[ausev] Die-hard Platinum Batteries

[Mark Farver]

tomsmail wrote:
> I heard a radio advertisement this morning claiming
> (paraphrase) "Die-Hard Platinum as 40% more capacity than
> spiral wound AGM".  And since Sears sells the Optima YTs,
> this could be the comparison they refer to.
>
> What's the scoop on the Die-Hard Platinum batteries?  Are
> they solid or liquid electrolyte?  Are they better?
>   
Here the thing... almost any new or existing battery on the market is 
going to be useless in an EV. 

1. Its being marketed, which means inflated claims, and questionable 
testing.  2. It has no history. A $60 automotive battery that last 2 
years instead of 3 is unlikely to upset most people.   When you are 
dropping $1000-2000 on a new pack of batteries, that extra year is a big 
deal.  3. There are a lot of markets looking for a good battery, if a 
new technology is so great there are plenty of OEMs that would buy it 
and pay more than the automotive market.

EV duty is extremely harsh, drawing large currents, deep discharges and 
needing long cycle life.  Many batteries that are acceptable for other 
uses are rapidly destroyed.  Yes, you can buy Walmart golf cart 
batteries for half the price of Trojans, and they have a several year 
free replacement warrenty... but they underperform and fail in a matter 
of weeks, and obtaining and installing a new battery every week is not a 
fun thing.   (Plus, in most cases the manager will stop giving you 
batteries after a few replacements... there is a lot of fine print in 
the warrenty)

In the case of the Diehard Platinum, a quick Google search shows they 
are being built by EnerSys.  Enersys has a good rep in the EV world, 
they currently own the Hawker line of batteries that have done well in 
limited EV use.  Hawkers tended to be too small and too expensive for EV 
duty, but they had great power density and were popular with drag racers 
and in high voltage strings.  BUT batteries even from the same 
manufacturer vary widely in their suitability... if the DieHards are 
price competitive (I doubt it, since they are probably only available at 
retail price) they _may_ be ok in an EV, only years of real world 
testing can prove that.  

Mark