AGM Batteries (NorthStar Bought out?)

[educky]

Currently have a Northstar AGM (NSB-AGM 94R/L4) ; and after like an hour with my ignition set to ACC, my truck gave me a low battery warning, and I almost didnt get to start. Took it back, their test of the battery was inconclusive without removing the battery fully, something I couldn't do right away.

They ended up ordering a replacement under Warranty, and told me it would likely be a few weeks because of .. well shortage of ALL the things.... I did go in to check, and they said they saw no movement on the order, gave me the background story of "Northstar was started up buy previous employees of Odyssey, and then ended up getting bought out, by Odyssey" or some such.... to where he said basically, he's not seeing a stock of the batteries, other than two in Cali, but didnt want to get them to me since they look like according to his records been sitting there for a year.

He recommended I just replace it with an Odyssey ODP-AGM94R - which he'd do, can do, and they are more readily available... or I wait for a backorder that may end up being replaced with an Odyssey anyway.

Anyone have any opinion on this? I got the Northstar based on opinions on here, if its only a label thing, I guess in the end, I dont care, but if there are differences, or opinions, I'd like to hear them.

 

[Sparksalot]

When I was looking to replace a pair of AGM batteries in one of the twins, I discovered there were only three companies that actually made them. Northstar, East Penn, and Johnson Controls. If what your parts guy told is true, I’d guess Odessy bought them to get in the game.

 

[MOAK]

When I was looking to replace a pair of AGM batteries in one of the twins, I discovered there were only three companies that actually made them. Northstar, East Penn, and Johnson Controls. If what your parts guy told is true, I’d guess Odessy bought them to get in the game.

Odyssey batteries have been made since 1995. They came to market a year later. EnerSys purchased Odyssey in the early 2000s. I wouldn’t hesitate replacing any battery with an Odyysey. What game are you referring to? As I understand it, EnerSys purchased Odyysey to get into the retail market. Last year EnerSys purchased Northstar which should garner EnerSys a larger portion of the retail market.

 

[Sparksalot]

Odyssey batteries have been made since 1995. They came to market a year later. EnerSys purchased Odyssey in the early 2000s. I wouldn’t hesitate replacing any battery with an Odyysey. What game are you referring to? As I understand it, EnerSys purchased Odyysey to get into the retail market. Last year EnerSys purchased Northstar which should garner EnerSys a larger portion of the retail market.

So the same parent company now. Odyssey doesn’t make their own AGM is my reference.

 

[MOAK]

So the same parent company now. Odyssey doesn’t make their own AGM is my reference.

Yes, they do make their own batteries under the Enersys umbrella. Your initial statement that Northstar was one of three companies making automotive/marine batteries for the retail market, is what threw me. Enersys headquarters and East Penn Manufacturing are located in my county. I have investments with EnerSys, friends that work at EPM and Enersys. I keep up with corporate structure, mergers & purchases. Just like the chemical coatings business, Sherwin Williams owns a multitude of companies, and I’ll guarantee you that a can of Valspar paint is still manufactured at a Valspar plant and is a much different can of paint than a Sherwin Williams can of paint. To say that products manufactured by subsidiaries of parent companies are all the same, just isn’t true. East Penn makes all their batteries in the same facilities and does rebrand the same batteries. That’s different than other companies choosing to maintain brand integrity. Enersys as with Sherwin Williams, has chosen to maintain brand integrity.

 

[educky]

Thanks all, I went ahead and had them order the Odyssey for me, going to get the Northstar out and they will test it for a few days, he said generally the AGM's are harder to diagnose issues because they tend to "regenerate" the voltage, where as a flooded battery, when its dead its dead. But he thinks it's bad, in anycase he's going to let me do the swap, and we will go from there.

 

[MOAK]

Thanks all, I went ahead and had them order the Odyssey for me, going to get the Northstar out and they will test it for a few days, he said generally the AGM's are harder to diagnose issues because they tend to "regenerate" the voltage, where as a flooded battery, when its dead its dead. But he thinks it's bad, in anycase he's going to let me do the swap, and we will go from there.

One thing I learned the hard way, ( my first pair of agms lasted only 4 years ) is to at least once a month charge them up fully with an appropriate charger. Since AGMs require 14.6 - 14.8 volts the alternator in our vehicles is not capable of bringing them up to a full charge. Since our vehicle is not a daily driver I keep em topped off with a smart charger/maintainer. When we are out and about our solar panels get them fully charged on a daily basis. There are many different brands of charger/maintainers but this Schumacher has been doing a good job for 3 years. I know this because I monitor the voltage and my current set are still holding 12.9 volts. Many folks use a DC-DC charger for the secondary battery which quenches the battery's thirst for the higher voltage. A lot of folks run out and get the AGMs, as I did, and fail to take into consideration the best way to maintain them for a longer life. BTW, your old battery may have plenty of life in it after charged up properly, or quite possibly, not. good luck !

View attachment 200326

 

[tractor to trail]

Had odyssey in my boat for trolling and starting batteries. Great battery!
My current boat I put optimas which have been holding up good for 4 years, haven't heard good things about them but my fil swears by them. I hope to try the x2 or extreme agm in my truck when needed. I think they are under the same company umbrella as Northstar and odyssey, have read some great reviews about them and a bit cheaper than Odyssey.

 

[Road]

Thanks all, I went ahead and had them order the Odyssey for me, going to get the Northstar out and they will test it for a few days, he said generally the AGM's are harder to diagnose issues because they tend to "regenerate" the voltage, where as a flooded battery, when its dead its dead. But he thinks it's bad, in anycase he's going to let me do the swap, and we will go from there.

One thing I learned the hard way, ( my first pair of agms lasted only 4 years ) is to at least once a month charge them up fully with an appropriate charger. Since AGMs require 14.6 - 14.8 volts the alternator in our vehicles is not capable of bringing them up to a full charge. Since our vehicle is not a daily driver I keep em topped off with a smart charger/maintainer. When we are out and about our solar panels get them fully charged on a daily basis. There are many different brands of charger/maintainers but this Schumacher has been doing a good job for 3 years. I know this because I monitor the voltage and my current set are still holding 12.9 volts. Many folks use a DC-DC charger for the secondary battery which quenches the battery's thirst for the higher voltage. A lot of folks run out and get the AGMs, as I did, and fail to take into consideration the best way to maintain them for a longer life. BTW, your old battery may have plenty of life in it after charged up properly, or quite possibly, not. good luck !

View attachment 200326

.

I've been very happy with my two Odyssey AGMs, which I've had in my trailer going on four years now.

And @MOAK is exactly right, in my experience - if it's your only battery for now, used for starting, I would still put it on a charger periodically if you don't have a panel keeping them topped off regularly.

I keep a solar panel plugged into mine full-time now. Even now though, when I have my van and trailer parked under fully leafed-out shade trees like it is for a week or more, I plug in a maintainer periodically, especially if I haven't been hauling it around. I use a Potek Smart Charger and, like @MOAK's, I've been very happy with it for years. It goes with me on all adventures, so if I'm holed up somewhere and it's winter with short sun, or overcast for days and I have access to shore power, I maintain my van battery and at times my trailer AGMs.

My trailer batts have an older version of the NOCO Genius Mini 2 (2 meaning two batteries in my case), which I can connect to shore power directly and have smart-charging.

When guys add an AGM as a second (house) battery to a system with a conventional wet cell battery and only separate them with an isolator switch, they're doing the AGM a disservice. It will not last as long as if a DC-DC charger is used.

Good luck with your new deep cycle; hope it works out for you just the way you want.
.