2022 AEV Gladiator Rubicon build

[Flyin6]

Weight vs risk at this point

Chief you wanna complete a risk assessment for us

I hated doing those things! Risk analysis, what a joke! Trying to access risk on a combat mission, what a bunch of nonsense. Because of the unit that I came from, when I got back into the regular Army, I trained my guys as we flew over in that other outfit. Turned out they were scared for awhile, but gradually got used to the far more dangerous conditions. That had the effect of actually lowering the overall risk of a mishap.
Anyway, my head hurts just thinking how stupid the Army has gotten...

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[Flyin6]

So, what battery now?
Optima red top is in the low-mid 40's
Optima yellow top is like 38 lbs, so some weight savings over the stocker
What else?
Has to be lightweight...

 

[Erievon]

Yellow top Optima is on my list of thoughts, just bases on the parasitic draw these trucks have and my habit of sometimes not driving my truck for a week at a time. Something that can stand up to occasional deep cycle abuse.

But then people say Optima isnt as good as it once was...so I don't know. (shrug). I was hoping LiPo was the answer.

 

[chorky]

I hated doing those things! Risk analysis, what a joke! Trying to access risk on a combat mission, what a bunch of nonsense. Because of the unit that I came from, when I got back into the regular Army, I trained my guys as we flew over in that other outfit. Turned out they were scared for awhile, but gradually got used to the far more dangerous conditions. That had the effect of actually lowering the overall risk of a mishap.
Anyway, my head hurts just thinking how stupid the Army has gotten...

Hahaha. mmmmm. yes memories. Risk assessment of doing a convoy during Ramadan right down town in broad daylight with known insurgents and a huge tanker bomb. Risk assessment says it is a go! Thanks to a dumb@$$ commander.... I guess the cherry on top is getting to listen to some good ol A10 music!

So, what battery now?
Optima red top is in the low-mid 40's
Optima yellow top is like 38 lbs, so some weight savings over the stocker
What else?
Has to be lightweight...

Personally, my last several experiences with Optima were not great. That same company you were working with did list having a light weight AGM option. I would be curious what it is made of though as light and AGM don't normally mix well. But it could be an option.

I have 3 Full River batteries in my Gladiator at the moment. So far I have been happy. They are definitely not light weight though. But their smaller battery is lighter and still offers good CCA options - so that could be a way to go, just getting a smaller one rather than the normal Group 31. I would also suggest getting rid of the aux battery while you are at it, just to save some more weight and get rid of it. I really despise that thing.

One of my full river batteries arrived damaged with a large hole in the top, so it gave me a chance to peak inside at the plates and everything. It is made in China like most things but I was happy enough with the construction of what I saw.

 

[Flyin6]

I am also not sure about the Optima yellow top. In the past, I ran one in each of two different trucks. One was a pretty dedicated weekend warrior, and the other a daily. Both held up OK, but the one in the weekender died early, was replaced, then died early again. I was also doing a bunch of vacations to SW Asia at the time and the yellow batteries didn't like me very much after leaving them. I would depart with a good battery tender hooked up, but no sooner than I got on the plane to leave, the wife would snatch up the extension cord to use it for something and forget to plug it back in...

I guess, I was actually used to a ritual of getting home, going to Autozone to buy a couple of batteries, then getting on with daily life.

BTW, the aux battery is gone, has been for some time.

Looking at availability, I prefer a brick-and-mortar over Amazon so I have a place to warranty from, the choices seem to be the Optima, and maybe the AC Delco. The GM battery is 60+ pounds whereas the yeller topper comes in around 37. Dunno, but the choice seems to be making itself...

 

[Erievon]

Sounds like the Yellow top doesn't live up to it's intended purpose of occasional deep cycle. Anyone have experience abusing a good ol' Red Top?

 

[Flyin6]

Yellow top Optima is on my list of thoughts, just bases on the parasitic draw these trucks have and my habit of sometimes not driving my truck for a week at a time. Something that can stand up to occasional deep cycle abuse.

But then people say Optima isnt as good as it once was...so I don't know. (shrug). I was hoping LiPo was the answer.

You hit a key point...Occasional deep cycling of the battery.

So, I drive three vehicles, well, maybe five. Sundays, I drive my wife's Caddy, and every once in a while, I like to mount up on my trusty Kawasaki KLR-650 just to go somewhere slowly. (That's a joke right there ;-). But mostly I divide my driving between my newer Ram 3500, then equally between my 2500 Chevy Suburban and my JT. And I don't work in a traditional sense so no daily commuting. The Jeep can and does sit for 3-5 days rather often, so considering its latent electrical demand, I may be unintentionally deep cycling the battery.

