I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, with Optima batteres

[Samckitt]

They suck any more, been through 3 in the last 4 years. They used to be great, I used them in everything. But if you don't drive it every day they seem to fail.

What are you using?

[kochevy67]

I us a battery tender on it and I have had them last 5 years plus.

[BMR Sales]

They suck any more, been through 3 in the last 4 years. They used to be great, I used them in everything. But if you don't drive it every day they seem to fail.

What are you using?

3 in 4 years - they have a 3 Year Warranty!

at Hot August Nights, I was next to the Optima Rep - one thing he kept telling people was they needed a "Smart" Charger. Most Chargers are giving a battery a full shot (say 12 amps) when they might only need 4 amps.

[Build-It-Break-It]

I use a simple Interstate Battery from costco.... $90 bucks,no hassle Warranty and starts every time (and I leave cars sitting months on end) . I got tired of all the expensive Battery failures to.

[dhutton]

I use Odyssey. A little expensive but they do fine when the car sits for long periods.

Don

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

I use Odyssey. A little expensive but they do fine when the car sits for long periods.

Don

They are a bit pricey, but the cost of an Optima is steadily creeping up towards the cost of the Odyssey! Thinking I might try one out, I like that they are a true dry cell.

[Project92rs]

They are a bit pricey, but the cost of an Optima is steadily creeping up towards the cost of the Odyssey! Thinking I might try one out, I like that they are a true dry cell.

I ran a small Odyssey in my 92 for years. Expensive but it worked if I started the car somewhat regularly. I imagine a full size one would perform much better than the half size one I used.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

I ran a small Odyssey in my 92 for years. Expensive but it worked if I started the car somewhat regularly. I imagine a full size one would perform much better than the half size one I used.

That's the other thing I wonder. If by going to a smaller battery, I save $ and some weight. I need to do some figuring and try and guess what might work. I'll be relocating 2 batteries to the rears of cars soon... the 71 Firebird and the 82 Z.

[krom]

http://www.batterytender.com/

[Jerems]

http://www.batterytender.com/

If you're leaving your car sitting around when you have a AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) battery, which is what Optima, Odyssey, XS Power etc. are. You NEED a smart charger / float charger / Battery Tender, whatever you feel like calling them that's made to handle AGM batteries not just a regular car charger like mentioned before.

The smart chargers do a good job at charging the batteries and also have a float mode when it reaches full charge that lowers voltage avoiding overcharging the battery. If you don't have a charger on a AGM battery the voltage can drop too low per cell, usually making them un-salvageable. Optima has it's fancy new charger that says it can recover a heavily discharged AGM battery. The normal AGM smart chargers aren't huge money and just hook it up and leave it for as long as you need to...Easy insurance really.

If you're leaving your car for months at a time...get one!

[SSLance]

Or... Just don't leave your car sit for long periods of time. :D

I used the cheater method of charging to revive my Red Top over 6 years ago when it was too dead for a normal charger to charge it...and it's been going strong ever since.

[dontlifttoshift]

I have posted this before, I have saved "junk" red tops by hooking jumper cables from the Optima to a regular battery and then charging.

[pittpens24]

I just bought a Braille battery for my big block. So far soo good.

[1989GTA]

I had an Optima but a cell went bad within a year and it could not be revived. I now have a Sears Diehard and it is working just fine.

[Samckitt]

I have posted this before, I have saved "junk" red tops by hooking jumper cables from the Optima to a regular battery and then charging.

I tried that with last one with no luck. I ordered the Optima battery charger/tinder, maybe it will bring this one back.

[77thor]

I use the Farm & Fleet branded batteries made by Johnson Controls.
They're just the simple old style batteries that will last 7 years or more.
No complaints here.

[Interceptor5588]

AC Delco in everything.

[BMR Sales]

I use the Farm & Fleet branded batteries made by Johnson Controls.
They're just the simple old style batteries that will last 7 years or more.
No complaints here.

Optimas are made by Johnson Controls in Mexico

There are only a few Battery companies that market Batteries under Hundreds of names

[another69]

I also use Braille, B3121. Have for years now. It is about the size of my lawn tractor battery, and people always comment on that. So small that I won't bother putting it in the trunk. I use a Ctek charger, which works great.

[Samckitt]

The Optima 400 battery charger showed up today at around 4pm, it is now 9:30pm & it says battery is at 75%. Should it take that long, or is battery toast?

[Mr Nick]

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ody-pc925mjt/overview/

3 years, no problems. I put it on a battery tender for the winter. Rest of the year it's in the car and I don't pay any attention to it, sits for weeks and fires up no problem.

[Samckitt]

The Optima 400 battery charger showed up today at around 4pm, it is now 9:30pm & it says battery is at 75%. Should it take that long, or is battery toast?

Wat at 100% this morning.

[kimosabi]

What kills Optimas are too high charge voltage and the same as all other batteries ---> creep currents.. Much over 14.7V will kill them. Personally I love them, my 70 Camaro sits all winter in below freezing temps hooked up and there's no problem cranking after 4-6months storage. Same battery last 3 years.

[Samckitt]

So the Optima battery charger/tender has been on it since it arrived. Says battery is at 100%, & I am leaving it on it to keep it charged while not used.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

I was at the Sand Sports show a couple weekends ago for work, and wandered around and Odyssey was there with a show special, $109 on their PC680. I was on the fence for awhile during the show, then decided screw it, and bought it. Was having doubts about it for the week after that still because it's so tiny. Decided to throw it into my 455 Firebird with the original type starter. Cranked that thing over as good as any other battery!

We'll see how it works in my 82 Z28. That car has zero power options aside from the stock radio, so I shouldn't need the reserve capacity.

[nokones]

The Optima 400 battery charger showed up today at around 4pm, it is now 9:30pm & it says battery is at 75%. Should it take that long, or is battery toast?
The 400 is only a 4 amp max charger and the 1200 is a 12 amp max charger. The 400 will take longer to charge a battery. If you are seeing readings around 3.8 amps while in the charging mode the charger is maxed out. Depending on the discharge state of the battery, that will dictate the amount of time it will take for the indicator to show 100% and the charger to switch to the "Maintaining Battery" mode.

[nokones]

http://www.batterytender.com/

If you're leaving your car sitting around when you have a AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) battery, which is what Optima, Odyssey, XS Power etc. are. You NEED a smart charger / float charger / Battery Tender, whatever you feel like calling them that's made to handle AGM batteries not just a regular car charger like mentioned before.

The smart chargers do a good job at charging the batteries and also have a float mode when it reaches full charge that lowers voltage avoiding overcharging the battery. If you don't have a charger on a AGM battery the voltage can drop too low per cell, usually making them un-salvageable. Optima has it's fancy new charger that says it can recover a heavily discharged AGM battery though it's 400+ dollars. The normal AGM smart chargers aren't huge money and just hook it up and leave it for as long as you need to...Easy insurance really.

If you're leaving your car for months at a time...get one!

The Optima 1200 is only $199.00 and the 400 is only $109.00. If you're paying $400 for an Optima 1200 charger you better be getting two of them because you are paying double.

[rustomatic]

I'm using a $100.00 quad battery I got at O'Reilly (340 cca). It's AGM and it weighs about 15 pounds. You could mount it in your glove box. The red and yellow things are toxic boat anchors (I've had one of each) that make nothing but an excellent profit for the company. Pay for what works, not marketing.

[Jerems]

The Optima 1200 is only $199.00 and the 400 is only $109.00. If you're paying $400 for an Optima 1200 charger you better be getting two of them because you are paying double.

Yep, you're right, I should have double checked current pricing...when they first came out they were 400 Canadian. My bad.