[Vwdiesel] Speaking of Batteries

[Roger Brown]

I think I purchased mine here:
	http://odysseybatteries.com/


On 1/23/2012 2:02 PM, pmdolan at sasktel.net wrote:
> Just walked by my F450 and had a peak, those are Odyssies (bought from
> Cdn prairie chain "Battery Direct" for those who live out here).
>   IIRC, Sears sells a top brand (Oddysey??) relabelled for a really
> good price as well.
>
> On Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:48:18 -0800, Roger Brown<r.c.brown at ieee.org>  wrote:
> Back in the '90s, the Optimas were a good battery.  I put one in my 4x4
> back in '97 and it
>> worked well, later moved that to my VW pickup.  That was back when
>> they only had one size and the 3 colors (red=starting, yellow=deep
>> cycle, blue=marine).  But the last 10-12 yrs, the red tops have
>> declined in quality.  The problem with the normal red tops is if they
>> get drained too far too many times (and too many can be as little as
>> 1) they will not take a charge.  For a long sitting rig, a blue top
>> would be a good choice, they combine the starting current of the red
>> top and the deep cycle capacity of the yellow top.
>>
>> In my 4x4 now, I run Odyssey batteries and those things seems to last
>> and last.  I got over 10 yrs. out of my first set and am about 5 yrs.
>> into my second set.  I also have one of those in my current '82
>> pickup, a PC1200.
>>   On 1/23/2012 5:27 AM, pmdolan at sasktel.net wrote:
>>> In my exerience, Optima batteries have been a disaster.  They were bit
>>> talk in the Ford PSD community several years ago, and I bought a pair,
>>> as did many others.  They did not deliver any better performance than
>>> the original flooded cell batteries, cost a lot more, and did not last
>>> very long at all (actually shortest life of ANY I have used).  I also
>>> had 3 Orbitals in aux/winch position on my F450, and they were no great
>>> shakes.
>>>
>>> If you want really good batteries, you can buy AGMs from quite a number
>>> of suppliers now.  I paid far too much at Napa for the one in our
>>> MkIV, but we have bought several from West Penn for Ford 7.3, Dodge 5.9
>>> &   6.7, Miata, etc. and they have all been very good.  It has only got
>>> down to -37 this winter, and so far no battery issues with AGMs.
>>>
>>> HOWEVER:  you are dead on regarding chargers.  You can NOT use an
>>> old, low buck, analogue charger on your AGM batteries - either for big
>>> charge or as battery tender.  You definitely need the new generation
>>> of "smart chargers".  When I counted up the cost of all of the AGMs I
>>> have around here, I ran out and spent about $600 on one large
>>> charge/boost, one small charge/boost and a tender for them.
>>>
>>> On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:44:31 -0800, William J Toensing
>>> <toensing at wildblue.net>   wrote:
>>> If you have a vehicle that sits around a lot, use one of these battery
>>> tenders&   a top of the line battery. I have not had a good experience
>>> with one Optima Battery I have as I couldn't charge it with a regular
>>> battery charger or a battery tender float charger. I have stayed away
>>> from the Optima as they cost well over $100 at Costco&   Sam's Club,
>>> double the price of an ordinary battery. In my motor home I got 12
>>> years out of two lead acid 12 V industrial type batteries using a
>>> battery tender to keep the batteries at their full float charge. Maybe
>>> I have bad luck with one bad Optima battery&   I have never bought one
>>> new. Would like to hear from the rest of you on how well Optima
>>> batteries have served you, how long they last, etc.
>>>> It would be nice if all of you would say what part of the world you
>>>> live in. I know Will lives in Alaska. Some of the problems&
>>>> solutions are climate related. Bill Toensing, Nevada City, CA



-- 

   Roger