Optima batteries, 4/10/18...battery status update

[rob h]

Im thinking of buying a new one soon for my hd, how much have they gone up..?

I figured id get a new one when i put a bigger cam, waterpump, oil pump, alt etc in my ls 6.0 shortly. Id like to buy 2 for the 83 since i put the 10,000 superwinch on and the new 4 hp powermaster starter....the walmart scrappers although work for now...lol..lol.

 

[76zimmer]

I paid slighty over $140 for my redtop @ Sam's a couple years ago
The yellow top was a freebie in exchange for my first post, 1989 battery from my Jeepster.

 

[cuervo]

Six months on the new lead acid battery and not a single issue. Same alarm and sat as long as 3 weeks without starting.

I'll keep bumping this every six months until the new battery goes dead.

 

[yellowK20]

Still rocking my "worthless" optimas in my crew cab which also has an alarm and sits 30-40 days at a time. I will keep buying optimas now that I know how to recharge them. Ive also picked up 2 "dead" optimas and one dead exide orbital from freinds and brought them back to life using the charging procedure.

 

[rob h]

Had my 7 year old red top tested. Its an 800 battery and it tested at 791. Thats pretty good for its age. Im just afraid it will let me down when i need it the most. Time for a new one i guess.

 

[63chevyll]

Still rocking my "worthless" optimas in my crew cab which also has an alarm and sits 30-40 days at a time. I will keep buying optimas now that I know how to recharge them. Ive also picked up 2 "dead" optimas and one dead exide orbital from freinds and brought them back to life using the charging procedure.

Do you remember what page or post his charging procedure is. I've read a few from online searches but my 11 yr old optima may be a gonner. As of last weekend.

It was in great shape and worked very well but I messed it up and want to try to bring it back. Hope it works out because its order than all my kids. If gotten pretty fond of the little red guy

 

[yellowK20]

Nope ill try to find it though its fairly simple

 

[cuervo]

Do you remember what page or post his charging procedure is. I've read a few from online searches but my 11 yr old optima may be a gonner. As of last weekend.

It was in great shape and worked very well but I messed it up and want to try to bring it back. Hope it works out because its order than all my kids. If gotten pretty fond of the little red guy

Search youtube for Optima Tip #3.

 

[cuervo]

Still rocking my "worthless" optimas in my crew cab which also has an alarm and sits 30-40 days at a time. I will keep buying optimas now that I know how to recharge them. Ive also picked up 2 "dead" optimas and one dead exide orbital from freinds and brought them back to life using the charging procedure.

/golfclap

 

[63chevyll]

Search youtube for Optima Tip #3.

Will do, thanks

 

[yellowK20]

/golfclap

Dont be a douche.

It sucks that you had bad luck with your optima . My post was just an update to a previous one same as yours. Dont be all pissy because I'm not jumping on your little "optimas suck " band wagon

 

[cuervo]

Dont be a douche.

It sucks that you had bad luck with your optimas . My post was just an update to a previous one same as yours. Dont be all pissy because I'm not jumping on your little "optimas suck " band wagon

Your post wasn't just an update. The sarcasm with the "worthless" crap was a direct poke at me and my post. You can kill the passive aggressive behavior too because I don't care what wagon your ride in.

Let me add, I'm glad you are having good luck with them. I wish I would have too. No one should have to go through what I or others have gone through with bad Optimas.

 

[nsxxtreme]

Do you remember what page or post his charging procedure is. I've read a few from online searches but my 11 yr old optima may be a gonner. As of last weekend.

It was in great shape and worked very well but I messed it up and want to try to bring it back. Hope it works out because its order than all my kids. If gotten pretty fond of the little red guy

You basically put it in parallel with a good battery.

What worked for me if it was in a car and I didn't want to take it out was to turn the dome light on. Which creates a small load for the charger to stay on. What happens to a battery when it goes dead is the internal resistance goes up. Such that "smart chargers" dont sense a load (not charging) and they will shut down.

 

[yellowK20]

Your post wasn't just an update. The sarcasm with the "worthless" crap was a direct poke at me and my post. You can kill the passive aggressive behavior too because I don't care what wagon your ride in.
.

The "worthless"part of my post was in reference to my batteries being the "New" optima's that multiple people claim are not as good as the older ones. It had nothing to do with you so don't flatter yourself.

