Re: FIRST Teams discount $5 off each Enersys np18-12, call in orders only
 

One reason the ES17-12 is cheaper is because it is a 17 a/h battery rather then a 18 a/h battery.

Re: FIRST Teams discount $5 off each Enersys np18-12, call in orders only
 

actually the new battery spec is 17.2 A/h

Re: FIRST Teams discount $5 off each Enersys np18-12, call in orders only
 

hmmm...so if you round 17.2 you get 18

New math !!

Re: FIRST Teams discount $5 off each Enersys np18-12, call in orders only
 

From what I heard, the old batteries were also 17.2AH. They were just labeled 18AH because of "rounding" (aka marketing =P).

Of course, I could be wrong...

Re: FIRST Teams discount $5 off each Enersys np18-12, call in orders only
 

Not exactly a scientific survey, but:

We tested all our batteries in perparation for the NJ regional.

All had been fully charged, and allowed to rest 48 hours to bleed off any surface charge. The test was connecting a 1 Ohm, 125 Watt resistor across the battery and reading the voltage at 60 seconds. (We used a main circuit breaker and careful wiring to ensure safety.)

A 2007 and a 2009 battery had an end voltage of 12.46 volts
All the rest (2007/8/9) had an end voltage of 12.25 volts (within 0.03V)
The 2010 battery had an end voltage of 12.16 volts.

To me, it means that the internal construction of the 2010 battery is not as well suited to high current discharge as the MK batteries.

But, of course, a sample size of 1 is not a valid test.

.

Re: FIRST Teams discount $5 off each Enersys np18-12, call in orders only
 

Don - we are using a CBA II for the first time this year also. I also note better capacity from MK batteries, but I have only tested 1 of the new batteries also, and I am new to using the CBA II.

Re: FIRST Teams discount $5 off each Enersys np18-12, call in orders only
 

I will vouch for this and all the other people who went with MK this year - ours were $37 and free shipping from LA, so they took 2 days to get here. MK wanted to refer us to a local distributor, but when we told them that we were a FRC team, they handled the order directly.