How to hold down an Optima with dual posts (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

the blue optima is a marine grade starting battery ie: similar to redtop with the stainless studs for boat style hookups
the yellow optima is the deep cycle or run it til it dies ie:trolling motor or live well etc....

doug

 

[moralien]

96cruiser, you’re right and wrong. The blue tops are deep cycle batteries however there is one in the product line that is used as a starter. I guess it really depends on which one Jim has if it's going to work out for him.

Semlin, the only reason you would ever need one in a car is if you have high drain devices that will be working with the engine off...I.E. a starter battery for an ambulance 8)

 

[Jim_Chow]

I'm pretty sure I have the D34M deep cycle (light gray sides). I'm not running anything terribly draining (no winch)...just a CD head deck, 6CD changer, and a 300w power amp. At least I have the confidence of being able to listen to tunes with the engine off.

 

[moralien]

Jim if that's the case (no Pun intended) then you should be good to go...
No worries

 

[Beowulf]

>> but the best battery I have ever owned was the Panasonic that came stock in the Cruiser <<

Ditto here.

Jim,
I live in the desert SW and replaced the original with an Optima orange top about a year ago. The orange top is/was the same as the red top with the terminals reversed for our stock cable locations.

So far, so good. My reasons for buying were that the Optima's came highly recommended by many off-road enthusiasts and the features made sense to me; gel, small, long-life, heat resistance, etc. At the time, I did some research on the pros-and cons of various battery designs. The gel cells excelled in the comparisons.

-B-

 

[CruisinGA]

I thought Optimas were indestructible..WRONG.  I destroyed a red top optima in 4 months.  Physically it looked fine, but it quite holding a charge completely. Might have been related to the fact that 30 year old 40 series alternators aren't know for their output. :dunno:  The good thing is that they have a 2 year full warranty so I took it back to the Pep Boys that I bought it from and I payed the difference to upgrade to a yellow top.  So far so good, I listened to my 256watt cd deck with the 200w sub playin for 10 hours straight during my marathon lift install and it was still goin strong when I went in for the night.  I buy em mostly for the 2 year warranty cause I'm rough on batteries, and the fact that they can take a beating physically too (direct hit from small arms fire-DAMN).

 

[Jim_Chow]

Yeah, I figured that the Optima marine battery would have to be able to withstand starting marine diesel engines and operate in a hot engine room (100F+) for weeks at a time in that kind of heat, so it's probably okay for any auto application.

I'm trying to figure out where to put some aux. batteries on my runner (this 2-yr avg. battery life thing in the desert has got me concerned)....only place that seems feasible is where the spare used to be, as the engine comparment is pretty full (stock EFI airbox w/ rectangular air filter takes up as much space as the battery). &nbspoes anyone make flat batteries? I guess it would be a pain to run cables all the way from the engine compartment to the rear and back, but I don't want to put the spare battery in the passenger compartment since i'd have to enclose it in a box and vent the box through a grommet in the floor or something.

 

[Beowulf]

Jim,
Do some more research on the Optima. IIRC (slept yesterday) they are completely sealed and do NOT give off gasses; therefore, they don't need venting and can be stored in the cabin. If true, that may make your installation options easier.

Are you considering the Hell Roaring unit for battery switching?
-B-

 

[Jim_Chow]

Beo, what's the hell roaring unit? I was thinking about using a marine-grade switch...not sure about what kind of solenoid/isolator to use, advantage/disadvantage of different brands. If the Optima doesn't gas in a hot environment, I could put it in the cab, but I'd rather keep it out under the vehicle...lower temps than inside, plus the cables wouldn't have to go through the grommets in the cab floor, meaning a more waterproof cab.

 

[Junk]

Why are all you chaps using the 2 post batteries? :dunno: You should never have a winch hooked up to the side posts - hopefully you realize this.

Jim - the hell roaring is a great set up. A great friend of mine - the late Mike Schroth - had it in his rig and he loved it.

I have my dual batts hooked up through an isolator and I use my marine grade switch to determine which batt sends juice to the starter (juice - starter - get it? starter write up - oh, never mind ). The cables on the winch are long enough that if I had to I could move them from one batt to the other in seconds, but this way when I leave my rig at the airport I can turn the switch to 0, I can jump start my truck by just using the switch and no cables and I don't have to worry about winching through a switch (which is never good).

If you go the switch route, get the biggest baddest switch you can find and compare that to the max draw of the winch (read - when you really need it!!!).

 

[Junk]

Jim - just re-read your post. If you get a rear tire carrier, you could mount a few extra batteries, and air tank where the spare used to be.

 

[Curran]

Why are all you chaps using the 2 post batteries? :dunno:  You should never have a winch hooked up to the side posts - hopefully you realize this.

I don't realize this.
Ya' mind enlightening me on the reason why?

 

[Junk]

Side terminals don't have the same capacity as the top ones. Get yourself some good military terminals for the top, organize your junk and there will be plenty of room.

Not sure if it was urbancruiserlegend or not, but heard of guys melting 'em down when winching big time off the side terms. Maybe they were full of it - I'm certainly no expert....

 

[Curran]

"Connect high amperage accessories such as a winch to the top terminals only. Do NOT use the side terminals."
-Optima Website

http://www.optimabatteries.com/usingOptima/tips.asp

Junk, I hate to admit that you're right. Thanks, you might have just saved my new battery.

CJ

 

[Junk]

Glad to help - don't get much chance too.

 

[Jim_Chow]

Junk,
I got the tire carrier already. There's full sitting headroom underneath where the spare was, and I"m 6'1". I was thinking about this battery mounting bracket (http://www.odysseybatteries.com/welded.htm ). I'm not sure how to mount something like this, though, other than welding it to the bottom of a crossmember. Problem is, one is stuck buying this brand of battery. Anyone know of any brackets for Optimas? I know the 6v Optimas are stream-lined and will easily fit, but they cost about the same as the 12v version and I'd still have to have a custom bracket fabbed.

 

[Junk]

Why not just build a box - either bolt or weld to the frame and use the same J hooks etc that you use in the stock location? You could even use something cheaper.

There is a ton of room down there - that's for sure.