SEMA Power User Tour - Optima Batteries

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woody

woody

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I'm making my romp to SEMA again this year with my usual Media pass...however, this time I've received an added invitation to participate with Optima in their SEMA Power User Tour.

Simply stated, they are looking for input. I've been a satisfied Optima owner for about 10 years, and have 4 Optima's in rigs right now.

I also know that not everyone has been pleased with their products.

This could be your chance to get some constructive input towards Optima and get your voice heard with regards to their products and marketing - TIA to everyone for your responses :)
 
i wish i could go but i can't. i have two optima yellow tops now. i bought a red top not long after they came out, it lasted 8 years. the one i had problems with was my fault (it fell into a pulley on my wifes 95 4runner) they still warranted it. so i will buy an optima again.
 
I had to exchange my Red Top 3 times........just a month ago I finally gave up.

You cannot leave them without being used very long

You cannot give them a boost(higher amps) like a lead/acid battery.

All three batteries came to me dead from the start.

Made in Mexico right on the top:meh:

The old ones was the bomb. I would still like to know is all of them made out of the country? Or is it just the red?
 
i wish i could remember when i bought them. i think around 2003, 2005 but i am not sure. i have to add i have driven home in the rain from dc with no alternator and once i fixed the problem the truck started without being jumped. and with that pos from autozone it has happened more than once.
 
never had a problem with my optima . i have left it in the vehicle for about a month with out using it , i do have a night switch though .

i would but one again .
 
i am looking at getting one for the wife's baby, (god be with me) a 1988 Chrysler lebaron convertible. she says she is going to keep it forever, and has had it since 96. so that thorn has gotten deep. maybe the optima will keep it from turning to gangrene.
 
any other input? Only a week left until I get a chance to meet with them and express any opinions/questions!
 
I had a similar experience to cruiser88, the red tops DO NOT last in a vehicle that isnt driven every other day, in a trail only/ weekend rig they will quickly wither away and not hold a charge. This is my personal experience. I would consider a different model of optima but they are pretty expensive. I have batteries now from John Deere and they have worked great so far, and the price was alot easier to swallow.
 
My red top actually has an Interstate label on it, but you can clearly make out the Optima cast in the plastic under the label. I bought it in the summer of 1999, so it's now over 10 years old. I know for a fact that it's been drawn down to totally dead twice, but it came back to life both times. Still doing well, it will be interesting to see if it survives another winter, parked outside.

Seeing a lot of complaints about them now though, I'm concerned that they squandered their reputation by cutting corners. See the "Junk" thread over in Home Maint, perhaps the ones they make for AutoZone are "tweaked". Not sure I'll buy another one.
 
Woody:

I've got an older red-top, and it has done very well in the faux-lux. Even the little 2.4L diesel draws 300+ amps to start (an 80 draws just over 100), and I've only got the one battery. It has started my truck as cold as -35F. It has also started my truck when it was 20F after I left my HAM on in the airport parking lot for 5+ days. I really couldn't be happier with that battery.

But, we've also got newer Red Tops in another truck (a 1962 Dodge WM300 Power Wagon), and it is no better than a generic battery at starting the truck when cold. It's a low compression flathead 6, less than 300c.i. and it has had a few issues starting when cold. I've even swapped the Red Top from the faux-lux in just to see if it was the truck or the battery--it was the battery.

FWIW, I've switched to another brand entirely now. My experience with the newer Optimas coupled with friends having the same issues has sent me to another manufacturer. I'm a big believer in having the best battery humanly possible (heck, living in the mountains with a single battery and diesel engines sort of forces that), which is why I bought the red top so many years ago, but when it dies, it'll get a non-Optima replacement. I don't know WHAT changed at Optima, but the new ones clearly aren't as good as the old ones.

Dan
 
I have 2 yellow tops for a 24volt system. I average 4-5 hours a month winching and power a HUGE
Waeco CF110 106 liter fridge freezer. I use it all the time for over 2 years. Never have been happier.
Aaron M. Kuit
 
DanS HJ-45 said:
I don't know WHAT changed at Optima, but the new ones clearly aren't as good as the old ones.
Click to expand...

Optima DID make changes....they built a new $50m production facility in 2007 and made improvements to the plate separation...

a pre-2007 battery 'might' be what you had issue with...a post-2007 should be the latest of the latest of their changes...
 
edit......yep its the red top. Thanks woodyThat goes for the red tops also? If so That would be around the right timeline when I started messing with mine
woody said:
Optima DID make changes....they built a new $50m production facility in 2007 and made improvements to the plate separation...

a pre-2007 battery 'might' be what you had issue with...a post-2007 should be the latest of the latest of their changes...
Click to expand...
 
I've been using Optima's in all my cruisers for the last 5 years. Never had one fail on my yet. In fact, just yesterday I bought a new blue top for my new FJ62.

Why the blue top you ask? For no other reason than the extra screw terminals on top, for the accessories in my truck. I still run a single battery in my FJ62, and run a Norcold fridge all summer long and have never had any issues with a dead battery over a weekend of camping. My only complaint with the blue top is that they don't come with the topcap thing, or spacer that you can move to the bottom. In the Fj62 it needed because the battery is too short. So I usually have to beg for one from my local batty shop off a Red or Yellow top.

The blue top also comes with a 18 month warranty, the yellow and red only have 12 month.

-Mark
 
The red top in my '40 is almost 9 years old. Just load tested it and it came out fine, but now keep it on a Tender. I've read a number of reports that the production starting after the company was sold ain't what they used to be, that there is an unacceptable failure rate. I've known a guy in the battery trade for many years who has stopped carrying optima because of the number of returns he kept getting. I'm not sure when he stopped carrying them, but that has made me leery of buying any of the newer red tops...
 
Last edited:
cody c said:
the red tops DO NOT last in a vehicle that isnt driven every other day, in a trail only/ weekend rig they will quickly wither away and not hold a charge. .
Click to expand...

I have had the same red top in my weekend warrior for the past 9 years and it is still going. It rarely runs two days in a row. It might fail any time now, but I wouldn't be disappointed. YMMV
 
I have had my blue top in my 60 for two years and it has been excellent. Some people I've ran into have had to exchange batteries multiple times, but it was usually a second battery in a dual battery setup, or a rig that isn't driven all the time. It seems that if you use the battery regularly then you'll be ok.
 
I am running a yellow top (primary), and blue top (secondary) in my 40 dual battery setup. Love em.

Also, in my business we are running sites in the mountains off solar panels. After failures with other batteries, we are using nothing but Optima blue tops.
 
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