Best Battery

Just put in an X2Power 24F from a local Batteries+


It's a rebranded Northstar. Website says $275, however I was charged $233. 60 month warranty (5 years) full replace. 840 CCA

Fits in the factory tie down, though it's tight (not a bad thing). Comes with a spacer but didn't need it.

Can't back it up, but read on another forum that Northstar was founded by a few original Odyssey engineers, hence the similar design. Supposedly some connections inside are beefier though. Once again, that's all hearsay though.

 

I really like my Northstar

 

Get a Northstar 27F

 

I have a conundrum. I work out of town for 3 weeks every 3 weeks (21 days on shift, 21 days off shift). This winter I've noticed that my truck battery dies while I'm at work. First winter with the vehicle. My truck has an Ultra-Gauge and a CompuStar Auto start running off the stock Toyota battery. Is there a battery that can hold a charge in 0-15F temps after sitting for 3 weeks? Normally I would just have my roommate start the truck up once a week, but he's not really all that reliable and throwing it on a trickle charger for a few hours when I get home is getting annoying.

 

Disconnect the autostart for long shutdown periods.

 

About to get the same one for my wifes pilot. Best bang for the buck.

Dont forget the $25 gift card, think they are running a promotion.

 

What did it cost you for the 27F ?

 

Tell me more... size? my diehard group 31m is dieing.... The fridge isn't running like it use too and its having lots of trouble starting on cold mornings

 

Interesting , I was just wondering because at the current exchange rate , at the place I got my Northstar 27F from up here , it would be $266 USD for the Northstar 27F including free shipping anywhere in Canada

 

Assuming that you have a healthy battery and charging system and the battery is fully charged when you park, here are some simple solutions to offset the parasitic drain and natural self discharge of long term parking/storage. If you have access to AC power where you park, use a small temperature compensated smart battery charger with a quick disconnected while you have the vehicle parked to keep the battery fully charged. Examples of chargers are Battery Tender Plus, BatteryMinder, etc. If you do not have access to AC power, then you will either have to use a minimum of 15 watt Solar panel to keep the battery charged, add enough capacity to your existing battery, or use a battery disconnect switch. Disconnecting the battery by removing the negative terminal will work, but is not very practical. For more information, please see the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on www.batteryfaq.org.

 

Can I run an optima 31m? I really want my fridge to run for days and my lights. My die hard platinum 31m is dieing.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...roup-31-dual-purpose-deep-cycle-and-starting/

 

Exide AGM for the win

 

Thanks for the tips. I usually only work 2 week rotations, but they changed me up March of 2015 to May 2016. After then I won't have to worry about it. Think I'll just disconnect the battery. Easy fix, and if anyone needs to borrow it, they just have to pop the lead back on the terminal. I have a battery tender I used to use on my motorcycle, but I park the truck outside and the unit isn't rugged enough for long term weather exposure. Was just curious of a beefier battery would solve my issues. I should just follow the KISS acronym (Keep It Simple Stupid).

 

930 / 195

 

If I pick up a dual battery tray and two new optima batteries. Can I daisy chain them till I get an isolator and everything installed?

 

Chris, there are a number of variables that affect the parasitic (key off) load, natural self discharge, and the service life of a lead-acid battery. If the combined load on your battery averages 300 ma, 7.2 amps is consumed every 24-hours. Assuming that you have a healthy and fully charged wet Group 24F battery which produces approximately 60 amp hours at 77 degrees F, then it would lose one half of it's charge within approximately five days. A fully charged wet Group 31 battery will produce approximately 100 amp hours. With a 300 ma load, it would be 50% discharged within nine days.

Now the question becomes what is the ambient temperature you are trying to start your engine with a wet battery with 50% State-of-Charge? At 80 degrees F, the battery could easily produce the 300 amps to crank the engine. However, at 0 degrees F, it would be problematic for the battery to produce 500 to 600 amps that would be required. One of the challenges with disconnecting the battery is that it will reset the Emission Control Unit to the defaults. If the engine has any other problems like a dirty MAF sensor or clogged air filter, it might be even more difficult to start. Another challenge is that the the battery could freeze when the battery drops below a 25% State-of-Charge at 0 degrees F.

In other words, temperature matters! This is clearly demonstrated in the following diagrams from Exide and Interstate, respectively.

 

So are there any differences between 24/27/31 batteries, or are those just names for that exterior size? I know the cca and all those are different from battery to battery, just trying to figure it out.

And, do all three of those sizes fit in the stock location or do you have to modify things?

I am wanting to replace my OEM battery so I can leave the fridge running 24/7. Truck is driven daily, and down the road, a winch might be the only other thing to pull power. I have lights and small stuff, but I dont use them when the truck is off.

 

Thanks for the explanation and diagram. I only have 2 more shifts before I'm back to working in town. I live in the area marked "extremely cold" with the shortest battery life. Guess I'll just have to harass my roommate to start and run the truck every week. With two week rotations I never had a problem, but these three weekers are proving to be problematic.

 

Typical OEM design is for two weeks "airport parking". Actually extremely cold has the longest battery service life. In hot climates you are lucky to get three years because the higher temperatures accelerates negative grid corrosion.

If you decide to increase the capacity by installing a second battery wired in parallel, be sure that it is identical to the first one for longer battery life for both batteries and to keep both of them fully charged when the temperature drops below 0 degrees F to prevent freezing. For the same battery type, Group 34R typically has least CCA performance and amp hour capacity. Group 24F has more followed by 27F and 31 respectively. The weight of the battery is an easy way to tell what which battery will have more capacity with the heaviest with the most. In some Tacomas, the battery tray should be replaced when upgrading from 24F to 27F. Group 31 will probably require modification. If you have a lot of off roading vibration, then an Flat Plate AGM is a better choice than a wet battery. For extreme vibration or military applications, a Spiral Wound AGM is normally better choice. When replacing a wet battery with an AGM, you might need to increase the OEM charging voltage to keep the battery fully charged. Premature AGM battery failures is a whole other discussion.

 

My 2011 has the original Toyota battery--the larger tow package one, not sure what group size that translates to.

It started just fine the other night when it hit about -22°F, but I figure I'll preemptively replace it before next winter. Went with a DieHard Platinum for my Outback and loved it, but sounds like they may not be as good as they used to be.