Replacement Battery Opinions Kubota L35

Bluegill2 · Dec 10, 2013

sixdogs said:
Buy an Optima battery that is sealed and will never leak or corrode the surrounding metal. There are a lot of leaky batteries around that are causing a lot of damage. I got my last Optima from Summit Racing and I'm pretty sure it shipped for free.

Optima is the only battery I buy anymore. Have had severe corrosion problem in the past from leaking batterys.

My oldest Optima is over 10 years old and still goin strong! Have 4 others 2-8 years old and never a problem.

rScotty · Dec 10, 2013

I agree with buying AGM type. Lots of advantages. More vibration resistant, less leak-down, no maintenance, and it sure is nice not to have to deal with acid and corrosion. The brand we use is Optima, and have bought nothing but that brand for the past 15/20 years.Downside is that AGMs cost 50% more; upside is all the above and 3x as long. Most of mine are over ten years now and one (in the JD tractor) going on 15. We have 3 trucks, 4 tractors, and passenger cars - all with Optima.

BTW, I've tried Optima yellow tops and the blue tops but keep coming back to the basic Optima Red top type. It seems to last much longer than the yellow or blue and does just as well in any of our vehicles - even the larger tractors and diesel trucks.

We try to keep a couple of replacement batteries on the shelf "just in case" or for the times when something is left turned on and the battery flat. As for charging, I charged everything with a standard old roll-around battery charger and the batteries seem do do fine with that. Last year I bought a microprocessor-controlled charger that has an AGM setting and noticed that it seems to "top up" a battery better. But for normal use the regular charger is fine. After all, none of the vehicle charging systems are microprocessor controlled.
rScotty

TomSeller · Dec 10, 2013

rScotty said:
BTW, I've tried Optima yellow tops and the blue tops but keep coming back to the basic Optima Red top type. It seems to last much longer than the yellow or blue and does just as well in any of our vehicles - even the larger tractors and diesel trucks.

Oh this isn't what I wanted to hear, I have standardized on yellow top Optimas for the deep cycle ability (more lead). Not that I deep cycle them by choice, but I might not run a tractor for 3 or 4 months and small electrical draws can add up. How long have your yellow tops been lasting? And how many did you use?

buickanddeere · Dec 10, 2013

The Optima AGM batteries are so good that many aircraft are speced to use them.

Bluegill2 · Dec 10, 2013

TomSeller said:
Oh this isn't what I wanted to hear, I have standardized on yellow top Optimas for the deep cycle ability (more lead). Not that I deep cycle them by choice, but I might not run a tractor for 3 or 4 months and small electrical draws can add up. How long have your yellow tops been lasting? And how many did you use?

I wouldn't worry Tom. My oldest (over 10 years) is a blue top, used in my boat for electric motor. My brother has a yellow top that over 5 years old. I did buy red tops for both my trucks though. I have a couple yellow tops for back-ups, keep them in a solar generator I built.

Keuka · Dec 10, 2013

Are you ordering the Optimas on line and having them delivered? I'm not finding any dealers in my area. I do live in the country and have limited local dealers.

sixdogs · Dec 10, 2013

Keuka said:
Are you ordering the Optimas on line and having them delivered? I'm not finding any dealers in my area. I do live in the country and have limited local dealers.

As mentioned earlier, Summit Racing online.