S&F1, thread clarification is always good as they will drift with personal agendas and egos that seek to be stroked.
I wish I could give you cyclic data about the Northstar. I have cycled it 2 to 3 dozen times deeply, and it does hold higher voltages for longer than a flooded battery rated at 40 more amp hours. It does have impressive ability to crank my starter. I do have great confidence in it, but I paid 285$ for it too so I want to have confidence in it to justify the large purchase price.
What gives me less confidence about the Northstar, is Not Mex's opinions on a start up company he is not familiar with, but the lack of documentation provided by the company itself. However, I am confident in the quality Odyssey batteries. I've read that NorthStar was started up by some disgruntled Enersys employees, but have no Idea if that is indeed true. There are many similar claims between Odyssey and Northstar, and looking at their spec sheets for the same size batteries, CCA nad AH capacity is pretty much identical.
Odyssey's recommended charger list is much smaller than Northstar's though.
Marketing claims are just that, claims, and in this day and age, marketing mumbo jumbo rules the day, there is no consequence for deception or outright lying, and often the only thing we have to base purchasing decisions on are the marketing mumbo jumbo, written by people completely unfamiliar with the product, or reviews by others who might have no concept of the same product's care and proper implementation.
Whichever battery you choose, it is the recharge regimen and the equipment that you implement which will determine cycle life, Not words on paper or worthless opinions with their own agendas.
If you get lifeline 14.3 or 14.4 absorption voltage and as many amps as you can muster, if you go Odyssey, bump that up to 14/7 and no less than 40 amps per 100 aH of battery, and if Deka intimidator, perhaps no more than 30 amps per 100 AH of battery.
A fully sealed marine charger that can meet the specs of these different demands will prove to be the biggest challenge to achieving maximum cycle life.
I did speak with an Odyssey engineer at length and he did say there was one condition where the Deeply cycled ODyssey battery could be returned to maximum energy density without the 40% rate to 14.7v then 14.7 for 4 hours was acceptable, and that was a charger which could slowly , very slowly bring the battery to 16.5V after a regular slower and lower recharge.
The engineer I spoke with mentioned this Brand specifically as capable of this, though I am not sure if it is this exact model.
http://www.powerprosinc.com/Pro-Charging-Systems-Professional-PS3-Battery-Charger.html
