[TR] Group 49 battery preferred?

[nwolf at u.washington.edu]

On Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 1:02 PM, <MMoore8425 at aol.com> wrote:
>About Optimas: I have bought a number of Optima batteries over the past 12 
>years or so. I started buying them after I had a led acid battery boil over 
>due to overcharging caused by a regulator failure.  I have had problems with
>them though in 3 different cars and will not use them again.  I discussed my
>problems at length with the last dealer (who gave me my money back) and also
>with an ex dealer.  If your system is in great shape, your regulator charges
>within limits, and you never let the battery get low, they work just fine.
>They have not proven to be very robust though for me or for the e-dealer or
>for my current dealer. I had to send one back to a "center" to ensure it was
>properly charged.  The claim that time was that they had to be charged at a
>very low rate. Then I later read they had to be charged at a very high rate.
>The ex-dealer quit handling he said because the factory "autopsied" warranty
>return batteries he sent back, and if the gel was burned out , they rejected
>his return forcing him to either find the customer or eat the loss.
>Mike Moore

   That does sound bad.  My experience has been much more positive:  The four Optimas in my family's cars are all running fine after several years (I think the oldest one, in my TR4, has five years on it, with stock charging system).  But, as they say, your mileage may vary.
   My point was not that Optima batteries are super reliable (which is debatable, apparently)... my point is that it's worth paying extra to get a sealed battery that won't leak and burn a hole in your car.  If my Optima had died prematurely, I would have gone looking for a different SEALED battery.
   Better dead than leaky, says I.  :)

-Nick

P.S. Randall has a good point about improving the charging system to reduce the amount of battery acid bubbling out of a standard battery.  BUT, they still leak, even in modern cars with (presumably) improved charging systems.  I haven't checked my 2000 VW yet, but my '95 Honda (a dry California car) had obvious corrosion issues under the battery - and nowhere else - as did my '86 VW, '81 Toyota, '71 VW, '70 BMW, '67 Volvo, '67 BMW, '65 VW, etc etc.  Geez, I've owned a lot of cars over the years...