I addition every optima I own has been in a worse case scenario, where others have had failures. the batteries in my Yellowk20 down in New Mexico are 10+ years old and have never been on a charger the truck sits literally years at a time and the batteries never fail to start the 510cid 11-to-1 comp bigblock.
( granted I do have a master disconnect )

So, my whole reason for posting in this thread is to share my EXCELLENT experiences with Optima's .

 

[cuervo]

I addition every optima I own has been in a worse case scenario, where others have had failures. the batteries in my Yellowk20 down in New Mexico are 10+ years old and have never been on a charger the truck sits literally years at a time and the batteries never fail to start the 510cid 11-to-1 comp bigblock.
( granted I do have a master disconnect )

Well then I and a lot of other people need your secrets.

So in other words it could have been sitting on shelf for 10 years and not in use? Great example of how an Optima is great while being used in every day applications. A battery sitting for years at a time with a master disconnect surely has no impact on this topic. It might as well have been on a shelf.

 

[yellowK20]

Well then I and a lot of other people need your secrets.

So in other words it could have been sitting on shelf for 10 years and not in use? Great example of how an Optima is great while being used in every day applications. A battery sitting for years at a time with a master disconnect surely has no impact on this topic. It might as well have been on a shelf.

It's still sitting in a truck with cables connected in freezing cold and excessive desert heat.

Show me a Lead Acid battery that can sit on a shelf for 10+ years and still be charged.


I also have 2 blue tops in my 75 chevy stepside it also sits for long periods of time. with out a disconnect and still starts when called upon. ( oh it has an alarm)

my 91 V3500 has 2 yellow tops always starts sits for months and months between start ups ( has an alarm)

My 79 K20 one red top and healthy 406 always starts .( yep has an alarm too)


so yeah maybe I cheat a little on my Yellow truck by using the disconnect but those batteries are old as **** , I put them in that truck on my 22 birthday and I just turned 33 and they have never once failed me and have never ever been charged by anything but the alternator of that pick up.



Also I have some exide orbitals in a couple trucks , and have been super pleased with there performance. I really don't see the need to run lead acid type batteries anymore

 

[nsxxtreme]

It's still sitting in a truck with cables connected in freezing cold and excessive desert heat.

Show me a Lead Acid battery that can sit on a shelf for 10+ years and still be charged.

This has everything to do with it. If you leave a battery disconnected it's the same as leaving it on the shelf. Having cables hooked up to it plays no role at all.

I think we are beating a dead horse here.

What you're trying to express is that no one can have a real issue because you didn't experience them yourself. Optima may in fact have quality issues that we will never prove in this forum. It may be that other manufacturers have caught up and are producing an equavelent product for cheaper now. That also we will not prove in this forum. All we can do is share experiences and see how things trend. My experience is I was a happy customer of Optima for years. About 5-7 optima's later (I've lost count) over a period of 3-5 years in 2 different cars and my opinion has changed. Most I have gotten out of a red top optima was 2 years (currently in the past they lasted longer for me).

The only real way to prove anything is to do a number of different load tests over varying conditions over a significant amount of time. Something most of us would lack in equipment to do correctly. Maybe consumer reports has done this I dont know.

 

[yellowK20]

My point is that in 11 yrs its still every bit as good as the day I installed it even with it sitting. A battery of any type would be hard pressed to deliver such performance.

What I get from this thread is that most people are pleased with optimas, and the ones who are not still received above average customer service in dealing with there issues.


I'd call that a win for Optima in my book.

 

[nsxxtreme]

My point is that in 11 yrs its still every bit as good as the day I installed it even with it sitting. A battery of any type would be hard pressed to deliver such performance.

What I get from this thread is that most people are pleased with optimas, and the ones who are not still received above average customer service in dealing with there issues.


I'd call that a win for Optima in my book.

If you have an 11 year old optima then its not the same thing as they are producing now. As many of us have stated they used to be great now not so much. I got tired of swapping batteries and went to a different brand. I haven't had a problem since. I think that's a win for costco not optima. These stores may be eating the cost. I've seen a number of stores drop them read into that how ever you want.

 

[yellowK20]

Read my other posts in this thread about my New optimas and how I brought them back from the dead