Optima for cold , short commutes better ??

[T Y L E R]

Hey guys ..

So much for a remote start . This morning in -26° C , that amounted to me walking my ass out to the frozen parking lot , and hopping in to turn the key

It turned over .. but slowly . I put in the battery last winter I think .. or maybe two winters ago ?? But in any case , I only have a 1.5 mile commute to work . I always leave from a heated underground parking garage , but with these daily short runs , I'm thinking my traditional battery is slowly losing it's charge by not being allowed to charge sufficiently before I power down at work .

I remember one of the virtues of the Optima was it's really short recharge time . I had one in my 4Runner .. NEVER plugged it in , in -30° C weather , and it only crapped out once or twice in over 6 years . That was because I was driving 4 blocks to work in -30 .. for 4 days in a row .. but even then it only let me down those few times .

I wonder if I should switch back to an Optima for the sake of my short commutes ? Do they still make an orange top ? Not that it matters , my useless Ontario rep won't get me one anyway ..

Would the red top be best for my single battery application here ? Short commutes , no real extra draws ...

TIA ,

TY

 

[loquito]

Hey Ty
it was in the high 30's here in Alaska the other day, still hasn't dropped below 0.
Dont know about batteries.
S

 

[reffug]

Yes Ty, I think you would be well served by a Optima Red Top. I love mine. Course it wasn't -30 here anytime lately that I can recall.

 

[RavenTai]

-14F! it is still early december ???, your in Canada right? that is way to cold to live in IMO.

did you check the alternator voltage? if it cannot make over 14V at 3k RPM it is your problem,

if your driving conditions leave you likely to have a dead battery you are a good canidate for dual batteries

 

[CruisinGA]

My 40 ate a red top in 5 months. I've had a yellow for the remaining 1.5 years with no problems.
Just my experience.

I agree with raven, sounds like dual batts would be the ticket, or just remote start it earlier so the truck can charge.

 

[Beowulf]

T Y L E R,

As suggested above, consider duals. Use a deep cycle (ie Yellow top) for the 2nd battery. Optima now has a "reverse terminal" red top but I can't remember the name. They no longer make the orange top. Even though I have a new red top and a new yellow top, I am not 100% confident in the Optima batteries. I had one fail at 2 years last July. They warrantied it so I exchanged it for a Yellow (long story.)

There are good reports coming in on other brands like Odyssee so check the archives if you're looking at alternatives to the Optima. You cannot put 2 Optimas in the stock location but 2 of the Odyssee brand will fit. C-Dan can also sell you a battery tray for the other side but you'll have to relocate the washer resevoir with Christo's kit. 1 banana job.

-B-

 

[T Y L E R]

Will a dual battery system serve the remote start ? Or does a switch need to be employed to draw from the second battery ? I guess I'm looking for a solution now that will get me my money's worth out of my 'remote' starter I'll check out the Optimas again , as well as the alternatives I find in the archives . The Dual system , though nice , will have to wait ($$) .

Thanx ,

TY

 

[brownbear]

ty, you drove 4 blocks? that would be a perfect walk to work. just in time to have a runny nose.
sounds like too short a time to recharge. if your engine doesn't get up to temp you just make condensation, it never burns off. you need to get that engine up to temp before shutting it down. take the long route to timmys for a coffee

 

[T Y L E R]

take the long route to timmys for a coffee

Spoken like a true Canuck ! I actually have a new Tim's across from work , but I drive a ways further to another one .. cuter chicks at that one ..

I'm not sure I ever learnt just how far and at what speed I'd have to go to burn off this condensation ?

If I could get a number , I would try and drive that far ... before getting to base .

TY

I'll leave the walking and running to work till spring , when I can actually enjoy the daylight again ..

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

Are you using battery blankets? I used to run in -25C to -45C on relatively short runs with no problem - battery blankets and block heater for ~3-4 hours.

 

[T Y L E R]

I haven't a block heater in the 80 .... nor a blanket . There are very few plugins at work , and those not used for the work vehicles , I leave open for the VW folks . One day maybe we'll have a new base .. with sufficient plugins ... then I'll get a plugin .

Thanx ,

TY

 

[GXO]

I have been parking mine at the ATL airport for about 4 days at a time and the red top serves me well.

I really need to install a shut-off.