Thanks for the info on the Odyssey. I wonder what the reason(s) for the battery deteriorating with the use of a maintainer??
I purchased the
EarthX ETX680C ($380?) directly from EarthX. I'd discourage buying elsewhere... I had an issue with the first battery and they immediately sent me their latest version which has an additional (redundant) fault protection feature to protect it from not waking up from 'safety mode.'
Having used both the Odyssey and the EarthX... I can provide the following PROS/CONS. I'm only providing my thoughts on limited knowledge of each, and by no means this is not meant to be an extensive comparison. Feel free to add/subtract your own pros/cons.
EARTHX ETX680C
PROS:
- Extremely compact and light weight (3.9 lbs!)
- No maintenance and advertised 8 yr life
- Excellent Cranking power (turns prop without any hesitation)
-
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) (LiFePO4) - per wikipedia LFP technology does NOT explode following a short-circuit, however tradeoff with LFP technology is that it has "25% less capacity than other lithium batteries due to its material structure."
CONS:
-
Carefully Read about the battery's Fault Protection feature... this can be a deal-breaker for folks running dual electronic ignitions a) if battery voltage falls below 11v, the battery 'turns off' - completely! b) can't jump the battery like a Lead Acid - re-awakening battery requires a semi-complicated procedure which requires their special Battery Charger and another healthy 12v battery.
- Expensive ($$$)
ODYSSEY EXTREME PC680
PROS:
- No Maintenance
- Inexpensive (
$97 on Amazon)
- Keeps 'kicking' -- no Fault Protection
- Easy to Jump (hand-prop even with Electronic Ignition??)
CONS:
- Heavy (15.4 lbs)
- Cranking power not as good as the EarthX
-
NEW Apparently doesn't like to be "tended" (battery maintainer) as evidenced by the Over-Voltage condition described/experienced