I can get the yellow Optima battery new for 140.00. I think this is a pretty good price. If anyone else is interested let me know. This is not a group buy , I can ship via ups for cost if interested.
Gary
Gary
-
If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!
Optima Battery-Yellow
- Thread starter gpfahler
- Start date
This is a very good price. Cheapest that I can find them shipped is around $190. I would be interested - but have a lack of funds to blow on unnecessary mods right now.
james21
Cruise Coord
PM 2021
PM 2019
PM 2014
PM 2012
SM 2011
SM 2008
SM 2007
SM 2006
SM 2005
SM 2004
SM 2003
Full Member
Aegis, I might be interested, since that is the best price that I have seen on a yellow top. What is shipping going to be? Also isn't it dangerous to ship batteries through the mail?
-James R.
-James R.
kimmelAV
Full Member
I've seen quite a few of these on Ebay. Most are from companies not individuals. Just make sure they have a warranty and are not blems.
It is my undertanding that Optimas are sealed batts. Assuming that they are dry cell then they would not be shipped as a hazardous material. I have a store that will sell the battery at 5.00 over cost.
This deal would work best for those in the So Cal area as the shipping might be kinda expensive, anyone know the weight on the battery?
Gary
This deal would work best for those in the So Cal area as the shipping might be kinda expensive, anyone know the weight on the battery?
Gary
cudaowner
Full Member
Aegis,
Are you near San Diego?
Are you near San Diego?
Ok, I've got a couple of questions... For a dual battery set up, I thought you needed both batteries the same. Am I correct in this? Also isn't the yellow top a deep cycle battery? Does it have enough CCAs to start the Av if I go into a colder climate like Mammoth?
I have never seen a yellow top at Costco.Magic Mtn Dan said:
I think a yellow top is appropriate for those of us who have lots of audio video goodies and aftermarket electrical toys installed. Personally, we have on two occasions, ran our stock battery down at the drive-in movies and required a jump both times.
Our amp and subwoofer just draw too much juice, even when starting the truck up during intermission. A dual battery install is definitely coming soon for us.
Hey guys, I just wanted to make a couple quick comments about batteries before you all head off and start buying $150 "magic" batteries. There haven't been any real advances in lead/acid batteries in a couple of decades. This translates into very little, as in a couple percent, difference in a Optima yellow or red top and a bargain battery for less than half its price. The real magic in batteries as of late has been in the marketing departments. It's easy to build a battery that can best most others in one or two areas, however marginally it may be, but there has been no "golden" battery built as of yet as far as I know.
If you load a couple Optima batteries to the point where voltage is about 10 volts, the red top batt will outperform the yellow top for a while. For lesser loads a yellow top will have a longer lifespan than the red top. Keep in mind that if you fully discharge either of these batts, you can charge the carefully with an outboard charger, not the alternator, and recover them relatively well. However, from the fellows that I know who have absolutely drained these things several times and tried to charge them again, they didn't recover well after several drainings. These yellow tops aren't exactly what you should call a true deep cycle battery. Some equipment batteries can be drained hundreds of times, cost thousands of dollars, and weigh hundreds of pounds. These are true deep cycle batteries. It comes down to the fact that pounds per watts of many, many batteries are so close that there is no clear winner. Think about it like this, if Optima batteries were so superior, they'd be in every electric vehicle and hybrid on the road and they'd be in every backup grid and UPS in every hospital around the globe; so far I haven't seen them in either place.
That was supposed to be a couple "quick" comments, sorry for the long winded post. It also isn't meant to be offensive to anyone with an Optima or anyone planning to buy one.
If you load a couple Optima batteries to the point where voltage is about 10 volts, the red top batt will outperform the yellow top for a while. For lesser loads a yellow top will have a longer lifespan than the red top. Keep in mind that if you fully discharge either of these batts, you can charge the carefully with an outboard charger, not the alternator, and recover them relatively well. However, from the fellows that I know who have absolutely drained these things several times and tried to charge them again, they didn't recover well after several drainings. These yellow tops aren't exactly what you should call a true deep cycle battery. Some equipment batteries can be drained hundreds of times, cost thousands of dollars, and weigh hundreds of pounds. These are true deep cycle batteries. It comes down to the fact that pounds per watts of many, many batteries are so close that there is no clear winner. Think about it like this, if Optima batteries were so superior, they'd be in every electric vehicle and hybrid on the road and they'd be in every backup grid and UPS in every hospital around the globe; so far I haven't seen them in either place.
That was supposed to be a couple "quick" comments, sorry for the long winded post. It also isn't meant to be offensive to anyone with an Optima or anyone planning to buy one.
B
biohazard1.2
GUEST
DS, spot on!
For ciritical systems, we have inumerable UPS's and PCS's...we use, primarily, a sealed battery from exide. Nothing special, just sealed and maintained.
For ciritical systems, we have inumerable UPS's and PCS's...we use, primarily, a sealed battery from exide. Nothing special, just sealed and maintained.
CUdaowner,
I am in Southern Ca Torrance area.
