Optima Batteries
 

Noticed recently that the Sears Automotive guys are retailing Optimas.
Prices appear much better than West Marine BOAT/US prices.

Assume these are the real McCoy.

Comments?

Butch

Optima Batteries
 

Costco sells Optimas also.

"Butch" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Noticed recently that the Sears Automotive guys are retailing Optimas.
Prices appear much better than West Marine BOAT/US prices.

Assume these are the real McCoy.

Comments?

Butch

Optima Batteries
 

"Butch" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Noticed recently that the Sears Automotive guys are retailing Optimas.
Prices appear much better than West Marine BOAT/US prices.

Assume these are the real McCoy.

Comments?


Optima Red-Tops are great starting batteries, but their Blue-Top deep cycles
leave quite a bit to be desired. Only about 50 amp hours of capacity. I
use the Optima Red-Tops as starting batteries in my diesel pickup, but use
Lifeline deep cycle AGM's in my boat. The Lifeline group 27's have 100 amp
hours of capacity. AGM technology is the only way to go, in my opinion.

http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marinebattery.asp

Optima Batteries
 

Anyone using Exide orbital batterries?

I have a pair I purchased and they are working great.

"RG" wrote in message news:FV7%b.1285$h23.1008@fed1read06...

"Butch" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Noticed recently that the Sears Automotive guys are retailing Optimas.
Prices appear much better than West Marine BOAT/US prices.

Assume these are the real McCoy.

Comments?


Optima Red-Tops are great starting batteries, but their Blue-Top deep
cycles
leave quite a bit to be desired. Only about 50 amp hours of capacity. I
use the Optima Red-Tops as starting batteries in my diesel pickup, but use
Lifeline deep cycle AGM's in my boat. The Lifeline group 27's have 100
amp
hours of capacity. AGM technology is the only way to go, in my opinion.

http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marinebattery.asp

Optima Batteries
 

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 06:11:48 GMT, "Paul Winchester"
wrote:

Anyone using Exide orbital batterries?

I have a pair I purchased and they are working great.

"RG" wrote in message news:FV7%b.1285$h23.1008@fed1read06...

"Butch" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Noticed recently that the Sears Automotive guys are retailing Optimas.
Prices appear much better than West Marine BOAT/US prices.

Assume these are the real McCoy.

Comments?


Optima Red-Tops are great starting batteries, but their Blue-Top deep
cycles
leave quite a bit to be desired. Only about 50 amp hours of capacity. I
use the Optima Red-Tops as starting batteries in my diesel pickup, but use
Lifeline deep cycle AGM's in my boat. The Lifeline group 27's have 100
amp
hours of capacity. AGM technology is the only way to go, in my opinion.

http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marinebattery.asp

I went with the Optima deep cycle for my trolling motor on the Ranger
and they SUCKED. Horrible batteries. You could drain them in nothing
flat.

I went back to the Interstate Megatron SRM-4D series and havne't
looked back since.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------

Basic Fishing Program:

10 - Fish
20 - Eat
30 - Sleep
40 - Goto 10

Optima Batteries
 

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 06:51:46 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 06:11:48 GMT, "Paul Winchester"
wrote:

Anyone using Exide orbital batterries?

I have a pair I purchased and they are working great.

"RG" wrote in message news:FV7%b.1285$h23.1008@fed1read06...

"Butch" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Noticed recently that the Sears Automotive guys are retailing Optimas.
Prices appear much better than West Marine BOAT/US prices.

Assume these are the real McCoy.

Comments?


Optima Red-Tops are great starting batteries, but their Blue-Top deep
cycles
leave quite a bit to be desired. Only about 50 amp hours of capacity. I
use the Optima Red-Tops as starting batteries in my diesel pickup, but use
Lifeline deep cycle AGM's in my boat. The Lifeline group 27's have 100
amp
hours of capacity. AGM technology is the only way to go, in my opinion.

http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marinebattery.asp

I went with the Optima deep cycle for my trolling motor on the Ranger
and they SUCKED. Horrible batteries. You could drain them in nothing
flat.

I went back to the Interstate Megatron SRM-4D series and havne't
looked back since.

Hmmm. Two interesting and different experiences from mine with Optimas,
though I think we're talking about different models. The Optimas I had
on my SeaPro were, if memory serves, 75 amp capacity batteries. In any
event, they certainly provided all the juice I needed for pulling that
skiff around on the creeks of the ICW and for Florida lake fishing. The
only thing I didn't like about them were their oddball shape and size,
compared to traditional "Group XX" batteries.

I'm not the only one to experience this - at least talking to my
friends and aquaintances about trolling batteries. So a lot of my
opinion is based on personal experience and the experiences of others.
To be fair, I've also talked to folks who like them. More of those
who not than those who do.

They have a lot of power initially, gotta give them that. Under
constant load, though, they are very quick to deplete their charge. I
put a meter on them (I have a 24 volt system on the Ranger) and
watched the discharge cycle using the trolling motor normally. The
output didn't vary much until about where you start to see a decrease
in available voltage, then they die like a kamakazi - flame right out.

