Batteries-What brand?

[Bad340fish]

When A battery gets used lead comes off of the plates. A thin Plate would have a much shorter life than a standard plate. Plate thickness is something that charicteristics a Deep Cycle Battery. The plates are thicker and can therefore take more cycling. They can be charged and discharged many more times than a standard battery.



A true Gell battery is kinda special, they can't be overcharged like a regular lead acid or AGM(Optima) battery. An alternator would be hell on a Gell Cell battery IMHO. You can charge a regular battery to much and its fine(to an extent) but a gell battery will usualy puff up alot or suck in, after they have done that they are junk. Does the special battery in summit have a special charger listed real close to it??



An AGM or Optima battery has the features of both the lead acid and gell batterys all together. The AGM stands for Absorbed glass mat. They have a fiberglass sponge so to speak in between the cells and the acid is soaked into that sponge. If you take the top off of one(which is very very hard to do lol) it looks like a bunch of wet toilet paper really. They are still a lead acid battery but the TP keeps the acid in so you can use them upside down ETC, and they are totaly sealed like a Gell Battery.



Keep in mind I am not a Certified Battery Expert lol, its just what I have picked up on and read about in the 4 years I have been with Interstate of Tulsa

Clark

 

[JohnE]

There is a third very important factor to a battery size <b>RESERVE</b>.

WE use a lot of AC Delco 1150 HD series batteries. These batteries are a lowly 700 CCA, but the reserve is a whopping 180 minutes.



I learned the hard way what reserve does for you. I use an Espar for up to 2 hours at a time. If the old RAM (alternator)doesn't run long enough after the Espar runs, it really limits the battery capacity. I cannot run the Espar for a second cycle and expect the beast to start.

I only have a 2 mile drive to work so must plan a breakfast or donut stop to recharge things.



I replaced my factory 700 something CCA, 130 minute reserve batteries with Exide 850 CCA, 110 minute reserve batteries and they are not holding up to the demand. I had to get a jump from my co-worker's Chevy today.



I'm mounting a pair of 1150's in the truck bed this summer.



The Optima gels only have 110 minute reserve and the CCA is under 800. A great battery, but with limitations.



Does Gould still make batteries? They were the best. Yes, period!





-John

 

[John]

Originally posted by sloan

Now here is the rub with the Optimas... if it sits for 4-5 days without being started it is deader than a doornail.

Maybe on yours however, my Optima Yellow Tops were not used when my Ram was "parked" for enhancements for nearly one month (actually, 3 days short of one full month)... NO problem starting at all! And had to do some additional cranking as I had just completed a major fuel system upgrade that I still had to bleed the air out of. There was another time where my Ram was parked for about 2 weeks... again, no problem starting.

 

[Bigramguy]

Interstate has a commercial battery,the 31MHD,which is 950 CCA (very conservative),and had a very large 195 Min reserve. I have two mounted in the stock locations with some minor plastic battery tray trimming. Have been using these for years with zero problems,and my truck is a power sucker (BIG electric plow). Very well priced too,much lower than the optimas. When my alt died last month,in the middle of a snow storm,I was able to plow for hours and I was amazed at how much capacity these batteries really had. A regular automotive battery(s) would have died in 20-30 mins.

 

[fortunate1]

My truck needed new batteries 3 years ago, when starting in the winter was becoming a challenge. I found some Champion batteries with very good numbers advertised at Sam's Club; they cost $45. They've gone through 3-1/2 winter seasons, and so far so good. They're still under warranty and don't show any sign of giving up. Not the "best", but a good value.

 

[SSeifert]

I use two of the Odyssey PC1200's in the truck and one of them in the race car. always had good luck with them. plus they only weigh 34 lbs. each.

 

[B9Mile]

The Hold Down Bolts

Bad340, to answer your question.....



"So how well do they fit in the hold downs?? Any mods needed to hold the smaller case size of the Optima. "





There was somebody on the board here that installed Red Tops and tightened the OEM hold down bolts all the way down to secure the battery. After about a year, he discovered some chafing on a wiring harness below the battery tray. I think it was on the driver's side.



When I installed my Red Tops, I machined some aluminum spacers to fit under the hold down bolts' deads. These spacers brought the heads back up to about where they were with the stock batteries.

 

[GTX]

Bad340fish,

No the Summit Pro Volt battery does not have a special charger listed for it. I ordered one for my race car so I will see if there are any special instructions with it when it gets here.



My last race battery was a sealed, dry cell, thin plate design, and it lasted 4 years of discharging and recharging. I run an alternator on the car but it doesn't run long enough to charge the battery very well. The fans running for cool down really discharge the battery.