Sears Platinum 31M Battery Upgrade

What are people using now? It seems like Sears no longer makes the Platinum series of the 31M but only the standard version? I would really like to upgrade my stock battery and then eventually add a dual battery setup but I can't seem to find anything on why the Platinum version is no longer on Sears website
 
Is Odyssey a good brand? I have never heard of that before. I have always used Sears Platinum and they are super tough but never heard of Odyssey
 
That's sad to hear, I was going to pick one up this month, now the next best thing is twice as much. I don't even know where to find an odyssey.
 
Check out Northstar Batteries as well. Apparently started by some guys from Odyssey if I remember correctly.
 
jdtaylor42 said:
That is awesome! Thanks so much for the link and info. I think eventually I will go to dual battery but starting with this battery is probably a good way to go. Did you keep your stocker to set up the duals later on? Or if you go dual do you plan to do two Odyssey's?
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No point to get rid of my stock panasonic, it is a good battery, just not a deep cycle.

If I am to go thru the trouble to do a dual battery (with isolator and upgraded alternator etc...), I am pretty sure that I will go get another deep cycle.
 
jdtaylor42 said:
That is awesome! Thanks so much for the link and info. I think eventually I will go to dual battery but starting with this battery is probably a good way to go. Did you keep your stocker to set up the duals later on? Or if you go dual do you plan to do two Odyssey's?
Click to expand...
With one of these monster batteries that is deep cycle and can deliver massive CCAs for starting, there isn't much gain from dual batteries, other than ability to self jump start. You can get a tiny lithium ion jump pack to gain the self jump start capability at a fraction of the cost/space/weight/complexity of another lead acid battery.
 
jicko said:
No point to get rid of my stock panasonic, it is a good battery, just not a deep cycle.

If I am to go thru the trouble to do a dual battery (with isolator and upgraded alternator etc...), I am pretty sure that I will go get another deep cycle.
Click to expand...

Would it be suggested to upgrade alternator if just upgrading primary battery to a marine deep cycle? Or can the stock alternator put out enough to charge that?

Jeremy556 said:
With one of these monster batteries that is deep cycle and can deliver massive CCAs for starting, there isn't much gain from dual batteries, other than ability to self jump start. You can get a tiny lithium ion jump pack to gain the self jump start capability at a fraction of the cost/space/weight/complexity of another lead acid battery.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, good to know. I guess I need to do more research on this topic. I know the purpose of the deep cycle is so you can run direct power off the battery for long periods and then charge it back up without damaging the battery but I guess I don't have much information beyond that.

I just know when I built my Dodge Dakota years ago I used an Optima Yellowtop deep cycle that worked awesome for lots of accessories running with the engine shut off for long periods. Of course that was before Optima went to crap :embarassed:
 
jdtaylor42 said:
Would it be suggested to upgrade alternator if just upgrading primary battery to a marine deep cycle? Or can the stock alternator put out enough to charge that?



Hmmm, good to know. I guess I need to do more research on this topic. I know the purpose of the deep cycle is so you can run direct power off the battery for long periods and then charge it back up without damaging the battery but I guess I don't have much information beyond that.

I just know when I built my Dodge Dakota years ago I used an Optima Yellowtop deep cycle that worked awesome for lots of accessories running with the engine shut off for long periods. Of course that was before Optima went to crap :embarassed:
Click to expand...

I would get a battery maintainer/charger, unless you're constantly discharging the battery. But I could be wrong.
 
Yep, traditionally, a deep cycle was good at being run low and recharged many times, but wasn't very good at delivering high amp loads. Optima used color coding (not sure if they still do)to differentiate their product for deep cycle (Yellow) or starting (Red).

Now, you can get both qualities in the same battery.
 
jdtaylor42 said:
Would it be suggested to upgrade alternator if just upgrading primary battery to a marine deep cycle? Or can the stock alternator put out enough to charge that?

Hmmm, good to know. I guess I need to do more research on this topic. I know the purpose of the deep cycle is so you can run direct power off the battery for long periods and then charge it back up without damaging the battery but I guess I don't have much information beyond that.

I just know when I built my Dodge Dakota years ago I used an Optima Yellowtop deep cycle that worked awesome for lots of accessories running with the engine shut off for long periods. Of course that was before Optima went to crap :embarassed:
Click to expand...

There are probably more info that you ever wanna study up on in this thread that I posted a while ago:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...-31m-pc2150-not-suitable-our-application.html

The verdict is still out there.... while it may not be the most "optimal" setup, many seems to have agreed (based on experience) that:

1) one single 31M is enough for most people's use cases...... offline running of fridge and a few other little things per night, and then day time driving to charge it back up...... rather than offline days at a time

2) occasional maintaining the batter with a maintainer is a good thing (but not absolutely necessary

3) alternator update is a good thing (but not absolutely necessary)

4) dual battery setup is a good thing (but not absolutely necessary)

5) the 31M is a big ass, heavy, back-breaking piece to install..... LOL



cjacob316 said:
I would get a battery maintainer/charger, unless you're constantly discharging the battery. But I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

I don't understand this comment.....
 
cjacob316 said:
I would get a battery maintainer/charger, unless you're constantly discharging the battery. But I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

jicko said:
I don't understand this comment.....
Click to expand...

My thoughts are: If you run items, like a fridge, with the vehicle off over night for a few nights in a row, you may want a charger/maintainer to get it back up because the alternator may not be able to. If you're discharging the battery more often than just a couple of nights every now and then, a better alternator might be needed to keep the battery level up, otherwise you'll be plugged into a charge too often. The comment, but I may be wrong is basically me saying I'm not an expert so get confirmation from someone more knowledgeable.

For my plans, a 31m and a maintainer to charge up after a weekend should be fine.
 
Trail editions generally come with a 130a alternator. You can cross-check yours by the part number.

I have a platinum 31 mostly for my compressor and winch, I haven't pulled seriously hard with it, not really sure I ever want too, it is 12k could do some damage if I pull wrong, does just fine so far.

Yes it's f'n heavy, lol I had to use a ladder and foot on the top of the fender technique, my back appreciated that.

I bought a noco Genm1 4amp waterproof "smart" charger/maintainer, I have yet to install (I have to move a couple of things to put it where I want) but use it, simply because my truck can sit for a few weeks at a time, I like to keep that battery in good shape.
 
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