Choose a battery

[vettedog72]

Lead acid batteries are BAD for your car. They cause caustic fumes, liquid residues and other invisible things that cause corrosion. The liquid in lead acid batteries is suitable to give Alien a blood transfusion. Put the battery on a shelf above the hot engine bay and over time see if it will rot out the shelf and discolor or corrode any polished aluminum additions or chrome standard parts (if you have them). If you have a malfunction with the charging system, forget "over time" because it will be immediate damage.

Use Optima batteries for operating and save the original OEM looking batt for shows. If you have a "show car", a real trailer queen don't let the motor run even one minute if you have the lead acid batt hooked up; it’s just too much risk.

 

[Tinster]

You saying I should take out my brand new, 800 cold
crankin' amps, Sears Die-Hard and replace it?

Heck, I was thinking about purchasing a second one
to put in the trunk for a Crypt Car spare. Ya never
know when you might need a spare battery in these cars!!

d

 

[Twosheds]

What is the plate material and electrolyte in an Optima battery?

If I understand your post, it's not lead and sulfuric acid. Could it be nickel-cadmium and potassium hydroxide? Wouldn't think so...

 

[kodanja]

 

[Flinkly]

optimas are sealed, thus no fumes or leaks. i guess it always could, but they have a garuntee about that i'm sure. when i need one, i'm getting an optima in my car. don't want to rust out the brand new battery box, or anything else for that matter.

 

[BryanC]

Well, the Optima web site describes the Spiralcell plates as 99.999% lead. The "absorbent glass-matt separators...eliminate acid spilling." So, it sounds like the Optima is basically a lead-acid battery. The difference appears to be in the construction of the cells so that leakage is reduced / eliminated. If I've misunderstood, please correct me.

Personally, I think the Optima is a fine battery and I've heard only good things about them.

Kodanja, is that an Optima with the "tar topper" on it?

Bryan

 

[TR6oldtimer]

The Optima Battery is a lead acid, gel cell battery. The difference offered by Optima is that it uses a spiral of lead for the plates. The construction is such that closer tolerances can be had reducing internal resistance. The battery is just as susceptible to heat and overcharging damage as a normal lead acid battery.

The upside is that the electrolyte is held in a gel that will not spill.

 

[Guest]

I welded some angle iron and strap iron together to make a cradle to hold my Optima. It ain't goin nowhere....

 

[Geo Hahn]

Lead acid batteries are BAD for your car...

So is driving them fast down poorly maintained roads. Oh well, we all gotta die from something.

Have a friend who recently got a battery from an outfit that encases an Optima inside a 'Lucas' case. Not cheap but it was for his AC Ace so $$$ weren't important.

Unfortunately the Ace battery installs from below and is a really tight fit... too tight as it turned out so the battery went in the Healey instead which is just as well as it is much more visible in that engine bay.

Myself, I just get basic batteries from WallyMart, strip off the labels, replace the bar-caps with individual caps and tart it up to have a lucas look. Not as pretty as the ones with the exposed lead connections but at least not glaringly modern:

 

[Andrew Mace]

I know the Optima batteries have been around for some time now, so perhaps those who have had them can offer evidence of their durability or lack thereof in vehicles that might not get steady use. I'm thinking especially those of us in areas where cars are not used several months of the year due to cold, snow and salty roads.

So, how old is the oldest Optima battery amongst those of you who have one? and how does that compare to other batteries you've had?

In 2002, driving through Indiana on my way to Minnesota in the Herald, my regulator started acting up. Not wanting to be stranded for want of a 12v power supply, I found the nearest Walmart and grabbed the cheapest Group 24 battery I could find, to have as a "spare" (Hi, Dale!) in case the other battery died. Turned out I did need to swap it in on the way back to New York, and I continued to charge and swap batteries for several months until I got around to buying a new regulator and getting the original generator rebuilt.