I may want to do some testing to see what the amp draw is on the thing just sitting there collecting bird droppings and tree sap...

I just noted the yellow top can be safely deep-cycled 300 times.

 

[Flyin6]

Sounds like the Yellow top doesn't live up to it's intended purpose of occasional deep cycle. Anyone have experience abusing a good ol' Red Top?

X2

 

[Flyin6]

Hahaha. mmmmm. yes memories. Risk assessment of doing a convoy during Ramadan right down town in broad daylight with known insurgents and a huge tanker bomb. Risk assessment says it is a go! Thanks to a dumb@$$ commander.... I guess the cherry on top is getting to listen to some good ol A10 music!

Had twin GAU-17's...Made a lot of music myself ;-)
Stupid commanders...Will we ever get away from having them?
What would you say, one outta three ought to be crap canned?
I commanded, many times. But I was an enlisted guy, combat arms E1-E6 before I became an officer. Those times on the other side of the morning formation learned me something. Taught me to find those 2-3 sergeants who had their stuff wired tight and use their counsel. I would say with 100% assuredness, I would not have been successful at all without help from NCOs and good junior officers.

 

[Minty JL]

I hated doing those things! Risk analysis, what a joke! Trying to access risk on a combat mission, what a bunch of nonsense. Because of the unit that I came from, when I got back into the regular Army, I trained my guys as we flew over in that other outfit. Turned out they were scared for awhile, but gradually got used to the far more dangerous conditions. That had the effect of actually lowering the overall risk of a mishap.
Anyway, my head hurts just thinking how stupid the Army has gotten...

Yeah I got asked one day if I did a risk assessment for a ruck march during lunch.......I told that fat fuck to fuck all the way off......he never asked again

 

[Flyin6]

So now I'm all back in it and having to review my "Battery 101" notes. I drew those notes with crayons on aged tree bark, so it has been a while!

I know I need somewhere around 700 ish CCA (Cold cranking amps). But reviewing technical battery specifications that number can differ greatly from what the battery can actually provide for 5 seconds. A typical performance AGM battery with 750 CCA can also provide somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200-1300 amps for 5 seconds.

So, I'll say 750 is a good CCA number to hold onto.

Another number I feel is important is the number of times the thing can be almost fully discharged and still recover. I want that number to be a big one. I am finding that Odyssey batteries will cycle some 400+ times. That is fully charged to below 10 volts.

I also think Reserve capacity measured in minutes is important. My notes tell me that is the time (expressed in minutes a battery can maintain a 25 amp draw and remain above 10.5 volts. Most of the "gooder" batteries will all rate something past 2 hours. Again, the Odyssey is coming out on top.

Finally, weight is a concern. Well, they are all heavy, so that consideration is one that will have to move to the back row in lieu of performance.

Now, I discovered something else of concern. That is the metallurgy of the thing. Almost all AGM and lead/acid batteries use lead alloy. But this Odyssey stands alone (Almost) in that it uses pure lead plates. So why does that matter you wonder???

Well, a thinner plate of the pure stuff will make the same juice as a thicker lead alloy plate. So, you can have fewer thin plates and less weight to make the same power as the alloy batteries, or you can have more plates and generate more electrons at the same weight, a bunch more.
So now that I have moved from early in the investigative process to a place where I went from stupid, through "Just plain dumb," and have arrived at, "having a clue." There is danger here as a small mistake will make one "clueless," and I don't wanna be that poster child...

So I'll still investigate but for now, the Odyssey AGM48 H6 is a good choice @ around $310ish from a couple of places after a search.

 

[Minty JL]

Had twin GAU-17's...Made a lot of music myself ;-)
Stupid commanders...Will we ever get away from having them?
What would you say, one outta three ought to be crap canned?
I commanded, many times. But I was an enlisted guy, combat arms E1-E6 before I became an officer. Those times on the other side of the morning formation learned me something. Taught me to find those 2-3 sergeants who had their stuff wired tight and use their counsel. I would say with 100% assuredness, I would not have been successful at all without help from NCOs and good junior officers.

NCOs Lead the Way............operate with common sense and mission in mind and excellence will happen in accordance of the commanders intent

 

[Flyin6]

Mileage check

17.87 MPG

 

[Flyin6]

Several more mileage checks. 15.5, 16.5. and another 15.5mpg.

 

[Erievon]

Did you end up going with the Odyssey battery?

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