Optima batteries?

The optimas are an a battery aren't they?
If so, would the standard alternator put out the high volts required to charge it?

They are impressive though!

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I got mine here. $360 at your door for the D31M Bluetop. Some places quoted me almost double.
http://www.optima-batteries.com.au/o...-top-d31m.html

Why the Bluetop for me? Originally the battery chemicals were designed as Red for Starting, Yellow for Deep cycling and Blue would do deep cycle with startup current. Now they say blue and yellow are the same - but why would they market the same as a blue and a yellow.... Anyway I run the blue because it has another set of accessory bolts on it when other installed bits and pieces draw their power from such as ARB air compressor, Traxide lighting loom, rear battery etc. I do have the winch connect to these terminals also, but I really don't think they were meant for winching currents.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rrturboD

Hammer H,
Yellow top and blue top optimas share the same internals - both are dual purpose batteries. Blue is targeted at marine users. The yellow top has standard battery posts, while the blue top has posts plus a pair of bolts.
Depending on your existing battery connection devices (clamps etc) you may be better with yellow or a blue top.
Traxide kits are setup for yellow top. Only issue ever had with blue top was the positions of the bolts put battery connections very close to metal battery clamp, which meant clamp needed to be modified to allow clearance from connections.
Have a look on the Marine Batteries | AGM Battery | Optima Batteries site and you will see the differences.
I sell both the yellow top and blue for $275 ... delivered.

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Hi Michael, thank you, what cca do you think is sufficient? The commercial yellow tops look good at 900cca how much would the be?

Hammer H

cold cranking capacity ... anything over 700 will start almost anything (2xD34 easily start a CatD6 24v) ... so the the D31M @ 900cca may be overkill. It is quite a big battery at 326L x 165W x 242H and 27kg. Optima D31A, D31T or D31M $340 delivered
Consider D27 batteries , size same as N70ZZ and 830cca @ $319 ....

I put a red top Optima in my V8 DIsco and it died within 3 months. Must have been faulty from the factory (Mexico).

Replaced it under warranty with a D34 yellow top which has worked fine for over 2 years now. Also have the smaller D51 yellow tops in two other classic cars. The yellow tops are good for cars that are not driven for long periods of time, and they charge up much quicker than normal batteries.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rrturboD

Hammer H,
The yellow top has standard battery posts, while the blue top has posts plus a pair of bolts.
connections.

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My yellow top, which I purchased from you, does not have standard battery posts. I got the option of threaded studs.

X 3 for the Supercharge All-rounders...

I run a pair of them in my P38. One is two years old, the other is three years old, plus I have one in the Dmax as well. Great batteries. Love to run accessories. I get 2 1/2 days off one of them (I isolate the two batteries when I reach camp) running my 78L ARB fridge at -4 before the fridge goes into battery save mode.

Cheers
Keithy

I purchased a pair of blue top D27's for the OKA in 2010. One as a dedicated start battery and the other as the 'rest of vehicle' battery (this is how the OKA is factory configured). House batterys are separate. In 2012 I replaced these with SuperCharge marine batterys (N70 size) and used the Optimas as house batterys.

The Optimas have now done 5 years of hard outback holiday travel (approx. 2 to 3 months per year) and normal day to day use the rest of the time. I have never previously had a battery, any battery, last more than two years under harsh conditions.

These Optima batterys are very robust and have survived the Canning Stock Route, Simpson Desert, Gibb River Road (twice), Kalumburu Rd, Mitchell Falls (twice), Gunbarrel Hwy, Old Gunbarrell Hwy, Anne Beadell Hwy (twice) and off road across the Great Sandy Desert plus a further complete lap of the country on highway and off road. They are very, very robust.

Even though they (D27 which is N70 equivalent) have a comparatively small rating of 66 AH compared to a around 100 AH for the N70 they make an excellent house battery as they can fully charge from half flat in around an hour. This is very useful when doing short hops between camps as the battery is kept fully charged from the vehicle alternator without having to worry about an external charging source. They might be an expensive outlay but cheap in the long run and worth every penny. :)

As they charge very quickly it is, IMO, necessary to have a charging system able to supply this 'load', especially when charging multiple Optimas. Also I don't let them remain in a flat state which is death to any battery. Currently they are left 'floating' at 14.1 volts on the OKA solar.

On the other hand the marine SuperCharge batterys have also been very reliable. They have now both done nearly 3 years of hard labour and are still in good condition.

Deano :)

I fitted the Yellow top a few months back and so far so good. Runs fridge all weekend when im away ( which hasnt been much lately ) 900cca so easily starts 4.6L car has been sitting for few weeks now & holding voltage well even with some added extras which run continuously.

Hi Fantom,

Does the battery (d31) fit no problems with the original clamp and cables?

Cheers

hammer H