Had two red tops on my 2000 F450 when I got it. New about them and thought they were cool. Had charged them a few times not realizing regular charges screw with them and you need a charger that can condition them while charging. This winter they were weak as **** after my truck sat over 24hrs in the cold, had to jump start many times. Two high cca gold batteries from advance autoparts, 3-5 year warranty, for the same price as one red top with 200less cca is good enough for me. Optima's are ok but for my truck, these regular batteries out power the most powerful Optima's.
Optima Batteries
- Thread starter lilranch2001
- Start date
- Views: 19054
You shouldn't need a *special* charger according to Optima. From their site:
Optima does say if one is deeply discharged, then a different procedure should be used and it's described on their website.
At any rate, why did the batteries in your F450 need "to be charged a few times"?
I think the charging information Optima provides on their site is valid and appropriate, but once again....having said that....I've never seen one outlast or outperform a traditional battery at anywhere NEAR the rates they claim, other than in the vibratory roller application I mentioned earlier. And with a few hundred pieces of equipment and vehicles in the fleet, we would have noticed.
All I know is before I used a regular float/trickle charger and regular battery charger, the batteries were fine. But afterwards they held less and less, I even checked it at times with my multimeter.
I don't care what they say if it is deeply discharged, that makes any type of battery lose life.
Batteries needed a charge cause they weren't holding enough power anymore in the cold, after they were weak from regular chargers if it got below 35 degrees they got the power sucked out of them.
Also they are not ideal for any large applications requiring high cca. Optima's max out at 800cca and I got cheap gold batteries for $100 each at 1050cca. Major difference.
daugen
Epic Contributor
AGM's seem to be specialized, special purpose batteries for any position, non maintenance, rough condition use. I wonder if they have been cross marketed for "premium" conventional applications where maybe they really don't provide enough added value for their higher price. There was a question about what charger to use. I had the same question myself two weeks ago when I lost confidence in my old Napa charger, which I used to charge my small boat battery and a whole slew of small equipment batteries. It started reading "the same" all the time, and that got me worried, no matter what I connected it to. Ok, time for plan B.
So I did my research and bought a BatteryMinder on Amazon:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Battery-Charger-Maintainer-Desulphator/dp/B000JFLSL6/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1332081392&sr=1-2]Amazon.com: BatteryMINDer Battery Charger / Maintainer with Desulphator - 12 Volt 2/4/8 Amp, Model# 12248: Automotive[/ame]
16 people gave it five stars. And I read all the reviews. Not a big sampling; these products come out with new models pretty often.
I wanted the desulphating process for some of my older batteries. Not even sure that's appropriate for AGM, but basically I bought one of their most expensive fully automatic units and hoped it was smarter than I am.
There's a caveat in the Optima fine print about not all Gel-AGM settings will work. Thanks guys. How about some agreed upon charging standards and build to them, if you can? So one person's high tech charger might work better on AGM and one might work better on Gel, both set the same. This is ridiculous.
So yeah, they have to say "most" chargers will work on their batteries, but how well? Should we really be buying their charger, they have a whole line of them, because the voltage and charging protocols are exactly what their battery needs? This is one reason I have stayed away from AGM; first I didn't need a rough service battery, except in the little boat, which can take a pounding, but a Gel works great. The Optima did not, and I'm sure it's owner error based on bad charging, cooking the battery, or letting it go dead. Second, I have reliably operating(I pretty much know how long they will last) alternatives that last long enough that I am satisfied with their cost/performance or value to me.
Many of us are "afflicted" with wanting the best battery, the best tire, and so forth. You can't trust most manufacturers with "good names" to always build a good product, in this case a battery, because they just don't. Goodyear makes some outstanding tires, and in my experience, some real turkeys in the past. I've found Michelin to be more consistent in overall quality, but I could start a endless back and forth on this that isn't the point.
Optima clearly is a very high quality product. I think in specific applications, and with good charging regulation, and reasonably constant use, they could be exactly what is needed. In this case, I'll pay less, watch the calendar, and at the four year or five year mark, start paying very close attention to the battery. If it's in something I treasure, like my pristine Gravely tractor, I'll buy it a new battery every five years just sort of as a "treat". I know it's stupid, but if you like machinery, you'll understand.
