Batterys

[Turbo Thom]

I know this is not diesel but it is truck.



A while back I bought a battery as a replacement for one that blew up. Well, it had a side mount spot but the right cranking amps. Last week I noticed the acid was seeping down onto the fender well, and had been for a while. That stuff got onto the wiring loom and started to eat it . Got on the Painless wiring, 7 wire unit and ate the relay and now the key hot side is melted. I'm going to Auto Zone to see about replacement of the PW box. They replaced the battery and I went ahead and bought another one so two the same date.



Story. Never buy a battery with side cable mounts. They leak and can cause real trouble.



:{ . . Preston. .

 

[illflem]

I'll never buy another battery with fluid period. Gell cell prices have become competive. They don't leak, corrode and are truly maintenance free. Friend of mine has one on his arc welder that was dropped and the entire bottom part of the case is gone, been working fine with no corrosion for four years. Good luck getting them to replace your box.

 

[Joe G.]

If it doesn't look like a six pack of beer it's a lousy battery! Hic... Oops, sorry.

 

[DieselDoghouse]

Sorry to hear about the mishap. The two Optima reds I got go on the "smart moves" list!

 

[Bad340fish]

I sell Batteries for Interstate and I can tell you the ONLY good thing about side post batteries is that I can stack 14 of them on my dollie since they are flat one top lol.



We can thank some body at GM for the creation of the sidepost battery. I am willing to bet 50% of the Delco sidepost battiers I pick up as cores have the positive post leaking... or missing.



Thanks Again GM

Clark

 

[JohnE]

Side post. Right idea, wrong application?

I put heavy duty side post batteries on customers units on a regular basis. These are what we refer to as "8D" batteries. The terminal exit point from the battery case is top, but the battery cable connection is on the side. Side connections are meant to get it away from the vents.



Gel has come a long ways but has more to go before it gets into my realm. 600 CCA does make it into heavy duty land.



-John

 

[eGarwood]

600 CCA

Hey John if 600 CCA isn't heavy duty enough for ya, how bout 1010 CCA... That's what my Optima Blue Top's have they are made for Marine Duty Starting. I've had two of these in my truck for 2 years now and the only drawback i can see is the initial cost -150 a peice. I also have one on a 69 Intenational Diesel backhoe... It's been there for about the same amount of time as the ones on my truck... maybe a few months newer... . but the old hoe doesn't have a working charging system... and I've NEVER recharged the Optima. . The hoe always starts... . a little ether and off she goes... I use it at least 3 times a week... 2 years without a charge... I'd say that's one H*LL of a battery! I'll never buy anything but a BLUE TOP OPTIMA again... . unless someone comes out with something better... and can PROVE it! BTW I understand Interstate MAKES Optima... Is this true Bad340fish?. . Ed3

 

[Bad340fish]

Johnson Controles makes optimas... along with ALOT of other popular batteries, including interstate.



Marine Batteries are rated at 80* so the CCA numbers are inflated a decent amount. The Blue top Deep cycle is the same as the yellow top, but it has marine terminals. 750CCA



And I know for a fact an Optima battery will not even sit unhooked for 6 months without losing voltage. My blue top Optima could barely get me home from the dragstrip with no alternator... and the dragstrip is only 6 miles from my house.



Optimas are killer batteries, but not miracle batteries

Clark

 

[CJ Johansson]

AGM vs Gel

Originally posted by JohnE

Gel has come a long ways but has more to go before it gets into my realm. 600 CCA does make it into heavy duty land.

One thing people ought to know, Optima batteries are NOT gel cells. These batteries are called AGM batteries, Absorbed Glass Mat. They work like gel cells in that they do not leak, but since the electrolyte (acid) is not in a gel form, you get performance similar to a wet cell.



The Glass Mat is essentially fiberglass rolled between the lead plates. This can give you a battery that is better than a standard wet cell because you don't need the plates to be structurally strong to keep 'em from rattling around and shorting. Since you don't need strength, you can use pure lead instead of an alloy, which makes for better operation.



-cj

 

[EricBu12]

So what battery would be the ultimate replacement for the dual setup? An optima? red? yellow? what? any other considerations?

My stock batteries are over 2 yrs old and I have to do a weekly trickle overnight with a previous 10 amp charge. I was thinking of replacing these this year sometime. Tell me what I should get for Maint. free and reliability at high cca's

 

[D Factor]

I saw a salesman for Optima about 10 years ago demonstrate his batteries by shooting a 12 gauge slug through it then starting his truck. I bought One that day (ten years ago) it is on my portable welder that only gets started 4 or 5 times a year and has never givin me any problems. I run these batteries in everything.