The Drakon Group 34/78 BatteryI was looking under the hood of my Suburban yesterday pretending to know what I was doing. I wanted to see if I could figure out what was causing our heat to be blasting when the air conditioning was on the coolest setting. In true fashion, my mind started to do what it does best; lose focus on the task at hand. I couldn’t help but notice we have a Drakon Group 34/78 battery installed. And so I pondered…

The other day in our ‘What’s What in the Battery World’ series we compared the Optima RedTop, BlueTop and YellowTop batteries. The focus of the post was to determine how you could decipher which color Optima was best for you and your application. Specifically, we focused on the Group 34/78 size as a guide to understanding the differences. As I stared at this Drakon battery, I wondered “Who made the best sealed AGM Group 34/78 battery? What is it about some of these brands that make people so loyal or perhaps fanatical? Is it based solely on performance or some type of advertising or is it what their buddy just installed?”

I figured a chart listing some important specifications, warranty and price would be a good start. I find this type of side-by-side comparison useful when I need to make a big decision. It helps cut through the hype and paints a clear factual picture. Trying to wade through all the sales jargon, which is designed to move us away from concrete thinking and trigger emotional buying, can be a daunting task. Our rational judgment can be compromised leading us to make an impulsive choice. Funny thing is, even when presented with clear facts, I still find myself influenced from time to time solely by price, color or what my neighbor just bought. It may be convenient or what's available. Or perhaps I place myself into a category of what I feel I deserve based on some socioeconomic status. In any case, the factual analysis follows:

Comparison Chart of Four Popular Sealed AGM BCI Group 34/78 Batteries
Brand NorthStar East Penn Deka OPTIMA Odyssey
Part Number NSB-AGM-34/78 9A78DT 8014-045 or D34/78 PC1500
Dimensions - Inches 10.90 x 7.01 x 7.76 10.75 x 6.87 x 8.00 10.06 x 6.94 x 7.88 10.85 x 6.76 x 7.82
Capacity 20 Hour 64 Ah 55 Ah 55 Ah 68 Ah
Capacity 10 Hour 61.0 Ah NP NP 62.3 Ah
Reserve Capacity 133 Min 120 Min 120 Min 135 Min
CA / MCA 1050 CA 840 CA 870 CA 1050 CA
CCA at 0°F 880 CCA 700 CCA 750 CCA 850 CCA
Approx. Weight Lbs 50.0 Lbs 40.5 Lbs 43.5 Lbs 49.5 Lbs
Warranty 48 Mo. 18 Mo. 12-36 Mo. 36-48 Mo.
Retail Cost $299 $158 $268 $305

Looking Only at The Specs Above Which 34/78 Battery Would You Buy?

There are three things that jump out at me. The first is that the NorthStar and Odyssey seem to be the top two in every category and differ ever so slightly from each other. The second aspect that jumps out at me is the East Penn Deka AGM battery is priced near that of comparable conventional batteries. It is also nearly half the price of the other AGM batteries. The third is the Optima seems to have a high price valuation in relation to its peers and the reported specifications. Of course they really taut the superiority of their spiral bound plates.

If price were your primary factor there are a couple ways to look at this coin. For simplicity sake and just like a coin let's say there are two view points. You can come at this from only one side or the other: You demand the best battery and money is no obstacle or you have limited funds and want the best you can afford. Since all of these brands are considered to be in the upper echelon, you can add a check mark to the best column. The next question is are you the guy that lives the high-roller-BMW-driving-no-children-yet lifestyle or are you from the average middle class family in America? The non-cash strapped people should choose either the NorthStar (which by the way is the factory that makes the Drakon battery I have in my Suburban) or the Odyssey PC1500 34/78 battery. On the other extreme if $150 is all you can muster then the Deka Intimidator is the way to go. No reason to hang your head low, its a great reliable battery and it makes fiscal sense for those of us living pay check to pay check.

But for those that fall somewhere in the middle what do you purchase? Perhaps looking at this from cost dived by attribute would be helpful.

Dividing Price by Specification
Brand Price/AH 20Hr Price/RC Price/CA Price/CCA Price/Lbs
NorthStar NSB-AGM-34/78 $4.67 $2.25 $0.28 $0.34 $5.98
East Penn Deka 9A78DT $2.87 $1.32 $0.19 $0.23 $3.90
OPTIMA D34/78 $4.87 $2.23 $0.31 $0.36 $6.16
Odyssey PC1500 $4.49 $2.26 $0.29 $0.36 $6.16

This creates an interesting comparison. Initially the East Penn battery seemed to be somewhat of a laggard in this esteemed group. Now the East Penn 34/78 battery suddenly looks pretty attractive! It is nearly half the cost in two segments: amp hour and reserve capacity. The cranking amp and cold cranking amp comes in about 30% cheaper compared to its peers. The Optima battery seems to be the most expensive of the bunch (which may be why we see it on sale all the time).

To bring this comparison to a close, the best way I can sum up is to say if I were in the market for a great deep cycle car battery and cash was not an issue I would choose NorthStar's pure lead AGM battery. If money was tight I would select the East Penn battery as it shines bright in the dollar per metric comparison. Coincidentally, those two brands seem to spend the least on advertising and trying to convince the world they are better. They just stand out all on their own as better!