Thread: optima wont hold charge

At $500 you can buy 3 - 4 normal D70's for the RRP of 1 optima

mind you last D70 I bought cost me $77 for a brand new, 2nd with warrantee. (no mates rates I just walked in off the street)

So what makes these batteries so good that you guys are spending almost 6 1/2 times what I paid to do the same job.

G'day Dobbo

D70 ? or N70 battery as I will be in the market for a N70z in the near future and that price is a lot cheaper that what I was quoted what brand

cheers

G'day Dobbo,

Answer is coz they're a better setup in the long run.

My red & yellow pair are about 5 years old. Still going strong. Previous pair had 6 years on them, no problems, I only changed them for a Simpson trip just in case.

1. Your ordinary D70s don't like camping.
2. The Spiral Gel doesn't need the periodic maintenance
3. Spiral Gel won't fail on endless corrugations.
4. Your D70 doesn't like being tipped on its side, or inverted. And admit it I have seen the Turdis at some very strange angles.

For me, its reliable, fit & forget power for starting, winching & camping. You can muck about under the seat while I have one of these.

Unfortunately there do seem to be some stories about re short life with Optimas, so maybe the quality is dropping off. Time to look into alternate brand spiral gels perhaps.

Regards
Max P

Completely agree that Optimas are overrated. The blue top I had lasted well under 3 years. I've had some good runs out of Hella Endurant batteries. IMO stick with the common brands of batteries.

Originally Posted by Tusker

G'day Dobbo,

Answer is coz they're a better setup in the long run.

My red & yellow pair are about 5 years old. Still going strong. Previous pair had 6 years on them, no problems, I only changed them for a Simpson trip just in case.

1. Your ordinary D70s don't like camping.
2. The Spiral Gel doesn't need the periodic maintenance
3. Spiral Gel won't fail on endless corrugations.
4. Your D70 doesn't like being tipped on its side, or inverted. And admit it I have seen the Turdis at some very strange angles.

For me, its reliable, fit & forget power for starting, winching & camping. You can muck about under the seat while I have one of these.

Unfortunately there do seem to be some stories about re short life with Optimas, so maybe the quality is dropping off. Time to look into alternate brand spiral gels perhaps.

Regards
Max P

You have a valid points, I keep forgetting the need for electricity to power a modern engine. We can clutch start the Turdis with dead batteries dropping it down a curb or flick the switch and the Red arc switches the batteries to run in parallel. With the only draw on the deep cycle is from highest to lowest A/H is the **** lights, followed by the engel and finally the MP3 player.

Besides there are better ways to cool beer.

Next time we go out, you can take both batteries, fridge and esky and any other cooling implements out of the Turdis, I bet you a curry I can still enjoy an icy cold beer at the end of the day.

Originally Posted by dobbo

Next time we go out, you can take both batteries, fridge and esky and any other cooling implements out of the Turdis, I bet you a curry I can still enjoy an icy cold beer at the end of the day.

Is that because Max gives you one out of your fridge or because you're still in the driveway at home and you can just walk inside for one?

Seriously though, I had my first Optima not holding charge at all and the case warped. The replacement hasn't given any real problems at all. Initially it didn't hold much charge and it could be flattened with a winching, but since I've blown and replaced the alternator it has been excellent.

As Max has said, its about piece of mind that the battery under the bonnet can take pounding after pounding with touring and other other abuse and you know it will still be working. I run the large bluetop as a starting/winching battery and the accessory terminals are excellent also for the other junk that runs off it.

My opinion also, is that they are not necessarily the best for Deep cycling. It's not that there is any particular problem with the battery, but the spiral cells are not space efficient, so for a given package size a flat plated deep cycle will give you more capacity. I think the difference for me is 75ah on the Blue Top, and the 2nd is a Lifeline deep cycle which was the same price and same technology except with flat cells instead of spiral and that contains 100ah. It means the fridge will run longer and the battey will last longer due to a lower % of discharge.

snip

Originally Posted by dobbo

Next time we go out, you can take both batteries, fridge and esky and any other cooling implements out of the Turdis, I bet you a curry I can still enjoy an icy cold beer at the end of the day.

end snip.

Do tell? Out of my fridge?

Back on topic, I'd just say gel batteries are like plasma rope. Once you've made the switch you'll never go back.

Regards
Max P

Originally Posted by Tusker

snip
end snip.

Do tell? Out of my fridge?

Back on topic, I'd just say gel batteries are like plasma rope. Once you've made the switch you'll never go back.

Regards
Max P

I'm pretty sure the optimas are not gel, the gels are sloooow. The are sealed though.