[TR] Group 49 battery preferred?

[Karl Vacek]

Mike Moore 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.



I'd bet that the Optima problems are mostly related to charging 
rate/voltage.  That's a spiral-wound AGM battery.  I went through a battery 
failure in my plane this year, whereby the flooded cell battery peed 
electrolyte all over, lifting paint and causing minor corrosion (because I 
found it before it became major corrosion).  It was apparently a battery 
fault, particularly since only one cell leaked over while the others were 
fine.  No point in experimenting or troubleshooting in that case - it's 
powering my winch now.

I too vowed never to suffer from a leaky battery (in the plane), 
particularly because of aerobatics, and I went to an "RG/AGM" (recombinant 
gas / absorbed glass mat), sealed battery.  Charging voltage is definitely 
specified, and it's a little lower than for a normal flooded cell.  I have a 
Battery Minder for the plane too, and it's specially adjusted for aircraft 
use, to specs set by Gill and Concorde, the two main light aircraft battery 
manufacturers.  Using another charger, improperly using this one, or having 
the plane's charging system set incorrectly all void the warrantee.

But I use plain old Costco (Johnson Controls) batteries in all the cars - 
they're so inexpensive, have such good RC/CCA specs, last so long, and have 
such a great warrantee, that I just can't justify buying an Optima for a 
car.

Karl