseowax** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:22 pm

What of the pre '65 Dream batteries? As far as I can tell the only battery available in those dimensions ( taller and narrower than the later and CB style) are NOS wet-cells. That's what I have and although it hasn't let me down yet I'm feeling pretty sure that it will eventually.
Is anyone manufacturing these using AGM or gel technology?