Gary
I am in Southern Ca Torrance area.
Gary
02-Z66
Full Member
got a friend who wants to sell me one for $100.00 bucks. i am going to get it of course. just have to get it checked out before i pay him. he is a slick one.
well after gm replaced my battery once and having to have 3 jumps in a month, I went out and got a optima yellow top this morning, hopefully no more problems...but just as further protection....I also have invested in a Priority start to the AV
Come on folks......save some money and don't fall for the Optima marketing hype regarding the yellow and red top batteries.
DS makes a lot of good points, however does anyone have any hands on experience with the performance of Optima Batteries on the AV?
DS is pretty close on this one. The only thing that I might add is that we have found that you can fully discharge the red or yellows fully and then charge them back up again. HOWEVER, the next discharge cycle will be faster than the first and next will be even faster (not quite exponentially, but close). If you discharge the battery often, it will start discharging fully rather rapidly and basically becomes more like a cap. Now if you fully discharge a lead acid battery, you can never fully recover its initial capacity as you recharge and this also becomes a repeating process as the battery loses some % of its original capacity after each full discharge. We have used Optimas for many years and have had pretty good luck with them. We have also used "alleged" competition drycell batteries from companies like Stinger and have had mixed results and actually many defectives. In the end I suppose the question is whether or not the Optimas are any better than lead acid and I would say yes as long as you don't fully discharge them often--which is pricisely what they are supposed to be designed for in the first place!! If you can get a good deal on one ($145 or less) the optimas are a good buy and tend to last a long time, but only outperform lead acid if you don't continually cycle them.
02-Z66
Full Member
i agree with kodiakz. i have seen an Optima, Red and a Yellow, sit in a Chevy Blazer and Z-28. since both sat most of the time the batteries were trashed. they would not hold a charge after they fully discharged.
in fact i have a new Red top i paid $100 bucks for. it has not been installed yet. when i do i suspect i should be very happy with it.
in fact i have a new Red top i paid $100 bucks for. it has not been installed yet. when i do i suspect i should be very happy with it.
02-Z66
Full Member
i tried to install my Optima today. the (+) and (-) leads seemed to fall a little short as far as the bolts go. are long enough? seemed to me they were to short to get a good bite. did anyone else have this problem? or do i need to just play with it a lttle to get it started? i got frustrated and stopped. 
thanx in advance.
btw, i have the Red Top Optima. not sure if this makes a difference.
thanx in advance. btw, i have the Red Top Optima. not sure if this makes a difference.
brheas
SM 2017
SM 2014
PM 2013
PM 2012
SM 2011
SM 2010
SM 2009
SM 2008
SM 2007
SM 2006
SM 2005
SM 2004
Full Member
Here is my .02 on the Optima battery, although I would not pay the extra $$ for one myself.
I am in the U.S. Navy and just got off of a large ship where I was in charge of the battery locker. The battery locker on a ship provides lead acid and Nicad batteries for everything on the ship. The last 6 month deployment I did, we used mostly Optima red top batteries in the ground support equipment that are commonly used and abused for maintaining aircraft. These pieces of equipment are used for everything that you can possibly imagine and are subject to more abuse than any AV could ever be. The Optima battery outlasted the best conventional lead acid battery 3 to 1. At the end of the 6 month cruise we only had to get rid of a total of approximately 50 bad batteries - only 6 of those where the optima batteries. The previous 6 month deployment we had over 200 bad batteries (did not have any Optimas).
We also replaced the conventional deep cycle batteries in the small boats that the ship owned with the yellow top Optima. These boats are also quite abused with people leaving accesories on when not in use for days before being discoverd. Although these were only in these boats for about 9 months before I left we never had to replace any of them. Just slow charged them when they got drained.
So my .02 would be get the Optima for SEVERE use, but for every day use, save your $$ and get a good conventional battery.
I am in the U.S. Navy and just got off of a large ship where I was in charge of the battery locker. The battery locker on a ship provides lead acid and Nicad batteries for everything on the ship. The last 6 month deployment I did, we used mostly Optima red top batteries in the ground support equipment that are commonly used and abused for maintaining aircraft. These pieces of equipment are used for everything that you can possibly imagine and are subject to more abuse than any AV could ever be. The Optima battery outlasted the best conventional lead acid battery 3 to 1. At the end of the 6 month cruise we only had to get rid of a total of approximately 50 bad batteries - only 6 of those where the optima batteries. The previous 6 month deployment we had over 200 bad batteries (did not have any Optimas).
We also replaced the conventional deep cycle batteries in the small boats that the ship owned with the yellow top Optima. These boats are also quite abused with people leaving accesories on when not in use for days before being discoverd. Although these were only in these boats for about 9 months before I left we never had to replace any of them. Just slow charged them when they got drained.
So my .02 would be get the Optima for SEVERE use, but for every day use, save your $$ and get a good conventional battery.
That was a very helpful post. Thank you.02 Z71 said:
At my work, We've been using Odyssey batteries in public safety vehicles. Gradually most of the agencies are finding impressive results with the AGM types.
