Charging an Optima

[John Berger]

I have Optima red tops in my truck and I have an Optima yellow top in my 5'ver. This question is on the yellow top and RV batteries in general. The indicator in the trailer tells me that the battery is at about 1/3 charge. I have an Interstate Deep Cycle that came with the 5'ver, but I keep as a spare. My plan is to rotate the batteries about every 6 months. I charged the Interstate last night, and noticed when I hooked up the battery the charger indicated the need for a full charge. I'm assuming the Optima is probably under the same circumstances, based upon the trailer indicator. Everything works fine in the 5'ver, but is it normal for the battery in a RV application to not fully charge? Can I use a normal Deep Cycle charger to charge the Optima? The charger manual says to be sure the battery is a lead-acid battery. TIA



John

 

[TowPro]

Check out the Optma Website for the Charging information. The 2nd set of directions I think is for the Yellow Top.



what would one expect to pay for the Yellow Top? My Pickup camper needs a new battery this spring.

 

[John Berger]

I think you'll pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $130. 00. I can't remember what I paid for mine. I'll look it up when I get home and post later. Thanks for the information.

 

[BV]

Optima Batteries

This place lists the Yellow Tops from $160 to $200. I believe the Red Tops are 100-130 range.

 

[TowPro]

Re: Optima Batteries

That a lot of money. Once again I read last up to 2 times longer then conventional batteries, But I can buy 3 conventional batteries for that price.



Maybe its the "free"? shipping. Those baby's are 50 lbs, and they probably require hazard shipping. I will have to keep my eye around local for them.



thanks

Originally posted by BV

This place lists the Yellow Tops from $160 to $200. I believe the Red Tops are 100-130 range.

 

[Loren]

Here's another seller of Optima batteries:



dcbattery.com



The last time I bought from them was about two years ago, but they were much cheaper than anyone else then.



I got my first Optima batteries in January 1999. They are still fine, as I would expect. Time will tell whether or not they will last significantly longer that other types.



Loren

 

[fmj]

John, I might be misunderstanding you on rotating batteries, but don't mix a deep cycle and a normal red top. My understanding is that if you put a red top (normal) and a yellow top (deep cycle) in your truck, or togeather in your trailer, it will cause failure in the red top. My brother-in-law just lost two new big diesel batteries doing this. When we questioned the diesel truck repair shop, they said that the charging cycles are different (????). Check with your local battery expert and they will probably have more knowledge. If I misunderstood, sorry.

 

[John Berger]

You didn't misunderstand, I should have been a bit clearer. I have an Optima Yellow Top Deep cycle that I salvaged from my wrecked travel trailer. When I got the 5'ver, it came with an Interstate battery. I want to rotate them about every 6 months. I've had bad luck with longevity on batteries in my trailers, which is one reason I went to the Optima, despite the higher cost. The trailer's charge indicator for the Optima continues to only read 1/3 power, even though my charger says the Optima is fully charged, which is what I thought may be the problem. The Red tops are in the truck. Sorry for the confusion.



I talked to another Montana owner recently, and we came to the conclusion that their monitoring system isn't the best that's available. My indicators hardly ever read accurately, at least by what I think is accurate.

 

[Dane]

I run a Optima blue top in my cabover. I got it because the Interstate deep cycle that came with the cabover would only last 3 days in Baja and we usually camp 4-5 days in one spot without starting the truck.



The Optima has been great! Never gone flat yet. I was worried because the reserve capacity is rated only marginaly better than the Interstate. Another interesting thing is the self discharge rate. The Interstate starts loosing charge just sitting week to week, the Optima sits for months and when I hook up the charger it shuts off in seconds. Seems the Optima holds it's charge much better than the Interstate.

 

[fmj]

You guys are right when going to the Optima. I have one in my hot rod which doesn't get driven everyday and they stay charged. It will turn over my blown motor every time. Believe me its not an easy starter when its sat for a week. I noticed that Costco has them for less than $100 for the red top. They had yellow top, but don't remember price.

