Wet vs Sealed – Battery for your diesel trucks!
As most of you know the diesel truck takes 2 batteries as designed by the OEM. Most of the OEM trucks come with wet batteries from the factory. In most cases, they cost less and work in most conditions. Many of you go the least path of resistance if one or more fail and visit the local parts store and just replace it with an appropriate wet battery in stock.
If it works for you why change from the OEM replacement?
There are several reasons if you use your truck for work or in harsh conditions such as hot/cold climates. A sealed, Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) battery is considered an upgrade when replacing the OEM battery. They handle the extreme heat and cold much better with higher Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) when you need it.
So, if you are outside a lot, and it’s so cold your coffee freezes from your kitchen to the truck, you may need a AGM battery with 1100 CCA even at 80% level. The AGM battery is a work horse for when you need extra power for not just starting the vehicle but also powering all onboard accessories.
Being an advanced AGM battery, ODYSSEY® batteries from EnerSys hold much more power than even some of their dry battery competitors. These batteries in my truck that are group 27 have a 1750 pulse cranking amps, 195-minute reserve amps and 930 cold cranking amps! What that means is a lot of power when you need it! For those of you who use group 31 batteries the ratings are even higher with 2150 pulse cranking amps, 220-minute reserve amps and 1150 cold cranking amps!
Let me put this in some perspective ratings. My current wet batteries at 50% charge and at 50ºF (10ºC) will produce a crank/recharge rating of 38.5, while my ODYSSEY® batteries exposed to the same conditions have a rating of 325.3! That means I can rely on these to start my truck even after running some extras on my truck while it was sitting idle.
The newer ODYSSEY® battery models now have Bluetooth technology inside the batteries that connect with your smart phones that monitor the condition of the battery. Set your alerts if the battery falls below a certain level and your phone alerts you! Check from the comfort of your home levels of the battery while your truck sits in the garage or outside.
Yes, they do cost more upfront than the wet batteries ($130 - higher) as to the AGM ($300 - higher), but as with many things you purchase, you get what you pay for! AGM batteries usually last 4-12 years (4 year warranty) while wet batteries last 2-4 years. Plus, ODYSSEY® batteries have a higher level of durability against vibration/jolting in your truck for those of you who are a little rough while driving.
AGM batteries require no-maintenance while wet batteries require checking the acid levels and topping off with distilled water. Wet batteries corrode around the posts while AGM batteries never have an issue. Many old mechanics used to say not to replace the wet with AGMs but that has been proven false with many tests. For those of you who compete in racing or pulling I have had many people rewire their system to one ODYSSEY® battery to drop some weight and they start quite easily every time!
I replaced my old wet batteries on my 1996 12V Dodge and I thought a turbo had been added to my starter! I had never experienced quicker cranks, and power is now never an issue. Even when my starter was going out (290,000 on the old beast) it shorted my system and drained the batteries pretty low, I turned the key first and let it light the gauges. Then hit the key and even though it was cold it kicked over and started.
Once I had the starter replaced, I’ve never had another issue since it totally recovered charging to full power level, my ODYSSEY® batteries have been in the truck 9 years and counting. I have been sold on these batteries for diesels but even more now that I have found they are made in the USA! Both plants for EnerSys ODYSSEY® batteries are right in Missouri within a few hours of my house.
I have never seen or had any idea how batteries are built so I took a trip down to Springfield in my old 1996 Dodge and EnerSys was gracious enough to give me a tour of their facility. I don’t know if an article has ever been done on the actual building of a battery. My words cannot do the manufacturing plant justice since I have to condense the story, but I can tell you it was amazing.
This plant has a little over 300,000 sq ft with over 400 employees at this location. EnerSys has over 30 facilities worldwide with over $4 billion in revenue. With another 3 facilities in Missouri, they employ over 1,000 people in 1-3 shifts depending on workloads. Reading PA is their headquarters for EnerSys in the USA! The employees are treated as a family and the workplace looked very cohesive producing 20,000 batteries a week at capacity.
EnerSys took me from a 2,000 lb. block of lead to a finished battery model walking me through their production lines. Their two plants are all automated and robotized so no human hands touch the lead or acid in the batteries, yet they employ over 400 to maintain the lines.
I saw the lead plates produced and coated with the glass paste (I called it mud) and then heated for 48 hours. Each plate is designated positive or negative and compressed into the cells, which make up the battery. I did find out most of the other batteries use a calcium-based paste that breaks down in extreme heat and vibration, while EnerSys uses another mixture for their ODYSSEY® batteries that does not include calcium.
Through an automated line the cell plates are placed in the battery case, then topped with the connectors that are welded together (see photos)! Even putting the acid in the battery is completely automated and then they go through a wash bath before charging. The room with thousands of batteries being charged is amazing and the batteries are cooled by A/C from underneath. Labeled and packaged for delivery these batteries are ready for distribution throughout the World.
How do you justify a battery that is more than double the price of wet batteries? All I know is once you are caught out in the middle of nowhere or a very cold morning and the truck won’t start those dollars are well worth what you just spent! Ask the customer how much does he use his truck? Ask him how upset he was when the truck would not start that cold morning?
With today’s truck loaded with so much electronics having the correct flow of power running through it is a big concern for your truck’s longevity. Concerned about being built in the USA and talking to English speaking customer service then check out EnerSys ODYSSEY® AGM batteries at any local outlet or warehouse.
For more info: www.Enersys.com
