I inadvertently allowed an Optima battery to go dead and stay dead all summer, such that I could not bring it back. I purchased a new one on Amazon.com for $122.31. Because my wife is a prime member, I also got free shipping. (there is a yearly charge for prime member which has a lot of benefits, free shipping being one of them). At the same time, a friend in Florida bought one from the Interstate dealer for $156, the best price he could find down here. I know people are always looking for the Optima 6 volt and I relay this message fyi.
Tony,
That is good to know and thank you, should the need arise. Do you have any idea what would the shipping cost have been without the premium membership?
Thanks again, Richard
Because we have premium service, I could not bring up the freight. Today, depending on Amazon's supplier, they were between $131 and $176.
Tony, I have be doing that for years now. I do have a question, however. Has any one ever had a warranty issue with their optima. How does one get an exchange or pro rate credit if the battery is over 90 days old, but still under the 84 month( I believe is the pro rate time) purchase date? Fortunately I never needed to do this. Ron
All Interstate dealers handle Optima, and the one in Palm City Florida has adjusted them for a tech that takes care of a large collection near me (Palm Beach County). He did not offer to adjust a 2.5 year old battery for another friend, because the battery had gone several months without being used. This is I think is B.S.
Tony, ageed, if it is charged and still fails a load test , it should be prorated, BTW hello
Did you recharge it with an AGM battery charger? When I worked for Exide, I denied several warranty claims because customers told me they didn't have the proper charger for an AGM battery (Exide Orbital and Optima batteries are both AGM).
Next question, what ia an AGM Battery?
Bruce. >:D
An AGM battery stands for absorbed glass mat battery. They are a sealed battery in which the electrolyte is absorbed into fibreglass mats inside the case of the battery unlike your traditonal flooded lead acid battery where the battery is vented with liquid electrolyte sloshing around in the battery. Inside, there is a valve. The purpose of the valve is to re-introduce the gases produced during charging back into the electrolyte as it has nowhere to go. If you do not use an AGM battery charger, you risk damaging the valve rendering the battery useless.
An AGM battery charger charges the battery in three stages at the same voltage but at varying amperages. The first stage brings the battery to 90% charge at a higher amperage, the second brings it to 100% charge at less amperage, and the third to maintain the charge until the battery is removed. Without a proper AGM charger, you can pretty much take a new battery and turn it into scrap pretty quickly.
Dan, good info, forgot about the specialized charging technique for those batteries.
With our old time voltage regulators how do they work out at charging these AGM batteries correctly.
Generators and alternators charge them just fine. It's when you charge them with the wrong charger that's the problem. During normal cycling they don't get low enough to need a high rate of charge.
In fact, an AGM battery recovers it's lost charge much more quickly than a flooded battery.
Interstate battery here charges $99 for an optima.
http://batterytender.com/resources/frequently-asked-questions
That is some good info on batteries.I do have a question though,does anyone,other than me,have bad luck with Delco 6 volt batteries.I bought a brand new Delco for my 51 Chevy,and it is dead already.
Also,where can I buy an Interstate 6v?
Joe
Jeff: Could you provide me with a link for that $99 Optima 6 volt? For that price I could put a couple on my shelf. l I could not find it anywhere.
I bought my first one at the Interstate battery distributor in Modesto years ago. I called them last year same price, so I'll call them today and see what they cost now ? The last one I bought a year or 2 ago was through amazon.com for $116 shipped.
I bought a dry cell for my Honda Goldwing same time as my first Optima for $106 from interstate....go fiqure.
http://www.amazon.com/Optima-Batteries-8010-044-Starting-Battery/dp/B00099HVN6
There is a special procedure to recover a discharged optima battery. I think they say to connect it up to a fully charged similar battery then connect a charger to both. I did replace one that just didnt seem to hold a charge but then heard about that procedure and wonder if that could have saved it.
http://forums.aaca.org/f191/optima-sealed-6v-battery-stock-generator-273130.html
Two things: 1, Optima batteries will repel a fast charge( ie 10 amp or more) they need a very slow charge rate as produced in a Battery Tender. 2, has anyone had a prorated warranty claim on an Optima purchased on Amazon? How do you collect/exchange?