Jellybean Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 My battery was re-located to the boot, I doubth it will last much longer. The car is a lift back so I cannot use a normal Lead (wet) battery due to discharge from wet batteries. Currently I have a red Top Optima (AGM Battery); Optima Part Number: 34R (8003-151) RedTop®; Battery; UNBOXED; Group 34R; Cold Crank Amps 800; Crank Amps 1000; Reserve Capacity 100; Ampere Hour 50; Top Terminal; L-10 in.; W-6 7/8 in.; H-7 13/16 in Any advise on what to go for, I am reading mixed reviews about Optima batteries, to be honest I dont want to have to shell out 300euro on a new Optima battery and it only last a few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 I need one I can leave for long periods car only get use weekends and off the road during the winter. Get a deepcycle ? but I just bought the Ctek Trickle charger but I dont want to keep having to take the battery in and out. I want to leave the car idle for min two weeks and still be able to start it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Anybody use a Solar panel trickle charger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Do you park your car on the street? I have my trickle charger plugged into the car constantly. As already said, yellow top is a good deep cycle battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopgunTT Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Stay away from the red top, I had this on my Supra, When it was left to go flat a few times it was totally dead and had to be bumped every time. As Scott has already said, The yellow top should be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Do you park your car on the street? I have my trickle charger plugged into the car constantly. As already said, yellow top is a good deep cycle battery. I am in an appartment so I cant use my mains trickle charger, but during the winter i will take the battery out. I was thinking of the solar panel trickler charger to do me for the summer, save me taking the battery in/out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) Stay away from the red top, I had this on my Supra, When it was left to go flat a few times it was totally dead and had to be bumped every time. As Scott has already said, The yellow top should be better. I was going to go with an odyssey battery, I was recommend the Race xtreme 30 or 40 I cant find anywhere over here who sells Optima so getting a replacement (under warranty) might be an issue if I get it from the uk Odyssey 34-PC1500T Automotive and LTV Battery Cold Crank Amp (CCA)- 880; Better warranty: Limited 3 and 4 year full replacement warranty ? not pro rata; Longer service life: With 3-10 years of service life, ODYSSEY batteries save consumers time, money, and aggravation Longer cycle life: 70 percentage longer cycle life compared to conventional deep cycle batteries, up to 400 cycles at 80 percentage depth of discharge- high stable voltage for longer periods of time Faster recharge: The highest recharge efficiency of any sealed lead battery on the market, capable of 100 percentage recharge in 4 - 6 hours; Mounting flexibility: Non-spillable design Vibration resistance- design protects against high impact shock and mechanical vibration; Extreme temperature tolerant- Operating temperatures from -40 degree Celsius (-40 degree Fahrenheit) to 45 degree Celsius (113 degree Fahrenheit). Edited April 8, 2011 by Jellybean (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Odyssey Xtreme Racing Batteries (Good read) -- they dont need a trickle charger for winter storage plus you can leave them in the car over the winter http://www.odysseybattery.com/documents/US-ODY-ER-OM-001_1008_rev.pdf The ODYSSEY® Extreme Racing™ battery does not lose its charged energy during cold storage temperatures, so there is no need to trickle or float charge during winter months. To store off-season, measure the battery voltage to make sure it is fully charged, 12.84 volts or greater; recharge if necessary. Disconnect the negative battery cable to prevent any applied electrical load during storage. The ODYSSEY Extreme Racing battery cannot freeze down to -40°C (-40°F), so it can be left in the vehicle. It can be stored for 2 years or more below 77°F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Most sealed batteries are like that bud. You shouldn't need to take the battery out to charge it if you disconnect it from the negative terminal The only reason I had so much bother was due to leaving it connected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Most sealed batteries are like that bud. You shouldn't need to take the battery out to charge it if you disconnect it from the negative terminal The only reason I had so much bother was due to leaving it connected. Thats the mistake I made, so do you reckon leaving dis-connected in the car in winter temps or bring it in the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 That's a pretty impressive battery if it can be left for months without any charging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) That's a pretty impressive battery if it can be left for months without any charging! 2 years it says if it is around 25 degree temp, it talks how the storage life deteriarates with an increase in temp but I wonder if a decrease in temp will affect it too B) How long can the battery be stored? Refer to Figure 3 below. At 25°C (77ºF), these batteries can be stored for up to 2 years. The lower the temperature, the longer the storage time. The battery must be charged before storage. Roughly every 10°C (18°F) increase in temperature cuts storage time in half. If the temperature rises to 35°C (95°F) the battery may be stored for only 1 year before a recharge becomes necessary. Figure 3 will apply only if the battery is fully charged before storage. Edited April 8, 2011 by Jellybean (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I use the Halfords HCB005 Calcium battery. Has been great for cold start and when left for long periods of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 That's a pretty impressive battery if it can be left for months without any charging! Most sealed batteries should last years on the shelf without any charging..... as long as they aren't connected. Even the redtops last ages. In fact I had a halfrauds battery in my garage for 5 months (over the very cold winter too) and it still had a perfectly good charge on it when I checked it over for a mate. The main issue is that owners don't disconnect their batteries before leaving them for long periods of time. I never know when I'm going to use my car so I am very guilty of doing just that, hence why I got the trickle charger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 I use the Halfords HCB005 Calcium battery. Has been great for cold start and when left for long periods of time. My battery was re-located to the boot. The car is a lift back so I cannot use a normal Lead (wet) battery due to discharge from wet batteries Otherwise I would just the the Halfrauds and hide the label ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) Most sealed batteries should last years on the shelf without any charging..... as long as they aren't connected. Even the redtops last ages. In fact I had a halfrauds battery in my garage for 5 months (over the very cold winter too) and it still had a perfectly good charge on it when I checked it over for a mate. The main issue is that owners don't disconnect their batteries before leaving them for long periods of time. I never know when I'm going to use my car so I am very guilty of doing just that, hence why I got the trickle charger Stop trying to put a damper on Odyssey Batteries PR marketing Edited April 8, 2011 by Jellybean i cant spell (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Stop trying to put a damper on Odyssey Batteries PR marketing I don't like seeing people being reeled in by marketing crap though. To be honest you would be fine with a standard battery if you got into the habit of removing the earth connection when you knew the car was going to be sitting for a while. Personally I would go with the yellow top as they are tried and tested. The only reason I went with the redtop was to match the rest of my engine bay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Maybe thats why I have one of those circuit breakers you can twist on the earth ha ha Just ofr warranty purposes I will get the odyssey because I can get it local, nobody in Ireland seems to sell Optima Reading around i heard alot of good reviews on forums about odyssey vs Optima Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 They should be better than optima as optima tend to aim towards ice. Only one way to find out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Battery just finished it 8 step charge off Ctek and passed the Diagnostics, its at 13.1 V now.I will test it again in the morning with the volt meter before I put it in the car , hopefully I dont need a new batttery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Sounds like it's fine. It wouldn't get close to 13.1 if it was fooked, mine wouldn't get over 11.5 lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 Left it sitting on the table over night, its gone to 12.4 now; equates to 70% charged . 12.8 or higher is fully. Does not look like it can hold the charge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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