Optima Batteries - Overkill?

[Bostonian1976]

Well - after a fun weekend with my Rover, it wouldn't start this am (slowly turned over w/ weak battery in 8 degree weather). I think this battery has died one too many times due to a year of non-use, and is in need of replacement. Is the Optima overkill, or would it be an end-all to any cold weather issues?

[greenmeanie]

Optimas are pretty Meh these days. They are now made in several different plants and quality is not always what it should be for the price. I've had a couple die on me in a matter of months on a daily driver. You can go online for all the dirty details and arguements on that topic.

I've also found them to be quite senstive to power quality for charging which can be an issue with older alternators that use mechanical regulation.

If you feel rich the Odyssey PC1500 is a really nice battery using the same technology. Other than that I I think the other two easily available spiral wound batteries are the Excide Extreme and the Duralast from Sears.

Or just buy a cheapo lead acid for half the price and replace twice as often. Any battery that isn't kept up with a trickle charge will die if left for too long.

CHeers
Gregor

[yorker]

get a good old fashioned lead acid battery from Walmart. They are usually pretty good about replacing them if they go. Optimas are over rated and the quality apparently isn't what it once was.

[NC Rover]

Well - after a fun weekend with my Rover, it wouldn't start this am (slowly turned over w/ weak battery in 8 degree weather). I think this battery has died one too many times due to a year of non-use, and is in need of replacement. Is the Optima overkill, or would it be an end-all to any cold weather issues?

I've read mixed reviews on the Optima. I have one in my VW Corrado as I was tired of having regular batteries leak acid onto the lower radiator hose and eating through it. So I only purchased one to resolve the acid leaking problem. Never had trouble with it in 2 years. Of course I can't apply that to the rover as I do not have a Optima with the rover. Just my 2 cents.

[I Leak Oil]

The Optima isn't going to give you any more longevity or CCA's than a traditional lead-acid battery of similar capacity. The benefit of the optima is that it can be mounted in any position and won't leak. If you don't need to mount it upside down or aren't beating the tar out of the truck on the trail then you don't need the benefits of the Optima or similar style batteries. The key to making your new battery last is to run the truck often or get it on a charger often.
How's the oil leak coming?
Jason T.

[JimCT]

Optimas are absorbed glass matt batteries. They have lower internal resistance, and take charges faster and can release the energy faster too, for instance if you have a winch. They also have a much lower self discharge rate if you don't use your LR all that often. The wound cells are much more robust if you really beat up your rig, so they do have allot of positive qualities.

[jrod770]

I bought an optima this past summer for my triumph. I went out to start it the other day, it was dead as can be. I know there was no power drain, because I had the disconnect off, damn Lucas. Buy a cheapo, they last just as long.

[Jeff Aronson]

I've had two Optimas on my II-A since 2005. The first one went quickly when my alternator's regulator failed and I cooked the battery. The second one, purchased in the winter of 2005, has been flawless. I have been very happy with it, so much so that when the alternator fried the first one, I replaced it with another. For daily driving, I'm quite happy with it.

That said, my second Series II-A and my other cars all have convetional lead acid batteries, old style ones that you fill. Those batteries have been on those cars for a long time. Charging them every so often seems to keep them in good shape.

Jeff

[4flattires]

Jrid, if your battery went unattended from summer till now, it sounds like it died from neglect. Try a battery tender.

Jeff

[jrod770]

Jeff, hardly neglect on my part. My triumph is run weekly and battery cut off always used when parked, so i know there is no drainage on the system.

[Tim Smith]

I was having the same difficulties with the lightweight. It just wouldn't start in the cold and the problems were getting worse. So I did a little research and went with the Odyssey battery.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1500.htm

I wanted to get the 2150, but the dude talked me out of it for being overkill. Now the truck starts in the cold (last two mornings have been about 10f) but just barely.

I'm now pretty sure that it's the starter that's getting too old but I'm holding out...

I went with the Odyssey for to reasons.
1) It's got a lot more power/amps on demand than your average lead acid.
2) The service life is for 6 - 8 years and upward to 12 years if you are kind to it. Makes the cost worth while when it's a truck you're likely to keep that long.

Since installing it, I've discovered that I have a parasitic draw (probably the el' cheapo radio) that will kill the battery in a months time. So no change there. Also the starter seems to be the weak link now as well. These are things that I should have looked into before I got the battery because I was hoping it was going to be a "fix all" for my cold starting problems. It wasn't.