 

[JWhitcomb]

Dane, does the Optima last 4-5 days for you and do you use solar charging?

 

[John Berger]

I finally got around to looking at my receipt for the Optima's. I purchased them from www.batteryweb.com



I paid $99 for the Red tops and $134 for the yellow top. The prices are still the same.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Originally posted by fmj

You guys are right when going to the Optima. I have one in my hot rod which doesn't get driven everyday and they stay charged. It will turn over my blown motor every time. Believe me its not an easy starter when its sat for a week. I noticed that Costco has them for less than $100 for the red top. They had yellow top, but don't remember price.

My Jeep is a similar application. I have had a yellow top in it for over three years. The Jeep usually goes weeks, sometimes months between starts, and it always starts great. The Jeep is off road only, and when have to use the winch, I'm stuck really bad. The Optima has never run down during winching. Can't complain about it at all. A friend who is somewhat of an electrical genius, tells me the Optimas are very much under-rated as far as life and reserve capacity. He claims the design is miles ahead of typical batteries. So far, I have no reason to say otherwise.

 

[Dane]

JWhitcomb-

Yep, lasts 4-5 days just sitting, no solar charger (Yet)-(been spending the BOMB money on suspension BOMBs this year)



That's running the water pump and lights only, no heater needed in Baja most winters



I'm going to use this one when I go to a single battery for the truck under the PU bed on the passenger side - CCA 900 and MCA 1125



http://www.optimabatteries.com/products/pdf/D31M.pdf

 

[WestTN]

chargers in Rv's

RV chargers are 'float' style chargers. They are intended for continuous use. They only charge to 13. 8 volts maximum and seldom havetemperature compensation. Motor vehicle charging systems typically charge from 13. 8 up to 14. 4 volts depending on temperature. The colder it is, the higher the voltage. This compensates for the temperature dependent efficiency of the chemical process inside the battery.



It is hard to say how accurate the built in monitors are in RV's, but it is most likely not very accurate.

 

[nball]

From my experinces with RV coach batteries I humbly offer these conclusions... ..... throw away the interstate... . use the optima aslong as it last... . Get two 6volt trojan t-105's connect them in series... ... ... ... . check out rvsolar.com even if not interested in solar power they have good info on RV batteries systems... ... ... ... norm

 

[radar doctor]

OPTIMA BATTERIES

I heard Optima is suppose to be coming out with a Battery for our Trucks that will take the place of our 2 Units. Install only one battery. Has anyone heard about this? It would be nice to have some extra space over by the Air cleaner. . Oo.

 

[radar doctor]

More Reading on Batterys

this is some old stuff on Batterys but thought you might like it since i see a post on the Batterys... . Bill

 

[bvanetten]

Nball is absolutely positively right on the money. dump the Interstate and the Optima and go with golf cart batteries. I just did it with my toy hauler. Sams Club sell's the Trojans under their name "stowaway". Same battery except the stowaway is $46 and the Trojan is $70. I run 4 batteries and now have a usable 400 amp hours for around $200. deep cycle marine and rv batteries are not "true" deep cycle. You can't pull them down as low as a golf cart and they won't take as many deep discharges. Also, invest in a "smart" battery charger (about $70). They adjust the charge rate as you go and will automatically "de-sulficate" your batteries when they need it. Also, rv charge indicators suck. Get a multi-meter and check the voltage. I think fully charged is around 12. 8 volts. Read this guys page. Wealth of info. http://www.phrannie.org/phredex.html

 

[RGRAT1618]

Here at the battery store i work at(We are an Optima Dealer) is that an optima(all, red blue yellow) take a 6amp charge rate min. Anything below 6 amps is considered a maintaining charge. Whick means the battery is not chargeing up but hold it's current power. We sell the battery tender 12v 6amp output weather proof charger for use with optimas. I do recomend this charger because it is a plug in and forget it charger. Also Battery tender says this charger is made for the hawker/optima battery. It will switch from a charging mode to a maintance mode automatically.



Rob G