That battery is now five years old and is still going strong even though it sat essentially unused over each of five winters. It's never needed a recharge except when I ran it down early on (see above). Currently (oops, no pun intended), it's doing regular duty in my daughter's newly resurrected Toyota Paseo, which we were about to sell until her truck died. Meanwhile, I bought a new cheapest-I-could-find battery for the Herald.

Oh, the one that came in the Herald? It was probably at least several years old in 2002, and it finally died sometime this spring, having sat around mostly unused for several years.

Total spent on those two batteries and a third originally bought for the Paseo but now in my Corolla Wagon (after a bad rebuilt alternator cooked that car's ancient battery) was about $140, not much more than a single Optima costs...hence my query as to durability of the typical Optima. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

[Twosheds]

The Optima Battery is a lead acid, gel cell battery. The difference offered by Optima is that it uses a spiral of lead for the plates. The construction is such that closer tolerances can be had reducing internal resistance. The battery is just as susceptible to heat and overcharging damage as a normal lead acid battery.

The upside is that the electrolyte is held in a gel that will not spill.

I see. Sounds like what they call a "gel-cell" in Aviation. Thanks.

 

[Geo Hahn]

...their durability or lack thereof in vehicles that might not get steady use. I'm thinking especially those of us in areas where cars are not used several months of the year due to cold, snow and salty roads...

And I would be interested in how they hold up in a hot climate. Months of 100+ heat seems to be as tough on batteries as a cold winter.

 

[vettedog72]

No, NiCad's would be the same. The point I wanted to make is the battery needs to be sealed (not even any vents) so the caustic fumes, liquid residues and other invisible things that cause corrosion are contained. So if you have a fine Lucas or any other brand batt, that vents corrosive fumes or worst, setting under the hood you know it does its evil job 24/7, even while you sleep.

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi all,

I put an Optima in it shortly after buying my '97 LR Discovery in 1999. The car has tons of power accessories including "Safari" and fog lamps, and a 130 amp alternator on it. So, the battery gets a pretty good workout. The two or three year old "low maintenance" Lucas batt. that was in was fine, I moved it to another car. I preferred a sealed battery in an occasionally off road vehicle.

The Optima was totally reliable for 7 years, then started to go South very suddenly. Talking to the guys at the shop where I bought it (cheaper than anywhere online, plus no shipping cost, but sales tax paid), this is typical of Optimas. They hold up well under hard use, take a charge easily and are "over-engineered". But, when they die, tend to go pretty fast.

The first one worked well, so I bought another Optima for the LR. It's well sealed against spills (great off road) and a couple of those treated anti-corrosion "donuts" on the posts kept the fluffy stuff non-existent for the entire life of the battery.

If I ever add a winch and additional lighting to the Disco, it will get a second Optima installed (there's room under hood if I just relocate the jack and tire chock). But, between the weight of the battery and the winch, I'll need to change the front suspension springs from the current heavy duty OMEs to a set of super heavy duties.

I've considered getting an Optima for my TR4 eventually, when it goes back on the road. I'll be relocating the batt. in the car. Also might choose instead to use two of the 6 volt Optima (or others) that are considerably smaller, hooked up in series, mounted to more evenly distribute weight either behind the seats or in the trunk.

My main complaint is that Optima are darned heavy, even the smaller 6-volt versions. Now, no battery is light weight, although there are some pricey racing batteries that are a lighter than standard (figure $200-400 and up one of for these). But I'm guessing Optimas are about the heaviest batteries around. Practically needed an engine hoist to install one in my Disco, which sits a little higher than stock. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but rest assured you will get a pretty good workout bringing one home and installing it. The weight is also a big consideration if you buy online or via mail order and have it shipped.

Shopping around, I found $130 for a 12 volt Optima locally when I bought it about a year or so ago. There are some other manufacturers offering similar fully sealed, spiral gel cell batteries. Perhaps some are slightly less expensive. But, I don't know if they are as good as Optima. All this type of battery seems to come in a fairly limited selection of sizes.

Cheers!