Optima Red Top battery - expected life?
03-16-2011, 08:10 AM
#45
Drifting
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 $$$ TO RECOMMEND THE BEST?
BY FAR CHARGER/MAINTAINER ON THE MARKET--ITS AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER FOR ANY AGM BATTERY ON THE MARKET-MAYBE THEY WOULDNT SLIP ENOUGH $$$ TO RECOMMEND THE BEST?
I was thinking the same thing when I read this.
There can be NO credibility to anything this person says. He is from a battery company that recomends the use of a tender,but has never heard of the Deltran battery tender plus.
When an "expert" does not know his azz from a hole in the ground,it is hard to take him seriously.
03-16-2011, 08:58 AM
#47
Team Owner
Member Since: Jan 2007
Location: cookeville tennessee
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red top is for ever day driver this one works if you let it set it will only chg back up to its lowest point. Then the yellow top will go back up to its highest point on the chg. I have yellow in three of my cars only had one problem out of one of them in over seven years.
03-17-2011, 03:10 AM
#48
Premium Supporting Vendor
bobby777, I don't have any sales data on what is or is not a popular charger or maintainer, but if you do, please feel free to share it. Optima does not endorse any brand of charger or maintainer, although I am allowed to give general advice on what to look for in a charger or maintainer and I can speak from personal experience.
Sjohnson2615, I never said I hadn't heard of that brand of charger, just that I didn't have personal experience with it- I don't own one (I'm still using my 20-year old Schumacher when I need to charge a battery), but I do see them at the racetrack all the time. Here's a picture I took at an ALMS race last summer-
AU N EGL, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your batteries. Can you describe the circumstances surrounding these issues and the voltage of the batteries? Was the battery disconnected from the vehicle when this occurred?
robert miller, all batteries sulfate when they are left in partially-discharged states. A 10-amp charge for up to two hours can help break up this sulfation, but if the battery gets hot to the touch or begins to vent, charging should be discontinued immediately. YellowTops are more resilient in deep-cycle applications, but as long as battteries haven't suffered irreversible damage from abuse or neglect, they should be able to accept a full charge, regardless of whether they are YellowTops or RedTops.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
Sjohnson2615, I never said I hadn't heard of that brand of charger, just that I didn't have personal experience with it- I don't own one (I'm still using my 20-year old Schumacher when I need to charge a battery), but I do see them at the racetrack all the time. Here's a picture I took at an ALMS race last summer-
AU N EGL, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your batteries. Can you describe the circumstances surrounding these issues and the voltage of the batteries? Was the battery disconnected from the vehicle when this occurred?
robert miller, all batteries sulfate when they are left in partially-discharged states. A 10-amp charge for up to two hours can help break up this sulfation, but if the battery gets hot to the touch or begins to vent, charging should be discontinued immediately. YellowTops are more resilient in deep-cycle applications, but as long as battteries haven't suffered irreversible damage from abuse or neglect, they should be able to accept a full charge, regardless of whether they are YellowTops or RedTops.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
03-17-2011, 06:44 AM
#49
Team Owner
Member Since: Sep 2003
Location: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
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AU N EGL, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your batteries. Can you describe the circumstances surrounding these issues and the voltage of the batteries? Was the battery disconnected from the vehicle when this occurred?
During the cars none use time the battery is one a Battery Tender( this brand ) on jackstand or transport wheels.
There are no light bulds in the car for the doors or hatch or under hood light.
We have checked for battery drain, and or any type of shorts. No luck
Some one had mention, that the cars need to be driven more to keep the charge and less on a tender. Could be.
Last edited by AU N EGL; 03-17-2011 at 06:46 AM.
03-17-2011, 07:09 AM
#50
Melting Slicks
Going on 5 years here for my Red Top but I'm big on plugging in a battery maintainer since it my sit for awhile. I've been told that these Glass Mat batteries don't perform well unless charged on a regular basis either w/ a maintainer or running the car. 
