Battery options BESIDES Optima?

-
67Dart273

67Dart273

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Messages
60,035
Reaction score
33,296
Location
Idaho
I REALLY don't care for Optima batteries.

So if I was to decide to trunk mount the battery, what other SEALED options that do not need to be vented AKA NHRA, are out there?


(This may or may not happen, so let's try and keep the cost reasonable, 'K?"
 
Exide's Orbital,Del .Sold several,never warrantied one. Had one in a bbc Chevelle,six years.. Knowing you,go research it.
 
Just saw an ad for one of the big companies making a new AGM version. Can't recall which company ???
 
beat me by less than 60 seconds :)
 
Autozone sells a gel cell in their line thats like 100 bucks, same as the optima, same plant in Mexico, just a different wrapper.

P.S. optima's are no longer made here and no longer have the good warranty.
 
805moparkid said:
Autozone sells .................... same as the optima, same plant in Mexico, just a different wrapper..
Click to expand...



805, one thing I don't like about Optima (other than price) is the recharge characteristics. I'm trying to find something "closer" to the way a conventional lead acid works
 
I have a optima blue marine I use on my winch, and a yellow I use on my 67 notch, never had trouble with either. Most these newer batteries take a diffrent charger. ctek makes some affordable and they can actually recover some batteries.
 
Also any gel battery wont charge quite the same as a acid battery, they have diffrent charartistics.
 
tekslk said:
Also any gel battery wont charge quite the same as a acid battery, they have diffrent charartistics.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the Exide mentioned above are in same boat. I may be going down a dead end street here
 
A quick trick,Del. The Optima's need a battery in series, to take a load. Hot Rod mag,had an article about it. The newer"battery sensitive" chargers suck. Advertising changes,not basic automotive.
 
Abodybomber said:
A quick trick,Del. The Optima's need a battery in series, to take a load. Hot Rod mag,had an article about it. The newer"battery sensitive" chargers suck. Advertising changes,not basic automotive.
Click to expand...

right, but then they do fine in cars with the same style charging system so maybe were being over critical?
 
i always hear that about charging the optima battery.

over the years i have ground my optima down to nothing and had it dead enough not to crank the car because the car sat so long and have just charged it with my charger like any other battery. that battery was in my dart from 05 to 2012 and was fine it never missed a beat. have it in the basement now. not sure if its charged up or not now.
 
I run Red top Optima's in both racecars & use a yellow top for my trailer winch.
No problems in the last 7 years.
I run a alternator on both cars. I will charge them up the night before with a 2-amp charger.
No problems at all.
I even had an alternator fail at a race, continued to race that day without a charge. Won that day, only on battery charge.
Also have ran the Exide (NAPA) gel battery. No problems with it.
I even hooked it up backwards, not on purpose & charged overnight.
Got to the track, dead battery. thought for sure I ruined it.
Put the same 2-amp charge back on it, & raced with it for the next two years.
It left in my Dart Sport that I sold, still going strong.
why do you want something different? Just curious.
 
I accidentally let one of the Optimas in my boat sit uncharged down to 8 or 9 volts. Figured it was done. Charged it and it held voltage like new. Only battery I've ever seen do that.
 
805moparkid said:
right, but then they do fine in cars with the same style charging system so maybe were being over critical?
Click to expand...
Ed ,if the system maintains it ,great. Where the thread lead to:How to charge a AGM style battery up.
 
SIGH..........LOL. Looks like I'm gonna have to do some Google. Like I said, this might be a non deal. We'll see.
 
Abodybomber said:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...Zku2Tghme2F_3o1rw&sig2=hb-FbcD16xEioalAPz_xFg
Sorry about the fiasco,Del.
Click to expand...

Right that is the way Optima wants you to charge it, excuse me all AGM battery's BUT my point being they sell them for a direct replacement for hundreds if not thousands uses where a lead/acid lived forever. that AGM battery lives just fine for its 7 years or whatever its rated for. So what really changed? they claim its supposed to be charge their way but sell it for every system under the sun that dosn't charge that way but works great?
 
Del, I respect your experience greatly and value your input. Maybe this is getting too far off track, and if it is, we can do another thread.

But what is it exactly that you don't like about the Optima?
 
805moparkid said:
Right that is the way Optima wants you to charge it, excuse me all AGM battery's BUT my point being they sell them for a direct replacement for hundreds if not thousands uses where a lead/acid lived forever. that AGM battery lives just fine for its 7 years or whatever its rated for. So what really changed? they claim its supposed to be charge their way but sell it for every system under the sun that dosn't charge that way but works great?
Click to expand...

Ed,I love lead.... I run a lead battery,now. It's five years old,I actually trickle charge it... Group 27. So chill,and enjoy the ride.
 
RustyRatRod said:
what is it exactly that you don't like about the Optima?
Click to expand...

Seems to be I've read a lot about guys having problems with these, that is a fairly high percentage

The so called charge rate problem, maybe I'm "over" reacting.

I think Optima per se (brand) is over priced and relying on "past" reputation

I'm still in the "thinkin" stage. I'm "thinkin" of putting a turbo on this thing, and it would be fairly handy to not have the battery "up there."

Having a vented, conventional, lead acid in the trunk "properly" takes real work. You really need a completely sealed, externally vented box, to do it right and protect the car and what's in the trunk from acid / fumes / corrosion damage. This does require some "chop" to the car.

Or, LOL, I could REALLY go overboard (no pun) and go big-bucks on an aircraft battery
 
67Dart273 said:
Seems to be I've read a lot about guys having problems with these, that is a fairly high percentage

The so called charge rate problem, maybe I'm "over" reacting.
Click to expand...

I've read the same things. That's why I have always shied away from them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top