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Odyssey battery life

Indy

Active Member
I've had an Odyssey battery in my RV-4 for close to 8 years. It seems like lately I had a few sluggish stars--as if the battery was left on for a while even though it was a quick fuel stop and the alternator was operating just fine. In searching to see what type of life folks were getting out of Odysseys I'm surprised to see so many people saying around 3 years. Am I only hearing about the bad? What are others getting out of their Odysseys?
 
Mine is coming up on 5 year in aircraft. I am seeing the same thing and will be changing it this year during the condition inspection.
 
This has probably been discussed so I suggest using the search function.

Take the sluggish starts as a warning and put a new battery in. You got a long service interval.
 
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The Odyssey in my wave runner is almost 15 year old and still going strong. My Exmark has one also going on 5 years. Both machines take an awful beating. We put dual Odyssey's in the Cozy MKIV for a 24V system and lost one of them in less that a year. We attributed that to not installing a battery equalizer. When it was replaced an equalizer was also installed and now the original battery has 4 years on it and no signs of any problems. We are still using the replaced battery in the shop for powering things up.
 
I have an oddyssey in our midget race car. It gets beat up, discarged then gets charged at the track then at the shop. The battery is on its 3rd season we neglect it 2months between our summer races and just today we put the charger on it getting ready for the indoor races coming up at Duquion and Tulsa. I can't ask anything from it.I got my $s worth out of it.
 
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I've got 9 years on mine and it works and load tests fine but I'm thinking of replacing it since I'm doing a major overhaul of the engine and airframe now and it's all apart. The plane has been flown infrequently for the last 3 years but I charge the battery the 1st of every month whether I fly it or not.

I'm very happy with mine.
 
I have been using the Odyssey PC680 for several years in my Corby Starlet with a jabiru 2200 motor.
I bought a new one for the RV4 I am building, but it is now in the Corby. The old one was 5 years old and needed charging every few months.
Funnily enough the old one will turn over the O-320 with no problems. To start the jab engine it has to get about 200rpm and that is the killer. The alloy prop also acts as a better flywheel than the wooden pp on the Corby.
One tip is, if you are having problems in coldweather, remove the metal case. It works for me, but cold for us is 10deg C. The metal case absorbs too much heat and stops the chemical action.
 
battery service

The odyssey PC680 in my RV7 went weak last winter and was replaced at 7 years. Be sure to check all connections before blaming the battery. A bad ground can cause symptoms also.
 
This has probably been discussed so I suggest using the search function.

Take the sluggish starts as a warning and out a new battery in. You got a long service interval.

Ron, your thread about the PC925 is actually what got me to post this question. Lots of discussions about battery tenders and how to maximize an Odyssey's life, but I'm just looking to see what kind of average service life people are getting out of their Odysseys. I did do another search and found this thread that seems to show more folks getting longer service life.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=73563&highlight=odyssey+battery+life

I've been really happy with how long mine has lasted, but it sounds like that may be the exception. And for the discussion purposes, I don't use any sort of tender, I'm in North Carolina where temps run from freezing in the winter (it was 20 degrees the other night) to 90s and occasional 100s in the summer, and I usually fly every week or two.
 
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I just pulled my 680 yesterday as it is starting to give poor starts. It is exactly eight years old, marked 12/04. It had had a couple deep discharges in its life.

Bob
 
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