We have discussed this before. I have ran both and both work quite well but are different. Does not make much difference at all which one you use.

The 12 volt system has more cold cranking amps and will take longer to go dead. The 16 volt system will spin over noticeably faster but not last as long. Both have similar total power output the difference is how quickly they dump it.

Alternator is a good idea on any car in my opinion. I have used from the little Shogun 20 amp style to the larger ones. Most anything will work if your system has no problems such as bad wires or grounds. Larger alternator gives you larger safety margin before it fails.

I run and recommend the XS Power 16 volt battery and matching charger. Had a problem with it right after warranty had expired and they took care of it for free. Now I do not know this for a fact but I think got the impression from them that if I was NOT using their charger they would not have warrantied it. Highly recommend using their battery charger so if anything does happen you are not out in the cold. I know they asked me many times exactly what charger I was using and they did end up replacing the battery. Pretty sure if I was not using their charger I would have been out of luck.

I think more important than they battery you run is the 139 tooth flexplate deal. Before I went to the 139 tooth flex plate I have broke teeth off flex plate. Since then not a single problem. The diameter is the same but the teeth are larger. Than makes it very hard to break one and it spins over motor faster. One of best upgrades you can make. IMHO.

When I built my new front engine Dragster I went with the 16 battery system.
Now I am building a new Altered which will be my main car. Will probably go back to a 12 volt Red top Optima. Depends on weight and performance.

If I need a little performance I may go to GoLithium which is 16 volt to loose some weight. Otherwise will probably use the Red Top 12 volt.

If you are having electrical problems now you probably have a bad wire or ground or a failed component. A 16 volt system will not resolve those issues.

quote:

Originally posted by dusty_171:
I’ve used one for the past 3 years along with their batteries.

12 or 20 amp model? Do you leave this charger attached for extended periods of time like a trickel charger?

Mark,the best charger is the Autometer BEX-5000,will work with any battery and you can leave it on all the time.

I've already stated who builds the best charger and who sells it and under what brand names and it ain't autometer. It to is a maintainer/tender and can be left on all week, all month, all year. My charger has been on and maintaining my dragster batteries since I parked in in mid October.

I really am just curious. What makes one charger better than another? Algorithms it uses to meter the charge? Components?

Decades of proven service and made in the USA, specifically Connecticut.

If you've been around drag racing any length of time, surely you've seen this battery charger in the pits of serious racers who want and need the best. This charger is the gold standard, the benchmark for drag racers.



which is the same charger as this



and both are the same as this one who is the manufacture

I went to their website. They explain some of their features and benefits in some detail. I try and understand the actual technical aspects that's all. I'm not an electrical engineer and am generally not very good with solid state electrical theory so I have to read and try and understand what makes one feature better than another while wading through the marketing hype. Looks like a good product. There is A LOT of monkey see in racing, hence I like to ask questions of why.

if you do a search here on battery chargers, hands down this is the charger the serious racers here use. You'll also find that this charger is also hands down the one most used in the sportsman pits at any NHRA Divisional event.

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:

quote:

Originally posted by dusty_171:
I’ve used one for the past 3 years along with their batteries.

12 or 20 amp model? Do you leave this charger attached for extended periods of time like a trickel charger?

I have the 20 amp it’s mainly for agm batteries only. I do not leave it on. Only during race weeks.

quote:

Originally posted by dusty_171:

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:

quote:

Originally posted by dusty_171:
I’ve used one for the past 3 years along with their batteries.

12 or 20 amp model? Do you leave this charger attached for extended periods of time like a trickel charger?

I have the 20 amp it’s mainly for agm batteries only. I do not leave it on. Only during race weeks.

Does the charger list what country it was Made in ?

I’m interested in the Odyssey 20A charger. For the price from Jegs I think this is a good deal for someone like me that only needs/ wants a 12v charger if USA made. I sent a message to the company requesting this information.

In the Odyssey charger instructions it states “Once the battery is fully charged, the charger may remain connected and on indefinitely as it will automatically maintain and recondition the battery once a month”. I have no intention of using that charger this way, but was interested in hearing from others if they used it this way.

that odyssey charger looks suspiciously like a Schumacher smart charger and if so it's chinese junk as are all Schumacher chargers

I agree that Schumacher chargers are junk. I purchased one in 2007 when I got my car and it didn’t last 3 years and failed. I’ve been using my 2/6 amp Schumacher from the 70’s but would like something more powerful.

