Gel batteries

I have four F cars. Two have optimas. They last forever and hold a charge much longer.

 

I have heard that the yellow top Optimas are better for cars that sit and are not driven often. They will hold the charge longer than the red top Optimas. Anyone have experience with this situation? I was told that the yellow tops, were for boats, and were a deep cycle type, whatever that means?

Ciao...Paolo

 

Hello all.
I currently have seven cars and three of them are running on Optima Gel Cels. These are the vehicles that see the most use. I have had both red and yellow top batteries and I have had mostly good luck with them. I use the yellow tops now because I draw a lot of current due to upgraded stereo and two way radio equipment. I recently had a battery failure when one cell in a yellow top died unexpectedly and almost left me stranded. The yellow top batteries will tolerate more discharge/charge cycles and can also tolerate a full discharge better than the red tops.
The terminals on the 400i are reversed (at least on mine) so this may cause problems with lenghths of the cables. There are several manufacturers who make batteries with the "R" designation indicating the terminals are reversed. If I were to install a standard battery in the 400i I would have had to either cross the cables or run the cables over the top of the battery.
Joel.
P.S. Although I have been a member of the forum for several months, this is my first post. I enjoy reading all of the posts.

 

OB1CNOB,

Thanks for your post on the battery situation. I have looked at both the red and yellow tops for a few of my old cars. Now just trying to find the biggest one that fits, for more cranking capacity, going through old switches and wires, which will have more resistance because of their age.

Ciao...Paolo

 

NO, THEY DON'T! I wasted a lot of money on Optimas -- never again. Cells failed, still waiting for Optima to give a partial refund. I am not alone. Others have had similar problems - check for related threads on FCHAT.

 

I concur with dinogts. I've never heard of an optima battery lasting more than 2 years. Twice the price or more, half the life or less.

 

THE ORANGE TOP in my landcruiser has been in it since 2002 and has survived two complete discharges(one key left on overnite) and just a week ago(alarm triggered and after key on/off the headlights were on and i didnt know it)battery has returned to ful strength both times(last week ran only a few minutes and would restart the truck,and it was DEAD DEAD before i was jumped)so I think they are a good battery but as always YMMV


doug
(the orange top has reversed terminals for the toyota and as far as i can tell they dont make it anymore)
(i also have a blue top in my STINGRAY 230SX)

 

Optimas are not gel. They're AGM (absorbed glass mat). There's a difference.

 

That sounds like bull to me. Yellow top Optimas are deep-cycle, which means that they're designed for applications where the battery is deeply discharged between recharges (an electric trolling motor is one example, running a high-power car stereo with the engine switched off is another). Regular car batteries get a shallow, high-rate discharge during the vehicle start and then are quickly brought back up by the vehicle's alternator. There's nothing that I know of about a deep-cycle battery that would increase its storage life in the situation that you describe. In fact, using a deep-cycle battery as a starting battery in the vehicle probably will cause problems.

If you have a vehicle that's stored, it's best to get a good-quality "smart" low-amperage charger like Deltran or CTEK.

 

I bought my Red Top in August of '05. Still going strong. Now you've heard of two.

 

What type were you using (red or yellow top)? What was the application? If you were using Yellow Top in a starting application, that was most likely the problem.

 

I have had a Optima Red Top in my 308 since 2002. Stored winters with a trickle charger. Still working fine. That makes three.

 

I went to the Optima battery site, thanks for your posts about them.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php

This answered some questions. I don't have accessable power, where some of the cars are at, and pulling them and putting them on the charger isn't always convenient.

I haven't made my mind up, on Optima Batteries, yet.

Ciao...Paulo

 

I bought my first optima to replace the one that was in my 328 when I bought it. When I eventually replaced it (three years after buying the car) I saw the install date 7 years before that. I'd never seen a battery work over a decade. I don't know if climate plays a factor, but I've had very good luck with these batteries.

 

Climate is definitely a factor, but cool climates are better for long battery life. If you're in Dallas, that's far from ideal.

 

That's what I'd figure. I have a disconnect on the 328. That's the car that ran on it's Optima for ten or eleven years. The car was in Texas for five of those years and California for the rest. I suppose the disconnect could be a major factor. I have an Interstate in the 412 and it's been giving me grief lately--discharging after a week or two.

 

I've never had a problem w/ a decent lead battery. It is my understanding that Ferrari cars always have drains on the system, and that newer cars come w/ battery disconnects.
FWIW, battery disconnect & smart trickle charger is all you'll ever need.

 

That could be the battery, but it's far more likely that you have some kind of parasitic drain going on...

 

What I like about the 'Optima' battery the most is that it does not get acid on you car, important when the battery is located in a trunk where the acid eats the carpet or sheet metal. Plus the Hydrogen gas from lead acid Batts. stinks. On transportation tools I use lead acid batts. on cars I care about I use Optima style sealed batts.

 

If a group 34 will fit, try the new Sears Platinum AGM battery. It was the highest rated in Consumer Reports testing last fall, for both power and longevity. Not cheap, it is around $190, but includes a four year free replacement warranty.
Totally sealed design with the aborbed glass mat construction, so no worry of acid spills.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02850034000P?vName=Automotive

 

That is an excellent product, made by Enersys (their P/N PC1500/34). Full specs can be found here:

http://www.odysseyfactory.com/documents/US-ODY-1500-002_1206.pdf