optima battery worth it?

antifork wrote:

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All I know is that once they drain of power that they cannot be recharged.

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haemphyst wrote:

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antifork wrote:

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All I know is that once they drain of power that they cannot be recharged.

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WRONG!!! The Optimas are FANTASTIC batteries, and CAN be recharged FAR more effectively than can a regular battery if discharged that deeply.

In answer to your question... Yes, they are VERY MUCH worth the extra $$$, and I highly recommend them, in nearly all cases.

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haemphyst wrote:

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antifork wrote:

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All I know is that once they drain of power that they cannot be recharged.

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WRONG!!! The Optimas are FANTASTIC batteries, and CAN be recharged FAR more effectively than can a regular battery if discharged that deeply.

In answer to your question... Yes, they are VERY MUCH worth the extra $$$, and I highly recommend them, in nearly all cases.

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i am going to strongly disagree. they can be recharged. but those batteries are junk! i was a dealer for them even and sold thousands upon thousands for years until i finally had to say no more and i quit selling them based solely on the fact that i had to warranty sooooo many. nearly 8 out of 10. that didnt help me any having guys come back all the time to get crap warrantied. somehow it always ends up looking like your fault. long story short, those batteries are junk with a capitol J!

i finally found a good battery based on the same design as an optima and its made by East Penn, i think ive warrantied 3 in 5 years now. Now that is an awesome battery.

BTW, ALL car batteries are made by only 3, yes 3, manufacturers that produce them ALL and then market them under different brands. East Penn is one of them. They do not make the piece-o-junk optima.

antifork wrote:

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It also matters what you are going to run with them too.

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this is true.

RED top optimas are starting batteries.

YELLOW top optimas are deep cycle batteries. (optima tries to market the red top as a deep cycle battery. ITS NOT. the yellow is way better for this kind of cycle duty)

the BLUE top optimas are marine batteries.

they all stink though if you ask me.

I too would recomend against getting a red top.  My '04 G35 is on its THIRD red top in two years.  Once they discharge one time they don't hold a decent charge anymore.

They only good thing I can say about them is I've paid nothing and had minimal hassles with the warranty - making me believe that the place I bought it from warranties a lot of them!

97gss] wrote:

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used to be a big fan of Optima myself.  I currently have a yellow top in my daily driver that now won't hold a charge for more than 2 days(I've had it for about 2.5- 3 years, so no warranty for me).  Actually, it won't hold it for a day now.  I had it on the charger Sunday(about midday) for about 3hrs on the 10A setting and still couldn't start it this morning.  Had to take the wife car to work.  I had a red top before that.I have a red top(2nd one) in another vehicle and it will last for about 3 days.  It was replaced around 3 years ago under warranty(had a previous red top that only lasted around 2 years or so).  With all that said, I have 2 cars I have to keep switching the battery charger around on just to get them to crank(alternator works fine on both and neither gets the stereo turned up loud at all.  My wife and I can talk at normal levels and hear each other clearly).  I emailed Optima telling them the situation(cars alternater voltage at idle and at 2k rpm, stereo requirements, etc) and they recommend I get yellow tops for both vehicles.  Needless to say, I've decided it's time to cut my losses and move on as well.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.  I would like to pay alittle less this time as well.

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To all of those who have problems with Optima batteries not holding a charge, do this as it seems to be the only thing that works and even then it only works so so.  Optima batteries will not take a charge on a trickle or even 10 amp charge those pieces of junk need to have a full size battery charger connected to them.  then set that battery to the start mode and charge the battery for a good 15 - 20 minutes.  this seems to get the chemicals activated then turn the charger back down to a 20 amp setting if it has one or the next highest setting from jump start that your charger has and let it charge for several hours.  don't know why but that seems to be the only way to get these batteries to take a charge. 

thats all the advice i can give for any poor soul with one of these batteries other than take it out and get rid of it like a bad rash.  buy something else that is the best recomendation i have.  there are several deep cycle batteries out on the market that use the optima design technology but are built even better.  if you do not feel like searching around to find the best thing for the best price, a good deal is this, just go to your local CARQUEST PART STORE and purchase their version of the optima battery.  it is built is East Penn and is still cheaper than an optima and will be a battery you will never regret spending the money on.  this battery is top notch. if you do the shopping and hunting you will find this exact same battery marketed under different brands. the problem with buying a battery is you cannot just shop for one over the internet and have it shipped to you bcse it considered hazmat.  so you need to find what you want and try and find it somewhere locally.  as i mentioned earlier  all batteries are made by only three manufacturers.  so several of these batteries i am talking abt are the same exact battery that you can find at a carquest parts store locally it just has a different sticker on it. 