The charge cycle seemed overly long compared to a normal plate
battery. This is actually a fact because I tracked it - the Optima
took more time to recharge at an exponential rate - each charge cycle
took longer and that rate increased rapidly. I wired up a charge
monitor and graphed the charge rates over time - at one point, it was
like somebody flipped a switch and the charge time went up rapidly.

The Megatrons work like you would expect - available power, they don't
die quick, you have time to work out that you are low on battery life,
etc. They charge quicker and with proper maintenance, they seem to
last a long time. The charge cycles don't increase exponentially and
while they are heavy and BIG, you get more bang for the buck.

I dont' think AGM is a great technology for high use batteries.

Now, having said that, I have a son who is into car audio and has high
power auto system for shows and such. In that application, they seem
to work great, but they are being recharged as they are being used.

So making a long story short, I'm sticking with my Megatrons.

God that was long winded - I'm getting a major jones to get out on my
boats. :)

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------

Basic Fishing Program:

10 - Fish
20 - Eat
30 - Sleep
40 - Goto 10

Optima Batteries
 

I dont' think AGM is a great technology for high use batteries.

AGM's are exactly what you want for batteries with frequent and deep charge
cycles. You simply bought the wrong ones.

Optima Batteries
 

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 07:01:44 -0700, "RG" wrote:


I dont' think AGM is a great technology for high use batteries.

AGM's are exactly what you want for batteries with frequent and deep charge
cycles. You simply bought the wrong ones.

Ok, let's play a game.

Which ones should I have purchased?

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------

Basic Fishing Program:

10 - Fish
20 - Eat
30 - Sleep
40 - Goto 10

Optima Batteries
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 07:01:44 -0700, "RG" wrote:


I dont' think AGM is a great technology for high use batteries.

AGM's are exactly what you want for batteries with frequent and deep
charge
cycles. You simply bought the wrong ones.

Ok, let's play a game.

Which ones should I have purchased?

Not much of a game, really. I referenced them in a prior post in this very
thread. Here it is again:
http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marinebattery.asp.

Take the group 27 as an example. This is a very common size for deep cycles
on small boats. Lifeline's G27 has 100 AH capacity, measured at the 20 HR
rate. This is equal to the best of flooded cell batteries in its size
range, and double that of Optima's blue top. Some reasons an AGM G27 is
superior to a quality flooded cell G27.

1. No corrosive and noxious gassing when charging. AGMs were originally
designed for military applications. Lifelines still meet milspec for
non-gassing.

2. No leaking or spilling of corrosive electrolyte.

3. All batteries have a finite life. AGMs have been shown to have
significantly more charge cycles in their life than flooded cells, and this
is comparing them to properly maintained flooded cells. Neglect or abuse a
flooded cell, and it's not even a horse race.

4. AGMs are substantially better equipped than flooded cells to deal with
shock and vibration, common environmental conditions found in a marine
application.

5. Efficiency. Due to their relatively high internal resistance, three
performance advantages are achieved over flooded cells. A) They will
retain their voltage better under heavy current load. B) They will accept
recharging current much faster than a flooded cell, resulting in shorter
recycle times. C) They have a negligible self-discharge rate, much lower
than flooded cells. This is important if your batteries tend to stay idle
for long periods of time.

6. All of the above comes with the sweetest bonus of all. Zero
maintenance. Big in my book. Please note that the above characteristics
may not necessarily apply to gel-cell batteries, which are a completely
different, and much inferior technology to AGM technology.

Lifeline G27's can be bought for about $150-160 each. 5 year warranty.
I've had three of them in service for two and a half years. I've more than
gotten my money out of them, but they still are going strong. These are
house/starting batteries that are very heavily used. If they died tomorrow,
I wouldn't hesitate to replace them with the very same battery, even if the
warranty wasn't in place.

Batteries are no game to me. I researched long and hard before laying out
nearly $500 for three of them. It turned out to be one of the very best
$500 I've ever spent on the boat. These inspire complete confidence and I
no longer have to contort myself monthly to perform maintenance on batteries
that are difficult to access. If I'd known then what I know now, I would
have removed the OEM flooded cell G27's immediately upon delivery of the
boat and donated them to someone at the marina, replacing them with the
Lifelines. Would have made the first two years of ownership much more
enjoyable.

BTW, Lifeline AGMs are standard equipment on many U.S. Navy crafts, fine
yachts built by Pacific Seacraft, Island Packet, and Hinckley Company to
mention three, and quality coaches built by such companies as Vision Coach,
Royal Coach and Vantare Coach.

Optima Batteries
 

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:51:04 -0700, "RG" wrote:


~~ snippity do da ~~

BTW, Lifeline AGMs are standard equipment on many U.S. Navy crafts, fine
yachts built by Pacific Seacraft, Island Packet, and Hinckley Company to
mention three, and quality coaches built by such companies as Vision Coach,
Royal Coach and Vantare Coach.

Ok, you and the Lifeline site convinced me. I need new batteries,
I'll give them a try.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------

Basic Fishing Program:

10 - Fish
20 - Eat
30 - Sleep
40 - Goto 10