Universal Power Group in conjunction with world renowned NorthStar manufacturing has created an ultra-premium line of automotive batteries branded Drakon. These specialty high-end batteries are made from pure lead ingots and utilize state of the art cutting edge technology. Read on to learn more about the Drakon battery and how it differs from its competition.

Drakon 40884-G34-78 Battery As new power requirements and new technologies drive the market, the demand for advanced pure lead batteries will soar. Johnson Controls Inc. recently claimed that 80% of the lead acid battery market will be of the sealed AGM type by 2020. Pure lead AGM batteries will account for a significant portion of those sales as fleet operators, fire / rescue, police, and manufactures of hybrid stop and go vehicles demand performance and lower cost of ownership. Conventional lead acid batteries will no longer be able to compete in this segment.

Budget minded “weekend warriors” may be shocked by the hefty up front cost of advanced AGM and ultra-premium pure lead acid batteries. But genuine enthusiasts, municipalities and corporate fleet operators will grin ear to ear when they account for the overall savings rendered by installing a Drakon pure lead battery. Reduced routine labor cost, vehicle downtime, and replacement parts required as a result of corrosion will virtually be eliminated. A company could have no annual battery maintenance costs. Since the batteries last 3-6 times longer, the number of times a battery is changed in a vehicle is substantially reduced saving thousands in vehicle downtime, installation labor costs and repeated battery purchase costs. If those savings were not enough, the added fuel savings from being able to reliably turn the vehicle off and on rather than leaving it idling in fear of draining the battery is astronomical. The fuel math is simple: $3-4 per gallon fuel x 0.4 gallons used per idling vehicle per hour x 1-4 hours per day x 5 days a week x 20-100+ vehicles in the fleet…there alone could be hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel savings!

The Drakon batteries are designed to go head to head with pure lead and advanced AGM brands like Odyssey, Optima, and Lifeline. Odyssey, who also makes the Sears Platinum and Interstate Pure Matrix batteries, is the current branded leader in this space. But one will quickly see that this title is about to fall. Johnson Controls, the maker of Optima branded batteries currently controls the European OEM market for stop and go vehicles and will most likely be the OEM leader in North America. East Penn Deka (Intimidator and Duracell brands) and Concorde (Lifeline & Sun Xtender) are positioned as premium or advanced AGM products but they are not ultra-high performance pure lead batteries.

So what are the overall benefits of the Drakon pure lead batteries? First let us note that the brands listed above do pretty well in maximizing one or two of three key battery components—Cold Cranking Amps (CCA), Reserve Capacity (RC), and high life cycle. Drakon pure lead batteries master all three which is why there is no need to create separate starting and deep cycle versions. It is a true dual purpose automotive battery.

Compare the BCI group 31 category.

Odyssey PC2150: CCA 1150, RC 205 minutes, cycle life 400 to 80%
Optima D31: CCA 900, RC 155, cycle life (could not find)
LifeLine GPL-31T: CCA 600, RC 195 minutes, cycle life 300 to 80%
Drakon 40882-G31: CCA 1150, RC 220 minutes, cycle life 428 to 80%

Drakon Batteries are Feature Rich

Advanced manufacturing and automation ensures consistency and reliability in every Drakon automotive battery. Using brass terminals to increase conductivity rather than lead or some other alloy maximizes performance and reduces corrosion. The advanced 3-stage terminal design ensures leak-free operation.

High compression maintains cell integrity to the degree that the SAE J-930 Vibration test was aborted after 1,008 hours without failure. A typical conventional battery is expected to last 36 hours before failure. It is fair to say the Drakon battery is vibration resistant.

The benefits of the 99.99% pure lead technology ensure a more reliable power source with fewer impurities. It allows for faster recharge times which will reduce warranty claims and increase longevity. A longer operating life is achieved because the Drakon battery can withstand extreme degrees of temperature and performance demands. Lower rates of self-discharge are achieved with pure lead technology which extends the shelf life while being able to maintain starting power during times of storage. By adding more lead content Drakon batteries can achieve higher power when compared to the same group size.

The XENOY polycarbonate battery case has a unique physical appearance and provides incredible dimensional stability and excellent impact resistance and mechanical strength at temperatures as low as -40 C. The other benefits from not using the traditional polypropylene case are they are light weight, resist gasoline and oil penetration and are UV resistant.

The 48 month warranty in automotive applications and 36 month warranty for marine applications add peace of mind. These full replacement warranties are the longest in the industry. Drakon batteries are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified and meet DOT 49CFR173.159(d), (i) and (ii) ground, sea and air transport standards.

We are excited to introduce the Drakon family of pure lead automotive batteries to the market. There is now no comparable lead acid battery available that can make the claims UPG and NorthStar have put forth with their industry leading Drakon battery.

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