HIGHRPM

I went through 2 Red Tops in less than a year..... if not charged daily mine would go to complete discharge in about 10 days...... then they sulphated
and were useless...... I'm currently using a Bosch....no problems...its three years old and doesn't discharge nearly as fast as Red Tops...great 84 month warranty and free road side service.

99 vett babycar

aproximately 4.5 minutes after the warranty expires so you can then have the unforgetable experience of calling thier crack factory warranty personnel and they can, in that special way of thier's, tell you where to go.

Dealing withj Optima makes dealing with GM seem orgasmic.

miami993c297

Are all the battery tenders the same?

Which one to buy for the Red Top Optima?

Christian

hotwheels57

People here tend to use "battery tender" in a generic sense. You want a float maintenance charger capable of long term use, small amp input. It will charge the battery to full charge, then go into a "sleep mode" until the battery drops below a certain point. It'll charge again and continue the procedure as often as the battery needs it.

You can buy a real cheap a** model from HARBOR FREIGHT or WALMART. Some people swear by them. Remember you get what you pay for.

But, most use either the BATTERY TENDER PLUS by DELTRON CORP (@ 1.25amp) or CTEK US3300 (@ .8/3.3amp), which is a dual amp mode. Either of these manufacturers have built in protection against reverse polarity and voltage spikes. You can leave them connected indefinitely during periods of non use. Mine is connected for six months a year and any time the car isn't being driven.

Some use a BATTERY TENDER JR., also by DELTRON CORP. It's actually intended for a motorcycle battery (@ .75amp), but will work fine unless the battery is really severely discharged. It will take a bit longer to bring a battery up to optimum charge. A red top only needs minimal amp input to maintain the battery. High amp input can do more harm than good to the internals due to the heat.

PHIL MEMPHIS

I've had my red top for almost four years. I bought a ztek charger last year and use it. It has a special setting for Optima batteries.

No problems as long as I keep it charged.

killain

Tested results:

Daily driver: ~3.5 years

Garage Queen (driven once every few weeks w/o battery tender) 8-15 months

I've got three and a half years out of mine, and I use a bettery tender if the vette is going to be idle for 10 days or more. Never had any problems and I at least feel better having a battery that isn't going to leak, which in a C5 is akin to having a major wiring nightmare as the PCM and wiring harness is right underneath the battery. But I know using a C-Tek or other special Optima & Odyessey battery charger.

FiberglassFan

My experience is mixed....Got a Red Top almost very first thing 5 and half years ago when I got the Vette....It lasted about 11 months and crapped out ...no charging...Got an exchange, and the second one is STILL working JUST FINE almost 5 years later.....Daily driver, rarely sits for more than 48 hours...

had2have-it

Optimas need charging when not in use. If using a Deltran charger, the Battery Tender Plus @ 1.25 amps is the way to go and will also handle AGM batteries (which the JR. will not)

OptimaJim

All batteries need charging if vehicles sit idle for extended periods of time. This is especially true for vehicles with high parasitic draws. Christian, hotwheels57 gives excellent advice regarding tenders/maintainers. There are many great chargers on the market and we do not have the capability to test each of them and do not "officially" endorse specific maintainers or chargers. We will supply information about devices that are advertised as being compatible with AGM batteries, including the CTEK MULTI US7000 or 7002, the Interacter EX (12 volt 6 amp model) and the PulseTech Xtreme XC100, although that is by no means a comprehensive list.

Generally speaking, fully-automatic "multi-stage or multi-step" chargers, which monitor the battery and charge it as necessary, are the preferred option. Multi-stage maintainers will charge at varying voltages and varying amperage (rarely exceeding 2 amps) and some of these multi-step chargers are also capable of being regular battery chargers (7 amps or more).

Traditional "float" chargers, which provide a constant voltage with tapering amperage to the battery, even when it is fully-charged are OK, but not preferred. For float charging, we recommend 1 amp max, 13.2-13.8 volts. For regular charging, we recommend 10 amps max, 13.8-15 volts.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

miami993c297

Jim,

Yesterday I ordered a Battery Tender Plus 12 volt 1.25 mp 3 Stage Smart Charger from Deltran...is that a good choice?

Christian

Cruncher

I've had the same red top in my Z06 since it was new...installed 8/2003; it's a daily driver. On my wife's car, her red top lasted less than 3 years. She replaced it with a Sears Gold battery which started leaking in less than a year.

RSchleder

Going on 6 years for my red top. If I don't drive it (due to a trip) for a week or so, I put a battery tender on it.

Higgs Boson

My red top has been in the car about 5 years. I wish it would die so I could put in a lightweight battery..... But it won't.

AU N EGL

three red tops in 5 years. and when not in use it is on a tender.

each was replaced under warranty

OptimaJim

Hi Christian,

It's a good choice to use a battery tender over not using one, but unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with that particular one to give even an individual endorsement or critique. I can say that in the hundreds of threads I've participated in, I don't recall hearing of any bad experiences with it.

If you contact the manufacturer, they will be able to tell you with certainty if a given charger is compatible with our batteries or anyone else's. If they cannot provide that information to you, it might be best to consider another charger.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

bobby777

COULDNT HELP FROM RESPONDING BACK ON THIS 6 MONTH OLD THREAD--FOR SOME REASON OPTIMA HAS A VERY BIG H---D ON FOR THE MOST POPULAR BY FAR CHARGER/MAINTAINER ON THE MARKET--ITS AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER FOR ANY AGM BATTERY ON THE MARKET-MAYBE THEY WOULDNT SLIP ENOUGH $$$ TO RECOMMEND THE BEST?

Mr.Bill

The only draw back with this is telling prople you have a wally mart battery in your Corvette....
J/K.
Mr.Bill

f6john

Another draw back would be if you had my luck and that lead acid battery decided to take a puke. I was happy to see a Red Top in my battery tray when I bought the car.

Vetteman Jack

I had a Red Top in my '00. Bought it in October 2001 and when I sold the car in June 2008, it was still working fine.

When I bought my '03, it had a Red Top already in it. The battery was bought in '07, but it died on me in Oct 2010.

So, hard to say how long one will last.

Patches

RedTops need to be on a maintainer if not driven often. The one in the wife's C5 was killed by a Garmin that drew current even when it and the car slept. The RedTop was replaced free under warranty and the replacement has been fine for 3 years since I got rid of the Garmin draw issue.

The RedTop in my 2002 C5 is almost 10 years old and performs like new still. I maintained it all these years with a Battery Tender Plus until recently when I switched to a CTEK 7002.