I don't have enough time on the new battery charger to make a comment, other than it was light, well made, and had good leads. Other than that it's an idiot light delight and I'm hoping green is good...
I still think they might make great solar battery banks, because the controllers on those applications are usually high quality and high tech. Most of the combo packages I see include AGM batteries.
So I did my research and bought a BatteryMinder on Amazon:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Battery-Charger-Maintainer-Desulphator/dp/B000JFLSL6/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1332081392&sr=1-2]Amazon.com: BatteryMINDer Battery Charger / Maintainer with Desulphator - 12 Volt 2/4/8 Amp, Model# 12248: Automotive[/ame]
16 people gave it five stars. And I read all the reviews. Not a big sampling; these products come out with new models pretty often.
I wanted the desulphating process for some of my older batteries. Not even sure that's appropriate for AGM, but basically I bought one of their most expensive fully automatic units and hoped it was smarter than I am.
There's a caveat in the Optima fine print about not all Gel-AGM settings will work. Thanks guys. How about some agreed upon charging standards and build to them, if you can? So one person's high tech charger might work better on AGM and one might work better on Gel, both set the same. This is ridiculous.
So yeah, they have to say "most" chargers will work on their batteries, but how well? Should we really be buying their charger, they have a whole line of them, because the voltage and charging protocols are exactly what their battery needs? This is one reason I have stayed away from AGM; first I didn't need a rough service battery, except in the little boat, which can take a pounding, but a Gel works great. The Optima did not, and I'm sure it's owner error based on bad charging, cooking the battery, or letting it go dead. Second, I have reliably operating(I pretty much know how long they will last) alternatives that last long enough that I am satisfied with their cost/performance or value to me.
Many of us are "afflicted" with wanting the best battery, the best tire, and so forth. You can't trust most manufacturers with "good names" to always build a good product, in this case a battery, because they just don't. Goodyear makes some outstanding tires, and in my experience, some real turkeys in the past. I've found Michelin to be more consistent in overall quality, but I could start a endless back and forth on this that isn't the point.
Optima clearly is a very high quality product. I think in specific applications, and with good charging regulation, and reasonably constant use, they could be exactly what is needed. In this case, I'll pay less, watch the calendar, and at the four year or five year mark, start paying very close attention to the battery. If it's in something I treasure, like my pristine Gravely tractor, I'll buy it a new battery every five years just sort of as a "treat". I know it's stupid, but if you like machinery, you'll understand.
I don't have enough time on the new battery charger to make a comment, other than it was light, well made, and had good leads. Other than that it's an idiot light delight and I'm hoping green is good...
I still think they might make great solar battery banks, because the controllers on those applications are usually high quality and high tech. Most of the combo packages I see include AGM batteries.
From my experience is this:
Get a good traditional battery, (extra ca and cca doesn't hurt)
Get a cheap trickle/float charger (they are all the same)
Get a digital timer. Attach them all together and set the timer for an hour every day or a few a week.
Set it and forget it. Done. Specially for equipment that sits for months, you'll never have to worry about it.
Get a good traditional battery, (extra ca and cca doesn't hurt)
Get a cheap trickle/float charger (they are all the same)
Get a digital timer. Attach them all together and set the timer for an hour every day or a few a week.
Set it and forget it. Done. Specially for equipment that sits for months, you'll never have to worry about it.
varmint
Elite Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2003
- Messages
- 2,572
- Location
- Northern Maryland
- Tractor
- Kubota B8200, then a Kubota L3130 HST, now a Kubota L3400 HST
I may be setting myself up for battery trouble, just by saying this, but my 80's Kubota B8200 came with a Walmart heavy duty battery when I bought it, used, in 2001 or so, and the tractor sits way too long between uses... a month would be normal, often longer, and other than hooking it up to a Harbor Freight $5 battery maintainer, nothing is done, and it has worked perfectly. Well, I do check the acid level a couple of times a year, and I have added distilled water if needed.