I run HD group 27s lead-acid.
Strange things are happening with the red top optima wth?
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I run HD group 27s lead-acid.
Thank you sir.
Here's my .02 cents. I wouldn't trust optima or duralast farther then I can throw them. Working among a part place and mechanic I would go as far to say 60% of the batteries I have to replace are duralast. Among these a 70-80% are only a few years old. Next my dad with his diesel had hell with Optimas. Pure junk! Wouldn't hold a charge and did NOT deal with vibration at all! His couple sets he had never lasted more then 2 years. Now here is my recommendation.....O'reillys Super Start AGM battery. Having one in my 80 for 5 years now, never had a tie down on it as stock doesn't fit it without longer "bolts". I've gone through countless puddles and trails causing a ton of vibrations. I've also had 2 starters and 3 alternators kill over and cause massive strain on the battery. It still runs great and starts everytime(unless alternators/starters killed over). Good luck!
Speaking of which... I managed to kill a Red Top, some time back in 2003 or so. Down to around 4V, wouldn't take any charge; trickle charge didn't work, either; didn't try the charge-through-a-good-battery thing, though. At that time, one particularly tempting recommendation on the interwebs was that you ought to drop the battery from ~ 5 feet onto concrete, and the resulting vibration(s?) somehow magically would make the battery to become receptive to charging again. Obviously, and despite being a scientist by trade, I could not resist that one...
I did drop the battery from 5+ feet - holding it about eye level - onto concrete. I was not able to confirm that an AGM battery could be resurrected by this procedure. I did find out, however, how quickly, and how far, a man can jump backwards to get out of potential harm's way
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Yep, no matter what brand/type, all batteries are consumables, are all going to die. Shop by price and best customer service. It's hard to beat an Interstate group 27F for $25. A bunch of the wheeling rigs that we hang with run them with good effect.
no Oreilly's here, just the zone and advanced , napa and the walmart/sams club[no Costco etc]
Sam's has a good selection of AGM batteries but stay away from the zone!
haha im kinda on the fence about renewing my sams club membership at the moment, gonna see what else is out there .......
I've just been using the el cheapo Maxx HD or whatever from Wally world. Never had an issue. My 80 is retired to camp/wheeling duties and sits more than driven and always starts. <knocking on wood>
Costco is now carrying the Interstate batts but they may not be the Megatron units (HD).
I wish we had Costco's around here :-(
When I went to the battery store to buy batteries for my solar system, I brought up the topic of Optima batteries. The owner of the shop said he used to know the original Optima company owner. He said they had sold the company years ago, and it has changed ownership several times since then, and each time the company changed hands, quality went down. He said they still sell Optimas, and they have a 40% warranty return rate. I put an Odyssey in my FJ40.
A lot of people are saying their red top died when they fully discharged it. Or that it wouldn't hold charge well after that.
Red tops are not deep cycles, to have a battery that can be discharged regularly and be fine you need a deep cycle. Not to say that a red top or non deep cycle shouldn't be able to weather a couple discharges just pointing out that it is not designed for that. And yes fully discharging a regular non deep cycle battery no mater which brand will cause some level of damage to the battery.
Red tops are not deep cycles, to have a battery that can be discharged regularly and be fine you need a deep cycle. Not to say that a red top or non deep cycle shouldn't be able to weather a couple discharges just pointing out that it is not designed for that. And yes fully discharging a regular non deep cycle battery no mater which brand will cause some level of damage to the battery.
Replacing my Sears DH Platinum 31M with this thing later this week. Wish the local store would carry some in stock but it does have a 5 yr warranty though not as broad of a distribution as some of the others. I only run one battery so I wanted a similar fridge running time as the prior 31M gave, but the 31M is down to about 1/3 of its run time now after just over 5 years of abuse. Similar price, new one will be ~$260 after rebate.
Might keep the 31M for garage duties, not sure yet.
SLI27FAGMDP - X2Power Premium AGM Car and Truck Battery at Batteries Plus Bulbs
Might keep the 31M for garage duties, not sure yet.
SLI27FAGMDP - X2Power Premium AGM Car and Truck Battery at Batteries Plus Bulbs
Glad to see this conversation come up since my 80 was struggling to start in 22* weather yesterday morning. I have a DH Platinum that's years old (probably 2009-2010 without looking - it came from my Tundra) and I know that the CCAs are down as of last winter.
While I'm no means hard on my battery, I have a winch and a set of aux halogen lights. Is the group size 27 still the recommended battery for that?
Looks like the Interstate Mega Tron battery is the most "talked about" on here and is probably what I'm leaning toward. Anybody else have a differing opinion there?
Car and Truck Automotive Batteries - Buy a Vehicle Battery for Cars or Trucks | Interstate Batteries - Mega-Tron Plus 27F Automotive Battery Six-Year Performance 710 CCA
While I'm no means hard on my battery, I have a winch and a set of aux halogen lights. Is the group size 27 still the recommended battery for that?
Looks like the Interstate Mega Tron battery is the most "talked about" on here and is probably what I'm leaning toward. Anybody else have a differing opinion there?
Car and Truck Automotive Batteries - Buy a Vehicle Battery for Cars or Trucks | Interstate Batteries - Mega-Tron Plus 27F Automotive Battery Six-Year Performance 710 CCA
So, from what I understand the 27F is the group size and it also designates the terminal location but doesn't necessarily tell us what the cranking amps and other specs are. I know there's going to be a range and that all 27Fs will suffice for a stock vehicle... but is there maybe a specific 27F that is recommended? Or maybe a set of battery stats that are better suited toward a vehicle with a winch and aux lights?
oh I get it, but sometimes it happens, and mine was run down during a period of inactivity and the radio memory killed it while I was traveling for work[I spazzed and didn't put it on a maintainer] and it seems as if this just cuts the red top off at the knees, something which I never noticed with my old orange top.......