Battery replacement

[Scarecrow]

I just replaced my battery. By myself. Ooooh, big deal, I hear many say. But for those that know me and have seen my amazing level of un-mechanical-ability you would know why I’m happy.

 

My original battery lasted 2 years before it went out. I looked through the site and saw most recommended the Odyssey PC680. But a few mentioned a Panasonic (LC-X1220P) as a cheaper battery which worked in the RT. I decided to try it out. It lasted 5 years.

 

So when it started needing weekly re-charging I figured it was time. I checked the board again for any updates in the World of Batteries and found some people mentioning a much cheaper battery, the UB12220. The Odyssey was going for ~145. The Panasonic was going for ~88. The UB12220 was ~45. I figured I had such good luck with the cheaper Panasonic, I would try the UB. At worst it would last a couple of years and I would still be ahead.

 

Again, referring to threads on the board, I picked BatteryPlex as the store to try. I put my order in and waited. The box came about a week later, I opened it up and checked the invoice and it looked good to go.

 

In the meantime, I decided that since I was putting in the new battery, I would also buy the power cord for my Garmin 2160 to hard wire it and do away with the cigarette-adaptor plug thingy. I didn’t care if I wouldn’t have the speaker as I never could hear it while I was riding anyway. I ordered it and rushed the shipment so I would have it in time to install everything this weekend.

 

On Friday when I got home from work, I opened the battery box to put my BatteryTender on it and get it fully charged. I dug down through all the styrofoam peanuts and pulled out the battery. OH NOOOOOO. Wrong battery. What came was a PowerSonic PSH-12180. I was upset. Very Upset. I sent off a nasty note to BatteryPlex late Friday night.

 

Saturday morning, I opened a reply. Apparently they ran out of the UB and decided to substitute the PowerSonic. I thought it was rated for 18AH based on the model number, so I wasn’t really happy. I called BatteryPlex and talked with Randy. He told me that since the UB was out of stock, he replaced it with a battery that cost a bit more and similar in size and charge. He told me it was actually rated at 21AH. He said he would replace it with a UB if I wanted, and I could use this one in the meantime. I calmed down and told him I would just go with this one figuring the difference between 22 AH and 21 AH wasn’t enough to bother with.

 

So, that left me with the installation. I took off the left tupperware, undid the air breather and slipped out the Panasonic. Thanks to someone’s (I can’t remember who) hint on one of the battery threads, I had a box at about the right height to slide the battery out on while I was disconnecting it. That definitely made it easier. I connected the battery and the Garmin cord, put everything back together, had no screws left over and smiled. I turned the key to ON, twisted the throttle a couple of times (also based on a thread here).

 

I put the battery tender on it overnight and will go out for a ride later.

 

I’ll report back if I have trouble with the cheaper battery.

 

[boatzo]

I think what you should be looking at is the type of battery you are getting/using. GEL batteries do not last as long as AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries, known fact. You will get what you pay for !

 

I had a Panasonic, didn't last more that 3 years. Have a PC680 now for over 3 years and no problems.

[Scarecrow]

I agree with you. That's why I was happy that the Powersonic battery was an AGM (see spec's).

 

I had my Panasonic for 5 years. For the price differential, the PC680 would have to last about 8 or 9.

 

If this one goes bad in too short a time, I'll let everyone know.

[JayW]

Nicely done! It must have been quite satisfying, and should give you confidence to tackle more challenging items down the road.

 

I think you'll be fine with the PowerSonic. Make sure that you look it once or twice each year to ensure that your connections are still tight and clean. Many perfectly good batteries are thrown away when the problem is really corrosion build-up up at the (usually) positive terminal that just needs to be cleaned up. I regularly check for this on my bikes and cars, and sometimes find it.

 

By the way Boatzo, I am still running the factory GEL battery on my own RT at 62K miles and 5+ years. I never use a battery tender, though might if the bike were put up for more than 3-4 weeks at a stretch. I think GEL batteries get a worse rap than they deserve, but agree that AGM is a superior technology.

 

Jay

[BarOne]

Hey Jay -- still have my original on my '05 too. I do use a tender in the winter -- parked outside undercover last year.

[JayW]

Hi Steve . Maybe the red RTs are not only faster, but also have hardier batteries. Just sayin' its possible .

[BarOne]

an absolute possibility!

[Boffin]

My Powersonic has been going strong for three years now with no issues whatsoever. The rating of the battery depends on the discharge current, so the rating should say Xamp-hour at y-discharge rate, but they almost never do, The PS 12180 is rated at 18amp-hour for a 20-amp discharge rate. The BMW OEM battery is rated at between 17 and 19 amp-hour (depending on wet or GEL type) at the same rate.

The max rated current for trhe PowerSonic is 180 amps for 7 seconds, 54 amps for 30 seconds - both higher than OEM.

Did you get the white/blue version or the fire-retardant red-cased version - the only difference is aesethics unless you need to keep power on whilst your bike burns - mine is the red one as this is the only variant they sell in the UK.

 

All three of the cheaper batteries you reference, are intended for computer UPS applications, and are all listed as alternatives for each other. In theory, their internal design is less-suited to the cyclic application of a vehicle, but in practice as long as you keep withing the max current and under the max charge voltage, then there should be no problems.

 

Andy

[Scarecrow]

When I first saw the label (PSH12180) I thought it meant 18AH too. But apparently the "H" in the label means something more... A PS12180 is 18AH, the PSH12180 is 21AH. Check the link to the spec I put a few posts back for more info than I understand.

 

It makes sense to look at discharge rate, but I have no idea what I'm looking at in the above specs.

 

And mine is the blue case. Which is fine, since it matches my blue bike