Still I'm happy with it though.

PS: Another cool thing about these batteries is the recharge time. I can get my battery from about 25% up to about 80% state of charge in about 5 minutes with a 60 amp charge. You can't do that with lead acid. :)

[Tim Smith]

Oh yeah, almost forgot.

The Odyssey weighs in at 75lbs. So bring a strong back if you have it delivered to your office and you park about 3 stories up and a few hundred yards away from the door.
:p

[NC Rover]

[quote=Jason T.]The benefit of the optima is that it can be mounted in any position and won't leak. If you don't need to mount it upside down or aren't beating the tar out of the truck on the trail then you don't need the benefits of the Optima or similar style batteries. quote]

I agree with this. However I think I paid $125 for my Optima. A regular Interstate battery was $80. I was just tired of the acid buildup as it was eating through my hoses.

If you feel its worth paying an extra $50 to never have an acid buildup problem then by all means get one. Otherwise its no different than a regular battery.

Oh and one other thing. I have heard that if an Optima is drained all the way down, then it cannot be charged back up....something to do with the dry cells? I read about several people who had that problem. Might want to look into that just in case the rumor holds water.

[greenmeanie]

Well I've got two Odyssey PC1500's in my 101. They are mounted up on one end and back to back to provide room for my new power distribution panel in the battery box. With my dual battery controller I can theoretically line up 3000A for five seconds on my starter. In reality I have limited this to 150A with a master fuse. Still, it provides one hell of a kick to get the old girl going.

Usually I have no problem using just one of these batteries for start but up in the mountains when it's cold and damp it is nice to have the extra ooomph. They use a modified (Improved if you believe the sales blurb) version of the spiral cell technology and claim to be the preferrred unit for military use if that makes a difference.

They are very nice but also expensive.

Cheers
Gregor

[JimCT]

And when your ambulance is laying on it's side you don't have to worry about battery acid everywhere....don't ask how I know.

[jp-]

With my dual battery controller I can theoretically line up 3000A for five seconds on my starter. In reality I have limited this to 150A with a master fuse.
Gregor


The beauty of electrical devices is that they only draw the amperage they need to run, so there is no need to fuse the starter (even if you had 10,000A on tap, it still only draws what it needs).

Now if your starter developed a direct short, you'd have some fireworks. But I've never seen that happen.

[uralrover]

I Have used Both Optima and Excide Spiral Cell Batteries. I found the Optima worked very well in my Range Rover even with the high draining accessories and leaving the Lights on over night. One of the Advantages to the Spiral-cell is usually they can be recovered even after being fully discharged....Usually.
But, the Optima didn't last as long nor recover quite as well in my series III. I switched to the Excide and have had less problems with recovery and longgivity, especially where up here the Lead-acid batteries freeze exposed to the Northeastern cold. I use mine for trailside welding as well as running a 180Amp. Voltage converter when I go camping and the Excide seemed to be less effected by the heavy draws. So, Optima better in Newer vehicles w/ high amp charging systems. Excide in older Series type with weaker charging systems. Going to Really test it with a Kenlow Pre-heater and a Diesel Next........

[greenmeanie]

The beauty of electrical devices is that they only draw the amperage they need to run, so there is no need to fuse the starter (even if you had 10,000A on tap, it still only draws what it needs).

Now if your starter developed a direct short, you'd have some fireworks. But I've never seen that happen.

Very true. The amp comment was rather facetious. It does, however, reflect the CCA I have on tap which is the important number for cold weather while they also have a good reserve capacity which is what I need in the summer.

It does, however, mean that I have no problems churning over the V8 even in cold damp weather with 20/50 oil. The lead acids aren't as effective in freezing temps as the electrolyte is cold. The odysseys seem fine although with the dual system I can line up both on the starter. It ain't Alaska but it works down to 0°F. My Optima never made it through the AZ summer to test in the cold.

The fusing is in the main feed for the overall electrical system to protect the fuse panel etc. from a catastrophic battery discharge as advised by Painless and Hellroaring.

Cheers
Gregor

[yorker]

And when your ambulance is laying on it's side you don't have to worry about battery acid everywhere....don't ask how I know.

That was the reason I got one- the only reason. Not that I flopped anything on its side but with the nuts I play offroad with it frequently approaches the tip over angle... The old battery box was taking a beating from acid- it ate most of the galvanizing.