SilverWT Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 I have been using an Optima for the last 8 years and it has just stopped holding it's charge, so time for a change.I had bolted the Optima to an ally "sled" I made from dimensions cribbed from Pelican.The slightly upturned end of the "sled" clips under the rear battery retaining bracket and the front is held in place with the standard bolt.The plan was to reuse the "sled" with a new bracket to hold a lighter battery. I thought the Odyssey ones were a bit expensive and having followed a thread on Pelican where people are having success with cheap batteries intended for mobility scooters I had a look around. I got a 22Ah Yuasa AGM one that weighed just under 6.2kg from Ebay for £40 delivered. So lighter and higher Ah than an Odyssey PC680 and the supplier was also advertising it for motorsport application.It came with tab connectors and so I made an ally adaptor block to convert it to post fittings, which is already on the -ve terminal in the picture.Both terminals done and an offcut from an old bike inner-tube added to cover the converter blocks.Ally bracket made and fitted to the "sled"Installed in the carAll working OK, have to see how long it lasts.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenC Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Nice work Mark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Gander Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Good bit of interesting and creative thinking there! Hope it does last a decent length of time. Regards, D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Twinzig Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 £40???? Cheap as chips. Light too. Good find Mark. Got a link? VT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 £40???? Cheap as chips. Light too. Good find Mark. Got a link? I put an alternative search in and found the same thing even cheaper at £34 delivered, typical! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YUASA-22ah-12volt-GOLF-TROLLEY-MOBILITY-BATTERY-HILLBILLY-ETC-/251892390721?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3aa5f4db41 I think the other supplier upped the price as they realised it had motorsport applications, but it was good service and deliverd very quickly. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-22AH-MOTORSPORT-LIGHTWEIGHT-6KG-RALLY-COMPETITION-RACING-CAR-BATTERY-/111177129078?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19e2ac5c76 Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkJ Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 My pc680 lasted 5 years, including two week tours of Europe without recharge and winter driving, and was still going strong until my alternator failed last summer. So if that new found battery is better Ah than the odyssey it should be a great bargain assuming the quality is as good. Good find Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicestershire Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Looks like a ‘big twin’ motorcycle battery. Be interesting to see how long it lasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Looks like a big twin motorcycle battery. Be interesting to see how long it lasts. It looks like Yuasa make batteries for everything including regular car, truck and motorcycle batteries. I suspect that there is a lot of cross over applications with just a change in terminal types/configuration and you pay more if the terminal types suits certain applications. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Twinzig Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Got a bit more detail on tab to post terminal conversion Mark? VT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Got a bit more detail on tab to post terminal conversion Mark? Sorry, did not think to take any detailed pics, but here is a quick description: Cut two block of ally off a piece of bar stock I had lying around, 15x15mm wide and long and the same height as the terminal tag (sorry never measured it, I just held it in place and scribed a line). Drilled a 5.25mm central vertical hole and tapped it as an M6 thread for the mounting bolt on the bottom of the post converters (which I already had). Marked where the hole in the battery tab came on the block and drilled a 4.5mm hole and tapped it as an M5 thread to take a stainless cap head screw. Screwed it all in place Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuchs915 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I wonder if these would work? http://www.quickcable.com/products.php?pageId=407 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 I wonder if these would work? Yes, they would work fine, but I could not be bothered to get them from a US supplier. I found several US suppliers, but none seemed set up to ship to the UK and I didn't find any over here. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northy Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Don't suppose the dimensions are the same as an odyssey are they? I don't know how long my PC680 will keep going - I've killed it twice already and I'd rather replace it for £40 than it let me down somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Don't suppose the dimensions are the same as an odyssey are they? A little bit smaller I think Yuasa REC22 L 180mm x W 76mm x H 167mm Odyssey 680 L 185mm x W 79mm x H 192mm Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anglophone1 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Cool trick- my standard battery has been relocated to the smugglers box- but one of these will fit INSIDE the box !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuchs915 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Yes, they would work fine, but I could not be bothered to get them from a US supplier. I found several US suppliers, but none seemed set up to ship to the UK and I didn't find any over here. Mark Thanks, Mark, didn't register that this was a US site. I'll have to see if anyone I know going to / from US and could pick up one or 2 sets. Cheers Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALEX P Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Good work Mark, I read a similar thing over on Pelican using wheelchair batteries: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/855781-lightweight-inexpensive-battery.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Rock Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Inspired by this thread : my take on this: £35 with free postage on ebay, 21Ah and supposed to weigh 5.7kg, but actually weighs 5.9kg, so still >0.5kg lighter than the PC680 that was actually 6.5kg and not 7kg as advertised. M5 bolt holes, which meant the M6 Odyssey terminals wouldn't go on, necessitating new terminals so an added cost there, and grind them a touch to make 'em fit: Hopefully it'll have enough oomph to turn the high torque starter that's going on the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northy Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I pulled the trigger on one of these. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-22AH-MOTORSPORT-LIGHTWEIGHT-6KG-RALLY-COMPETITION-RACING-CAR-BATTERY-/111177129078?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19e2ac5c76 The odyssey in mine still seems to work but I have killed it numerous times by leaving interior lights on etc and I noticed it wasn't fully charged when I reconnected it to the trickle charger after a long run. Besides these are so cheap I thought I'd get in whilst their hot and give it a go. Thanks for the links chaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World Citizen Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 At Goodwood FOS I had a chat with 'Antigravity Batteries' they had a 600A, 18Ah battery that they weighed for me, expensive at £370 but only tipped the scales at 930 grams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 At Goodwood FOS I had a chat with 'Antigravity Batteries' they had a 600A, 18Ah battery that they weighed for me, expensive at £370 but only tipped the scales at 930 grams I also talked to these people a few month ago, the problem I saw (apart from the price) was the apparent sensitivity of the Lithium ion batteries to over/under charging from a maybe less than perfect charging system in an old IB. When quizzed, their tech Guy though that he whole system would need to be overhauled, as a minimum, to avoid problems. They seemed to be more suited to a modern car with lots of electronic controls/checks on the charging system. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryH Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 At Goodwood FOS I had a chat with 'Antigravity Batteries' they had a 600A, 18Ah battery that they weighed for me, expensive at £370 but only tipped the scales at 930 grams Ooh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I bought one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-22AH-MOTORSPORT-LIGHTWEIGHT-6KG-RALLY-COMPETITION-RACING-CAR-BATTERY-/111177129078?hash=item19e2ac5c76 Had no real joy with it, cranks my 3.6 with lightweight starter only for short while before flat as a pancake perhaps mine was a duff one . Now looking for good alternative . probably the optima ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryH Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Braille Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Thanks Gary, which one do you have (model) just googled one and it was £178 , hoping for one under £100 tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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