Can someone educate me on Optima Batteries?

Here are the charging (and other specs) for the Optima blue top: http://www.optimabatteries.com/publ...nfig/product_info/marine/technical_specs.html

As to outgassing with overcharging, I note that the Lifeline AGMs are MIL SPEC for "nongassing even during overcharging" (see http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marinecomps.php

I wonder if there is a significant difference in quality, components, durability, performance between the Optima blue tops and the Lifelines. It would be great if anyone having Lifelines installed could comment.
 
I've been a proponent of AGM batteries for almost as long as they've been available. The better ones can be charged at the same rate as flooded batteries and their self discharge rate is almost a non-issue. No gas leakage, no corrosion problems and (in my case) no clothing bills or "Holy Tee's". It's also common knowledge that flooded cell batteries don't deal with physical shock like AGM's do, and a C-22 can definitely jar a battery case in a chop.

Can't speak to Optima batteries since my dealer installed West Marine AGM's which have been fine so far. When I have to do it over again I'd still go AGM, probably Lifeline batteries which can even be installed on their sides and have an excellent reputation in Navy/Coastie smaller craft useage.

Oh my RV has a couple of Trojan 6 volters in it but I immediately installed an auto-fill system to keep them at their correct fill level and like Ron Popiel's stuff, all I gotta do is "set it and forget it." If you're gonna go flooded, invest in an auto-fill device like what's sold through campingworld.com. Boaters are careful to check levels yes, but the biggest mistake the average DIY skipper makes is overfilling.

Don
 
Just read something interesting on the Optimas...

Per this spec sheet, there is a 10A maximum when charging the D34M's.

However, the Xantrex Truecharge installed in Da Nag outputs 20A "for approximately 75% of the charging cycle", according to the user manual. I don't know if this is typical of all marine chargers or not.

Perhaps this contributed to the premature failure I encountered?
 
FYI We who live in South Florida and keep our boats at the dock year round...except for a road trip every now and then tend to approch this issue from the Cheap and Replace more often theory mainly due to the high temps that the batterys are subjected to on a day to day basis from our beloved Sun. It seems to suck the life out of our boat and car batteries much quicker then you folks in the North (East and West) will experence.
 
Gee Mike, as I look out on this lovely white world and listen to the weatherman talking about a high temp of 20 dgrees for the first time in three weeks I sure do feel sorry for you. :(

And I am not going to compare with Moose nor any Alaska guys on the "how cold is it" theme.

Actually you are probably right for boat batteries. We use them less than 1/2 the year and when we do use them they are not as hot on a daily basis.

Car batteries I don't agree. These temps and salt and operating temps can't be good for anything. Particularly human sensibilities. Altho I am going fishing this weekend :thup

Regards, Mark
 
When Les outfitted Notayot he put in two 55 ah Optima batteries. One starts the engine and the other runs all of the "house" loads. We have used them for 2 seasons so far. They will last up to 3 days without starting the engine, running Wallas and electronics, lights etc. I only charge them once each off season and they have held their charge VERy well. I'll continue with the Optima. I like the sealed case and no hydrogen or acid floating around.
 
Notayot":2uvmqwq4 said:
When Les outfitted Notayot he put in two 55 ah Optima batteries. One starts the engine and the other runs all of the "house" loads. We have used them for 2 seasons so far. They will last up to 3 days without starting the engine, running Wallas and electronics, lights etc. I only charge them once each off season and they have held their charge VERy well. I'll continue with the Optima. I like the sealed case and no hydrogen or acid floating around.
Click to expand...

I too have two 55 ah Optima's. Overall I like them but my house battery doesn't seem to last that long. I've had it tested and they say it's good. Yesterady while fishing on anchor I managed to "drain" the house battery below 12V. The only thing I had running was the wallace, vhf and occationally turned the c-80 on. The only thing I can think of is the radar. Even though I don't have the radar running it's in standby mode by defualt. I really don't know how many amps the radar is pulling but I'm thinking I should leave it unplugged.
 
I am not sure which thread we lost some "footage" on. But 55 amp hour batteries are relitaively small for boats, despite the quality of the Optima.

For a CD 22 with only the stove and a few lights,two 55 amp hours would be fine. But as soon as one adds more electronics, fans, refigeration etc.
We had two comperable sized batteries on the CD 22--on the TC 255 we have two Exide NC 27 100 amp hr group 27's for starting and one similar battery for "house". We also have two group 31 110 amp hr batteries for refigeration. Is this enough? I hope so. We have sat at anchor for 3 days, with 4 hours a day of genset running each day and the batteries were still up at above 12.4 volts.

I would consider putting in console switches for the electronics--so any standby drain is stopped. The AM/FM radio may need a small amount of power for its clock and its memory. Most marine electronics do not need power to remember the routes and setups etc. They are "remembered on chips.
 
mikeporterinmd":tmh7uxsf said:
How are you re-charging your 55-amp hour optimas? Alternator
only? Or do you have a charger?

Mike
Click to expand...

Mike,

Mine are charged by a combination. Currently I have no boat storage at the house so I don't always have the luxury of keeping them on the charger. However after a month of sitting my house battery read 12.5v before starting the day.

I just confirmed with Raymarine that if you have radar it will consume approximately 2.5 amps in standby mode. Unfortunately you have to remember each time you turn on the c-80 to turn off the scanner since standby is the defualt and there is no way to change it in the c-80 settings. Now I need to figure out how many amps the c-80, DMS 300, and transducer pulls.
 
Flapbreaker, you might consider solar cells--even the cheap ones will keep the battery charged up with no current draw. I use the smallest on my 19 foot RV I keep in Vegas, and the batteries are always fully charged when I arrive--even after 6 months.
 
thataway":1hvlrhxz said:
Flapbreaker, you might consider solar cells--even the cheap ones will keep the battery charged up with no current draw. I use the smallest on my 19 foot RV I keep in Vegas, and the batteries are always fully charged when I arrive--even after 6 months.
Click to expand...

How well do they work when it is cloudy? Do they require direct sunlight?

Thanks,
Warren
 
The solar pannels will still make some power on a cloudy day. Generally 20 to 30% of the output on a bright sun day will be put out on a cloudy day. Of course it depends on the density of the cloud (dark clouds will allow less light). Even on a bright day, the solar pannel will output its max when the sun is at the right angles to the pannel, and in the morning and afternoon produce less power.

Lets say you have a 600 milli amp pannel--it will still be producing 100 to 200 milli amps on a cloudy day--and should be enough to keep up with any loss of the battery.
 
Hi flapbreaker,

It is interesting to hear that the radar on a C80 system is alway in standby. I added radar after my system was installed and I have only had it on less than 10 times. It seems like I have had to turn mine on every time. Maybe I just did not notice it being in standby but I thought it was completely off until I turned it on.
 
seabran":33yy96ze said:
Hi flapbreaker,

It is interesting to hear that the radar on a C80 system is alway in standby. I added radar after my system was installed and I have only had it on less than 10 times. It seems like I have had to turn mine on every time. Maybe I just did not notice it being in standby but I thought it was completely off until I turned it on.
Click to expand...

It was a surprise to me too. Basically the scanner is always powered on by defualt unless you turn it off after powering up the c-80. What your doing when your turning on your radar is selecting between Tx and StdBy. Next time you press the red power button look closley at the first two soft key options and you will see one will turn the scanner off and the other will turn on Tx or put it in stand by.
 
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