03-17-2011, 09:03 AM
#51
Team Owner
Member Since: Jan 2007
Location: cookeville tennessee
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bobby777, I don't have any sales data on what is or is not a popular charger or maintainer, but if you do, please feel free to share it. Optima does not endorse any brand of charger or maintainer, although I am allowed to give general advice on what to look for in a charger or maintainer and I can speak from personal experience.
Sjohnson2615, I never said I hadn't heard of that brand of charger, just that I didn't have personal experience with it- I don't own one (I'm still using my 20-year old Schumacher when I need to charge a battery), but I do see them at the racetrack all the time. Here's a picture I took at an ALMS race last summer-
AU N EGL, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your batteries. Can you describe the circumstances surrounding these issues and the voltage of the batteries? Was the battery disconnected from the vehicle when this occurred?
robert miller, all batteries sulfate when they are left in partially-discharged states. A 10-amp charge for up to two hours can help break up this sulfation, but if the battery gets hot to the touch or begins to vent, charging should be discontinued immediately. YellowTops are more resilient in deep-cycle applications, but as long as battteries haven't suffered irreversible damage from abuse or neglect, they should be able to accept a full charge, regardless of whether they are YellowTops or RedTops.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
Sjohnson2615, I never said I hadn't heard of that brand of charger, just that I didn't have personal experience with it- I don't own one (I'm still using my 20-year old Schumacher when I need to charge a battery), but I do see them at the racetrack all the time. Here's a picture I took at an ALMS race last summer-
AU N EGL, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your batteries. Can you describe the circumstances surrounding these issues and the voltage of the batteries? Was the battery disconnected from the vehicle when this occurred?
robert miller, all batteries sulfate when they are left in partially-discharged states. A 10-amp charge for up to two hours can help break up this sulfation, but if the battery gets hot to the touch or begins to vent, charging should be discontinued immediately. YellowTops are more resilient in deep-cycle applications, but as long as battteries haven't suffered irreversible damage from abuse or neglect, they should be able to accept a full charge, regardless of whether they are YellowTops or RedTops.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
03-17-2011, 02:18 PM
#52
Racer
I bought an Opitma Yellow Top for my car. Like you my car hardly gets driven. After 23 months it would not hold a charge. I took it back for an exchange under warranty.
When they tested mine it showed I had a dead cell on it. They told me that was very rare for a Yellow Top. Just my luck.
When they tested mine it showed I had a dead cell on it. They told me that was very rare for a Yellow Top. Just my luck.
minga ....
the price on new ones was$250 ...!!!!!
03-18-2011, 12:17 AM
#56
Premium Supporting Vendor
AU N EGL, generally speaking, cars that are driven daily tend to have far fewer battery-related issues than those that only see occasional use. However, you are correct to maintain your battery with a tender, instead of placing undue stress on your alternator. When you checked for a drain, what was the draw on the battery? Since this sounds like a recent failure, did this occur while it was in storage and connected to your tender? What were the settings on the tender you were using?
Tigershark3, no battery (AGM or otherwise) does well when it is allowed to sit in a partially-discharged state. You are making a wise decision by keeping your battery plugged into a maintainer. Hi/Tek/Vette, what were the settings on your maintainer when your battery failed?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
Tigershark3, no battery (AGM or otherwise) does well when it is allowed to sit in a partially-discharged state. You are making a wise decision by keeping your battery plugged into a maintainer. Hi/Tek/Vette, what were the settings on your maintainer when your battery failed?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
03-18-2011, 07:11 AM
#57
Racer
Hi/Tek/Vette, what were the settings on your maintainer when your battery failed?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com
Ctek multi 3300, in pulse maintenance mode
03-19-2011, 01:00 AM
#58
Premium Supporting Vendor
I trust your warranty return was handled properly? Did they tell you what the voltage was when you returned it?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
03-19-2011, 11:06 AM
#59
Le Mans Master
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I need a new battery and after reading this thread there seems to be no consistent information, wally mart might be the way to go since it seems to be the luck of the draw.
03-19-2011, 12:31 PM
#60
Racer
I trust your warranty return was handled properly? Did they tell you what the voltage was when you returned it?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Advance Auto guy seemed to see plenty of returns on them