Optima Battery

[Meltudball]

Does anyone think the Optima Batteries, costing, depending on the color or the top, is worth spending the extra money, as opposed to buying a top of the line "regular" battery?

[TJ Hopland]

The Red top is supposed to be your typical battery.   Blue is special extra vibration proof deep cycle like for marine.   Yellow is their deep cycle ish general purpose I see used most in RV's or the jumping hydraulic cars. 

I was hot on them for a while when they were just a little more expensive than regular premium batteries.   I did have one die.  It had a hard life and other electrical gremlins in the truck.  I did not pursue a possible warranty claim on it even though it still may have been covered.  I have several of them still and varying ages and all the same model.  Some when they were still an independant company made in USA and a few after they got bought out and are made in Mexico?.   There is quite a difference in weight between the original and the current ones.   That is also when the price took a big jump.   The hope is the newer ones have much improved technology to make them lighter and better hence the extra cost?   Like I said that is my hope but I fear that the reality was like everything else now days its 'value engineered' in favor of the stock holders.   The one that failed was one of the originals and it could have been the trucks fault. 

If you have an application where a rugged spill proof (not sealed they still require special venting if they are enclosed) battery would be ideal I would still go with one of these.   When the current battery in my boat dies I will likely rotate in the spare red top I have around at the moment.   An off road toy or piece of equipment that gets banged around a lot may be a good place for one.   A custom rig where conventional mounting is less than ideal would also be a great place for one. 

When I was getting my old diesel truck ready for last winter I decided to replace the miss matched batteries that came with it when I bought it.  I considered a pair of red tops but at $190 each I just could not bring my self to spend almost $400 for a pair and did not have what I thought would be a matched set around even if I did some swapping.  With parallel setups like that has its important to have matched sets so they don't fight each other.  I ended up trying a set of Napa Gold's that were about $130 each.  So far so good on those but that was just last year so its early to judge. 

There are a few important things to know about these batteries.  If you do pretty much fully drain one you have to be careful about how you try to bring it back.   They will suck all the power they can get from where ever they can get it for a while.  This can be bad for an alternator or not up to par cables.   Don't ask me how I know this and what it cost me to learn something I could have read on their web site for free.  Luckily I carry fire extinguishers in all my rigs.  If you do kill one the recommend method to bring it back is to do a parallel connection with a good fully charged battery and also have the charger connected.  This can be the alternator of another rig (like a jump start) or a battery charger.   The other battery buffers things so everything comes out happy in the end.   This will put a load on the charger or jumper cables so you want to be sure the connections and cables are optimum and does take a while so having another car running the whole time (several hours) may not be practical.   If you do not have the option of another battery but do have a charger I found that setting the charger on a minimum (under 2 amp) setting will usually work.  It takes about 6 hours on that setting to get enough charge in the battery that when you switch over to normal or high setting (5-40 amps) the charger won't constantly overload and self protect or self destruct.

IF you are thinking about these as a option in parallel to make a 6 volt system crank better I have heard that is not a good idea.  If you have a 6 volt that cranks poorly all having more amps available is going to do is make the problem area in your system fail likely in a spectacular fashion complete with smoke and flames.   

[Meltudball]

   TJ Hopland,

Thank you for the very concise and well written reply.  It appears that for the "average" car owner, whatever average is, it would be more cost effective and somewhat easier to choose a top of the line premium battery available at all auto parts stores, such as advance auto, auto zone etc.  For the record I have had good luck with parts store batteries, with an average life of 7-8 years reliable service.

[Jon S]

Agreed, very good analysis. 

I prefer a nice Interstate Black battery which normally lasts 10 years if you add distilled water to these "sealed" batteries.  You can add an inexpensive topper and some self stick vinyl letters and they look nice!

[waterzap]

I used to have a 97 Corvette. Now in their wisdom, the Corvette engineers put the computer for the car right under the battery, with a sort of funnel. No kidding, there was a hole right under the battery, so any acid leaking from the battery will definitely get on the computer. With Optima being a gel, I though it might be a safer option. My car was red, and of course nothing but a red battery will do. All good. No.
I think I went through two or three red tops in a few months . I switched to a yellow top, and sold the car with the yellow top a few years later.
Never bought an Optima again.

[Gene Beaird]

I am a strong advocate for gel mat batteries, for no more reason than to get liquid acid out of my cars.  Nearly every one of the liquid acid batteries  I've replaced have leaked one way or the other.  My next new vehicle will get a gel-mat battery installed on the dealer's lot, leaving the liquid acid battery sitting in the parking space the new car used to be in.  With the exception of our daily driver cars, all of our vehicles are on Battery Tenders (nine vehicles), and all but three are gel-mat batteries.  I am sure that's a sure recipe for long-life for any battery, especially those gel mat types. 

[TJ Hopland]

Sam's used to have good prices on the Optimas.  I don't really shop there anymore so not sure if they still have them or what the pricing is.    Many people on various forums talk about how great and hassle free the Walmart warranty is on their batteries.  To me it sounds like they fail often so that is why so many people are aware of the warranty.  I will pay a few extra bucks to get a battery that I don't have to keep hauling back to the store.  Not sure if Sam's has the same deal and product or not. 

[EAM 17806]

I checked on batteries from the auto parts stores and found that SAM'S CLUB had the least expensive. They carry Duracell batteries with similar warranties as the rest. I would highly suggest you check them out before making a purchase.

Sam's Club batteries are of high quality made by "Duracell" and hold up very good over the warranty period. I've been buying their batteries for the past ten years, "EXIDE, ENERGIZER" and now "DURACELL" and they just will not die with all my five cars. A word to the wise should be sufficient. Walmart's "EVER-START MAXX" batteries are rated very high by Consumers Report, and I agree, since the one I had just would not die after 8 years so I changed it anyway.  EAM

[Richardonly]

I truly love my Optima with it's 800 cold cranking amps.  Removing the old, acid filled was a chore.  It is below and behind the passenger side wheel well and MUST be reoved by tilting the battery sideways.  Thus spilling the acid everywhere.  This is in the 1948 repair manual.


It is below the heater blower and two hoses and about even with the frame.


Richard

[R Sotardi #11719]

Mel, I found that in my 6 volt cars,  I prefer the Optima due to the infrequent  use that they get. Their weight is lighter and no acid concerns. If you keep them up, they will last 6-7 years. I live in HOT Arizona where the heat plays havoc with wet plate batteries. They can be bought on Amazon for $120 more or less. However, in the last  year I needed to replace  batteries in my '02  GMC/ Sierra and my daughters '03 Impala. Optima 12 volt are just  too pricey vs. the price of a Interstate at Costco.  TJ is right on regarding bringing back a "dead" OPTIMA. A cars alternator ( or generator) will attempt to push 40 + amps back into the Optima and the Optima will repel anything above 10 amps. This will cause a overworking issue with the charging unit and may burn it out. Keep them up with a Battery Tender or competitor, they will last for years, thus amortizing your initial purchase price over time. Ron