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:

quote:

Originally posted by dusty_171:

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:

quote:

Originally posted by dusty_171:
I’ve used one for the past 3 years along with their batteries.

12 or 20 amp model? Do you leave this charger attached for extended periods of time like a trickel charger?

I have the 20 amp it’s mainly for agm batteries only. I do not leave it on. Only during race weeks.

Does the charger list what country it was Made in ?

I’m interested in the Odyssey 20A charger. For the price from Jegs I think this is a good deal for someone like me that only needs/ wants a 12v charger if USA made. I sent a message to the company requesting this information.

In the Odyssey charger instructions it states “Once the battery is fully charged, the charger may remain connected and on indefinitely as it will automatically maintain and recondition the battery once a month”. I have no intention of using that charger this way, but was interested in hearing from others if they used it this way.

Checked this morning. Made in China. Had no idea since their batteries are USA made. Will be getting the Rock / Moroso.

Here is some excellent information on transients, grounds and wiring of main power systems.

https://moretraction.com/2018/12/31/2416/

Good read. I read this about a year ago and was just thinking about grounds and batteries.

The XS 12/16v charger has worked well for me over the last 8 years but I am getting nervous about it's age. I am going to get the Moroso charger to replace it but keep the XS as a backup. I have friends that swear by the Moroso/Rock charger stating charge times are reduced dramatically over the XS.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TonyB6255,

I just got 2 XS 16V D1600 batteries. Although XS batteries got good reviews, I'm so disappointed to see "Made in CCP China" on the boxes!
Have they always been made in China Virus country?

We went through every kind of 16V charger that was out there. We would go through 1-2 a year, we ended up buying the Moroso and never looked back. Shoudl have done that a long time ago, it would have saved us about $4000 in battery chargers.

Also, the thought that the 12V will last longer, has more CCA is incorrect, there is an exponential factor of amps to voltage in a battery. Also each battery is built different. If you look at 16V batteries I have seen 33AM, 56AH and 98AH batteries with CCA from 520 to 1130. It all depends on the battery. The amount of amps that can be drawn against voltage without a larger amount of voltage drop is there with a higher Voltage.
Also a 16V battery at almost total discharge is still at 14V which will still run your electronics where as most 12V systems will be well below the needed 10.8 volts to operate when only 60% discharged.
Today’s ignition systems require at least 12 volts to produce an optimum spark; however, in some drag-race applications, it might be a good idea to switch over to a 14- or 16-volt system. That’s because a high performance battery cell produces a maximum of approximately 2.15 volts-per-cell open circuit, or 12.9 volts total. As soon as a load is placed on a 12-volt battery, the voltage per cell will drop rapidly to two volts per cell or 12 volts total. Operating below this voltage level often results in ignition problems such as a high-speed miss. Add in that reduced voltage will also negatively affect the starter and it’s ability to spin the motor, and it’s easy to see why many race cars need additional voltage over a conventional 12-volt system.

We must also account for the increased amount of electronics on race vehicles these days. As things like on-board computers and delay boxes become more prevalent, the amp-draw loads continue to increase. This only helps to shorten the amount of time it takes for a 12-volt battery to drop to marginal voltage levels. Fourteen- and 16-volt batteries provide a two- to four-volt cushion to the electrical system over a 12-volt system. Even when totally discharged, a 16-volt battery can produce 14 volts as opposed to a 12-volt discharged battery producing only 10.5 volts. This easily exceeds the minimum recommended voltages of a racing ignition even when totally discharged.

Fourteen- and 16-volt batteries can also deliver improvements in performance. Higher voltage batteries allow the starter motor to spin faster and increase the performance of electric fans and pumps. In addition, a 16-volt battery can help to fire massive plug gaps and pave the way for increased jet sizes over a 12-volt baseline. Some racers even report that due to the hotter spark, engines running 14- or 16-volt systems don’t seem to fall off as much in “bad air” as when using 12 volts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: The Bozman,

^^^^^^^ When a 16v battery reads 14v it’s dead. No different than a 12v reading 10.5v . It (16v) wouldn’t run a 12v electrical system much less spin a starter. Voltage but little current.

MSD ignitions will run properly on as little as 9V. This is because in a 12v system when you engage the starter the battery voltage can drop to below 10.5 v at the starter. This is one reason why MSD recommends terminating the power connections to the ignition box directly to the battery.