My 
!
Note that these batteries use more pure material than many other AGM's. a 50 AH battery has 1200 CCA!, not just 880 as the Optima of the same size offers.
Click on the image and read the descriptions and specs.
So far, so good.
My !Note that these batteries use more pure material than many other AGM's. a 50 AH battery has 1200 CCA!, not just 880 as the Optima of the same size offers.
Click on the image and read the descriptions and specs.
So far, so good.
AVALANCHE JIM
Full Member
Just check your dates on the batteries before you buy. Unfortunately you have to call Optima to decode the date. I had a yellow top in my Avy that the cells went bad in less than a year. It turned out I bought an almost two year old battery I thought was brand new when I bought it and they gave me a very hard time replacing it due to its age. Hope this helps
As someone who uses lots of gelled electrolyte and absorbed glass mat batteries (AGM, like Optima) at work, let me add another bit of design philosophy (system, not battery) to this discussion.
Rather than shotgunning this or that battery at an application to get the most bang for your buck, and life from your batteries, you should know how much of a load (in amps) you want the battery system to support, and for how long (in hours).
Multiply those 2 numbers together and you get amp-hours, one way batteries are rated. CCA (cold cranking amps) is another, but is only useful in engine starting applications.
Then get a battery, or multiple batteries, at least TWICE as big as your projected load. That way, you will only discharge you battery bank 50% each time, and vastly increase its life.
So, if you're pile of electronic gizmos draws an average of 20 amps, and you want to run it for 4 hours at a time between charges, 20 x 4 = 80 amp hours. Get at least 160 amp hours worth of batteries.
When building multiple battery banks for accessories, always get the same size, brand and age batteries and run them in parallel. Mismatched batteries will self discharge each other in short order.
Note that this does not apply to a starting battery and a separate accessory battery, as long as they are separated by an isolator or charging relay.
Starting batteries are designed to supply high current for a short time, and then be recharged. For your accessory bank, you want deep discharge batteries made to supply lower current for longer periods of time.
Deep discharging starting batteries will kill them in a short time, drawing high starting current from a deep discharge battery will warp the plates and kill it.
"RV/Marine" batteries are a compromise design that will both start and deep-discharge, but do neither as well as the correct battery.
And plain diode battery isolators will not allow the second battery to fully charge, due to the forward voltage drop of the diodes in the isolator.
I like the biga$$ power MOSFET designs from Hellroaring Technologies. http://www.hellroaring.com/ They have very small voltage drop across them, due to an ON resistance of a few thousandths of an ohm, as I recall.
I use one in our motorhome to automatically charge the house AGMs off the engine, or switch it manually to charge the engine battery off the house AC converter, or self jump in an emergency without cables.
Rather than shotgunning this or that battery at an application to get the most bang for your buck, and life from your batteries, you should know how much of a load (in amps) you want the battery system to support, and for how long (in hours).
Multiply those 2 numbers together and you get amp-hours, one way batteries are rated. CCA (cold cranking amps) is another, but is only useful in engine starting applications.
Then get a battery, or multiple batteries, at least TWICE as big as your projected load. That way, you will only discharge you battery bank 50% each time, and vastly increase its life.
So, if you're pile of electronic gizmos draws an average of 20 amps, and you want to run it for 4 hours at a time between charges, 20 x 4 = 80 amp hours. Get at least 160 amp hours worth of batteries.
When building multiple battery banks for accessories, always get the same size, brand and age batteries and run them in parallel. Mismatched batteries will self discharge each other in short order.
Note that this does not apply to a starting battery and a separate accessory battery, as long as they are separated by an isolator or charging relay.
Starting batteries are designed to supply high current for a short time, and then be recharged. For your accessory bank, you want deep discharge batteries made to supply lower current for longer periods of time.
Deep discharging starting batteries will kill them in a short time, drawing high starting current from a deep discharge battery will warp the plates and kill it.
"RV/Marine" batteries are a compromise design that will both start and deep-discharge, but do neither as well as the correct battery.
And plain diode battery isolators will not allow the second battery to fully charge, due to the forward voltage drop of the diodes in the isolator.
I like the biga$$ power MOSFET designs from Hellroaring Technologies. http://www.hellroaring.com/ They have very small voltage drop across them, due to an ON resistance of a few thousandths of an ohm, as I recall.
I use one in our motorhome to automatically charge the house AGMs off the engine, or switch it manually to charge the engine battery off the house AC converter, or self jump in an emergency without cables.
I agree.. However I have a mismatched size that's working out just fine (AGM) so there must be something in that chemistry that allows it (They like a high charge current). I do maintain the ability to switch them in & out manually if needed. Note that in addition, if you don't use an isolator, you should use the same type battery as well as the brands. (Don't mix flooded cell, SLA and AGM's together). They do not have the same optimum absorbtion & float voltages. (It's not a good idea anyway, but a lot better with the isolator.)
Thanks for posting that isolator link. I lost it and couldn't find a site that confirmed what they claim...