Yellow top... or .. red top Optima ?

[dickfoster]

quite right. If you are putting in LED work lights, fuses might not be necessary but are always a good idea. For the sander, you bet I would want a fused power supply!

Always fuse added wiring. The fuse is there to protect the wire from burning whatever you're putting the new circuit in from burning from shorted wiring. Size the fuse to the wire and size the wire to the load.

 

[dickfoster]

I have an Optima in my WRX because they are light.

In my wife's minivan we use the Odyssey AGM, which is big and heavy but has unmatched capacity. A Yellow Top for the Outback weighs 36.4 lbs and has 620 CCA. The same-size Odyssey Extreme AGM weighs 50 lbs and has 850 CCA.

Lighter means cheaper, less lead and less stored charge. Heavy for its size is a good thing when it comes to AGM batteries.

 

[apriordan]

Thanks for this chatter guys. I'm now between an AGM and Optima but at least I've narrowed my batteries haha

 

[Garandman]

I wouldn't recommend any Optima. They've been selling the label instead of product for the last few years and they are now made in Mexico. You might want to look at a Odyssey which is still made in the US and also to my mind has better technology which packs more charge density in the same or less volume. One Odyssey does it all so you need not worry about what color to get as they are all orange. I think all that color top hooey was mostly just a marketing gimmick anyway.

Back that truck up!

Johnson Controls (who OEMs many, many battery brands) bought Optima in 2000. They started transitioning production to Mexico and had some start up quality problems between 2005-2010. They are now well past that. I have one Red Top purchased in 2012 (and knew about Mexico) and another in 2013 and they are both going strong. Many batteries are now made in Mexico because labor is cheap and environmentalists don't matter.

Odyssey is also an AGM battery and at one point provided Sears DieHard Platinum.From post #11: "A Yellow Top for the Outback weighs 36.4 lbs and has 620 CCA. A Red Top weighs 31.7 lbs and has 720 CCA."

They change the chemistry for more endurance and need more to gain sufficient starting power. Selling someone a battery with 5lbs more costly "stuff" while rating it lower for CCA would be the opposite of "marketing gimmick" as higher price and lower CCA is worse for most buyers: unless you are a ham operator or a stereo fanatic in which case the extra reserve is a godsend you are happy to pay for.

"The same-size Odyssey Extreme AGM weighs 50 lbs and has 850 CCA."

On my wife's minivan, which has power doors and tail gate, a 650w radio with powered subwoofer, and runs the gps with the radio, we would definitely have gone Yellow Top. But we bought an Odyssey because weight doesn't matter and it has more everything.

In my WRX,, the RT is a cheap way to get 15 lbs out of the nose and now people are using 5lb LiFeP04 motorcycle batteries for the summer - 3-5 lbs.

Tractor, where Weight Is Good, Odyssey would also be first choice.

 

[John_Mc]

In my tractor, the choice between Optima and Odyssey was made by figuring out who had the battery that would fit in the existing space without modification. I ended up with an Optima yellow top D51. None of the Odyssey options were a good fit. As long as I had at least as high a CCA rating, I didn't care about density or Optima's supposed wast of space. It's a tractor, it fits, it has more CCAs than the battery I replaced, and it will stand up to vibration.

Also, for longest life, Odyssey batteries require a slightly different charging float voltage. Not many chargers out there are set up for this. A standard charger designed for a flooded lead-acid battery will charge an Odyssey, but it's not the optimum solution. An Optima is quite happy with the standard flooded lead acid charging profile.

 

[apriordan]

In my tractor, the choice between Optima and Odyssey was made by figuring out who had the battery that would fit in the existing space without modification. I ended up with an Optima yellow top D51. None of the Odyssey options were a good fit. As long as I had at least as high a CCA rating, I didn't care about density or Optima's supposed wast of space. It's a tractor, it fits, it has more CCAs than the battery I replaced, and it will stand up to vibration.

Also, for longest life, Odyssey batteries require a slightly different charging float voltage. Not many chargers out there are set up for this. A standard charger designed for a flooded lead-acid battery will charge an Odyssey, but it's not the optimum solution. An Optima is quite happy with the standard flooded lead acid charging profile.

Good call, measured the top of the battery compartment and although I'd have to remove the air cleaner is like you said this limiting factor influences the battery I can install. Also measured the front without the grill so these will definitely impact my decision.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My one experience with Optima red top was not good. It lasted only 1.5 years and then went completely dead overnight and wouldn't take a charge. Only Optima dealer around me was a NAPA store and they didn't stock them (would order me one to be in in a couple of days) and when I found the price was over $200 I decided on a NAPA Gold battery for about half the price. It has been on my Kubota RTV 900 now for over 5 years with no problems. The RTV rarely runs more than 2-3 minutes between cranking times and it has never needed a charge. I just could never justify the cost of an AGM battery for my uses on tractors. I finally had to replace my 2010 LS tractor battery this year (bought in 2009) and I got my replacement from NAPA also mainly because they had the size that I needed but it turned out to be cheapest place in town also. My 2009 lead acid original Kubota B26 battery is still cranking fine for now, sure hope talking about it doesn't cause me to have to buy a new one for it.

 

[ovrszd]

My one experience with Optima red top was not good. It lasted only 1.5 years and then went completely dead overnight and wouldn't take a charge. Only Optima dealer around me was a NAPA store and they didn't stock them (would order me one to be in in a couple of days) and when I found the price was over $200 I decided on a NAPA Gold battery for about half the price. It has been on my Kubota RTV 900 now for over 5 years with no problems. The RTV rarely runs more than 2-3 minutes between cranking times and it has never needed a charge. I just could never justify the cost of an AGM battery for my uses on tractors. I finally had to replace my 2010 LS tractor battery this year (bought in 2009) and I got my replacement from NAPA also mainly because they had the size that I needed but it turned out to be cheapest place in town also. My 2009 lead acid original Kubota B26 battery is still cranking fine for now, sure hope talking about it doesn't cause me to have to buy a new one for it.

Might as well get one ordered.....

 

[John_Mc]

Good call, measured the top of the battery compartment and although I'd have to remove the air cleaner is like you said this limiting factor influences the battery I can install. Also measured the front without the grill so these will definitely impact my decision.

If I recall, the Optima height dimension is to the top of the battery post, not the top flat surface of the battery. Also, remember you can lay one down, or stand it on its side. AGM batteries don't care.

 

[ovrszd]

If I recall, the Optima height dimension is to the top of the battery post, not the top flat surface of the battery. Also, remember you can lay one down, or stand it on its side. AGM batteries don't care.

Used a pair of Optimas few years ago on a Jeep project. Had to build a battery rack to fit double batteries under the hood. That was a bonus to using AGM batteries. Laid both of them on their sides, stacked one on top of the other.