Assuming Optima Red Tops are still the "thing?"

Jake Pipes. Right here. :hehe:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq-EpR-8R0w"]Electroboom Funny Compilation #2 - YouTube[/ame]
 
mhuggler said:
Yup, it’s another “big 3” when it comes to batteries. Working for Cat, I of course lean towards Deka(East Penn) since that’s who makes Cat batteries. They’re tough as hell, but they don’t recover from a deep cycle well. If you keep them charged they last forever. I despise Interstate’s recycled garbage batteries but I actually have a couple in my 5500 service truck right now. I have even worse luck with AGM, gel, magic pixie dust, etc. batteries and it was easier for me to find Interstates in this group size with good old lead-acid internals. Time will tell....
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I thought cat was delphi?

Edit, guess not. It's been east Penn for 15 years

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
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jasonc said:
Everstart from Orielys here. 84.99 and a good warranty.

Can you do a test on the dually batts to see if they're still holding a charge?
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You dont think i have a charger that i haven't thrown on there from time to time? :hehe:
 
Get whatever has the best, legitimate, and local warranty. Interstate is what we use at the shop with good luck.
 
I’ve had really good luck with the batteries from O’reilly, but did buy Duracell batteries from ol Sam’s Club last year for my 12v and so far so good.
 
This conversation bugs me in that everybody is talking about brands rather than the underlying technologies.

Isn't any AGM battery better than any lead acid battery, as long as you're not beating the crap out of it? (Overcharging, over-discharging, etc.)

I've blown up a couple Optima's from losing voltage regulators and zapping them at 20+ volts. (It's a first gen thing and one of the reasons I have my alternator field coil on a switch now.)

Red Tops actually hiss, get very hot and smell like farts if you over charge them.

At any rate, you should probably be selecting batteries based on their design rather than their brand.

I've never had battery cable corrosion since going to Optima's. I understand that's an AGM thing? Worth the premium over a lifetime-warranty lead acid to me.
 
Begle1 said:
This conversation bugs me in that everybody is talking about brands rather than the underlying technologies.

Isn't any AGM battery better than any lead acid battery, as long as you're not beating the crap out of it? (Overcharging, over-discharging, etc.)

I've blown up a couple Optima's from losing voltage regulators and zapping them at 20+ volts. (It's a first gen thing and one of the reasons I have my alternator field coil on a switch now.)

Red Tops actually hiss, get very hot and smell like farts if you over charge them.

At any rate, you should probably be selecting batteries based on their design rather than their brand.

I've never had battery cable corrosion since going to Optima's. I understand that's an AGM thing? Worth the premium over a lifetime-warranty lead acid to me.
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AGM’s are a joke and I think people are realizing it. I’ve tried at least half a dozen of them in various applications and the longest any of them survived was 13 months. That’s for a battery that costs MORE than a lead-acid; you can keep ‘em.
 
jasonc said:
Can you do a test on the dually batts to see if they're still holding a charge?
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I've got a good AGM charger that I've had running on them for the last week. I purposely left the charger off of them last night. This AM I clicked the remote start through the window and it fired right up (with block heater plugged in or course). It was -2 when I got up today. I'd say they've recovered from whatever happened.

I may run them and see how they do. The very next time it goes "click"....they will get the proverbial axe. However, I have been starting it every 4-5 hours to go around and chop ice for the cattle so......I'll let her set for a few days after this God forsaken white shit melts and see how they do.

Begle1 said:
This conversation bugs me in that everybody is talking about brands rather than the underlying technologies.

Isn't any AGM battery better than any lead acid battery, as long as you're not beating the crap out of it? (Overcharging, over-discharging, etc.)
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Well, I for one have had nothing but good luck with them. The best part about them to me is the terminals stay clean and dry and don't corrode to hell. Filled batteries suck ass. Ya'll nay sayers can keep 'em. ;)
 
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I perform inspections on standby generators of all sizes and manufacturers on a regular basis. I have never, EVER been able to pass one that had AGM batteries installed; the voltage during cranking drops too low. Sometimes it’s because one in the bank is dead and drawing down the rest, but for one reason or another they always fail. Keep in mind that they are almost always less than one year old(some inspections are bi-annual). If it’s cold, I’ve had many crank but not start because there’s not enough voltage left to power the ecm. It’s nice to have a sealed battery, but if you need something reliable they are definitely not for you.
 
mhuggler said:
It’s nice to have a sealed battery, but if you need something reliable they are definitely not for you.
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Been my experience, where they are needed they are really the only option (mounting limitations) but most of the time they are an expensive turd. Usually expect 5yrs out of a set of truck batteries, anything more and it's a plus. Anything I have that sits a lot are all plugged into battery tenders, skid loader, mower ect.
 
4x4dually said:
It's a combo. When unplugged, the inverter runs on battery power, when plugged in, it charges the battery. The problem I think it has is that it has no temperature compensation so when the temps are warm outside or the battery is hot in the sun, it over charges the piss out of it. I'm threatened to put a cut-out switch and permanently mount a reliable trickle charger to fix this but haven't yet. I've also threatened to mount a trickle charger under the hood of the Dodge and wire it in permanently to the AC for the block heater. When it's cold and I plug it in to warm the motor, it charges the batteries at the same time with the same cord. Another idea I've has since 1999 and have never moved on.

Is it not fuk-tarded that things like batteries that are consumables cost $200-$400? This is dumb.
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I've thought 100 times that a trickle charger wired in with the block heater would make sense... With a nice flush mounted plug.


I run Orilley AGM batteries.
 
jfaulkner said:
Been my experience, where they are needed they are really the only option (mounting limitations) but most of the time they are an expensive turd. Usually expect 5yrs out of a set of truck batteries, anything more and it's a plus. Anything I have that sits a lot are all plugged into battery tenders, skid loader, mower ect.
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Are you seeing 5 years out of the sealed, or referencing the old style?


I agree, anything that sits gets a tender(at least for a few weeks every couple months). I picked up some of the harbor freight ones about 10 years ago for like $3.99 on a sale, and they do a good job on my truck, picked up some others that have a connector and the snowmobile and 4 wheeler have one of these on it.


Amazon.com: Schumacher WM-12 12 Cable Connector for Battery Charger / Maintainer: Automotive




What about lithium batteries? I had heard they had some cold weather issues, but any real world experience with them?
 
Lead/acid we get 5 unless they were abused. Had sealed ones never make it a year in stuff like waverunners etc.

I bought the 5-bank battery tender and I have cords ran to everything that sits. Skid loader and a couple of my semis all have tenders permanently mounted on them and if they aren’t being used they are plugged in.

Amazing the guys that will bitch about smoking $100+ batteries because they are too cheap to buy a $40 maintainer.

I fell for the Optima crap twice, one red and one deep cycle. Total chit, if the batteries aren’t mounted inside the cab or laying on their sides I’ll buy the proven design. And guys can take a battery tester and shove it up their asses, if you hit the key and it won’t start they are ALL getting replaced I don’t care what the idiot at auto zone said. Heard them say “battery tests good” well the key said otherwise.
 
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I run the agm ones from oreilly. had real good luck out of them. I always beg for a deal on them though as they are pricey. we bought 6 the last time.
 
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