ckeeler wrote:

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To all of those who have problems with Optima batteries not holding a charge, do this as it seems to be the only thing that works and even then it only works so so.  Optima batteries will not take a charge on a trickle or even 10 amp charge those pieces of junk need to have a full size battery charger connected to them.  then set that battery to the start mode and charge the battery for a good 15 - 20 minutes.  this seems to get the chemicals activated then turn the charger back down to a 20 amp setting if it has one or the next highest setting from jump start that your charger has and let it charge for several hours.  don't know why but that seems to be the only way to get these batteries to take a charge. 

thats all the advice i can give for any poor soul with one of these batteries other than take it out and get rid of it like a bad rash.  buy something else that is the best recomendation i have.  there are several deep cycle batteries out on the market that use the optima design technology but are built even better.  if you do not feel like searching around to find the best thing for the best price, a good deal is this, just go to your local CARQUEST PART STORE and purchase their version of the optima battery.  it is built is East Penn and is still cheaper than an optima and will be a battery you will never regret spending the money on.  this battery is top notch. if you do the shopping and hunting you will find this exact same battery marketed under different brands. the problem with buying a battery is you cannot just shop for one over the internet and have it shipped to you bcse it considered hazmat.  so you need to find what you want and try and find it somewhere locally.  as i mentioned earlier  all batteries are made by only three manufacturers.  so several of these batteries i am talking abt are the same exact battery that you can find at a carquest parts store locally it just has a different sticker on it. 

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I'll give this a shot in the morning.  I may check out those Carquest batteries as well.

and like i said before, with ALL batteries, the regular acid ones are better for abuse and neglect and non-maintenance than an AGM battery. you really have to baby those for them to last at all. and for the kind of stuff all us guys do to batteries.......AGM batteries just dont last too long. the real only good application for one is where it has to be mounted funky like on it side or upside down because they dont leak. the only applications for them are things like race cars and rock crawler jeeps and stuff like that and in those kinds of recreational vehicles, it doesnt matter how long a piece of junk like an optima lasts anyway.

for regular old power and abuse, you'll get the best bang for your buck and best durability with a regular old acid battery. although you still have to apply the rule of bigger is better!

CutDog504, 04nata, believe it or not, but both of the batteries you have are made in the same factory with the same process and materials by the same manufacturer.

Kinetics are overrated. Powermaster is the way to go.

I have Exide Orbital Yellowtops in my car...

soundnsecurity wrote:

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i have a red top in my ranger as a main battery and iv never really had a problem with it. just once i had to get a jump start because i left my system on too long when it was turned up. but other than that one incident it is pretty faithful and runs my autotek like a champ.

and about recharging an optima, i heard once that to recharge an optima it needs to be hooked up to another optima(series or paralell im not sure) AND a charger for a few hours, does anyone know if this is true?

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i do. read my earlier post on this thread about charging an optima.

soundnsecurity wrote:

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ckeeler, i read that post on your way of charging and it is duly noted, but it doesn't have anything to do with what i am asking about. now if you have already tried doing what i am talking about in my last post and it has no truth to it then just say no it doesn't work. have you tried hooking a dead optima to a charged optima and a charger?

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not only will that not work with an optima battery, it wont work with any battery.

I don't know much about all of thattttttttt! I guess I would suggest buying a battery from a tractor-trailer dealer OR just diconnecting some of that stuff. I'd be afraid to light the candle on that puppy.

Adding a second battery in parallel to a battery that is already operating in a taxed electrical system will only hurt the situation, it won't help.

The issue with 4,000 watts added to an OEM alternator is that the system pulls more current then the alternator can supply, so the alternator is not capable of keeping the battery charged.  So, you add a second battery which means the alternator now has two batteries to keep charged but still can't produce enough current to keep up.  This will eventually lead to alterator failure.

The solution is to get a high amp alternator (you got to pay to play) or reduce the power requirements of the aftermarket equipment.