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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / why use an optima battery?

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Posted By Discussion Topic: why use an optima battery? -- page: 1 2 3     BERTHA 09-04-2011 @ 2:06 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 129 Joined: Nov 2009 Alan, I'm rather anal about original, (wept when I replaced a WP), The old girl never had the Optima, it was on my DD. Thanks for the compliment, you can read more about "Bertha" in the Mar/Apr 2007 V/8 Times. Bob ford38v8 08-31-2011 @ 10:06 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2780 Joined: Oct 2009 Bob, ...and here I was careful with my language 'cause I thought you were Bertha! Just shows to go ya! If you had used the battery minder on your Optima, that may have been the cause of its early failure. Optima actually were better back then than now. They were rated at 850 CCA, now rated at 800 CCA, still a whnol;e lot better than 675, I think the best available with a lead/acid. Bertha looks pretty darn good to me. Give her my regards. Alan BERTHA 08-31-2011 @ 9:22 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 129 Joined: Nov 2009 I looked up the Lifeline battery you listed. That is quite a battery, all right, but way way too tall for a Ford. Be careful with your lead/acid batteery: Best to charge it outside your car due to outgassing during the charge. The gas produced during charge will eat your paint in the engine compartment. When it ends it's useful life as a battery, save the case for conversion to an Optima for some lucky guy. Alan Your right on the Lifeline Alan, it's a top-line AGM more suited for deep cycle use. Just a good example of how much batt tech has progressed. "Bertha" is a Rouge and has not been restored, (see the gallery, last pic,53), I just keep the batt box clean and greased, batt minder w/cables disconnected, top covered during and the Season and the basement in Winter. The Optima's may be a lot better that when I tried one 10yrs ago in another vehicle, but it did fail after 2yrs of daily use, others on different boards have noted the charge rate concerns though and that could have been the cause. Bob This message was edited by BERTHA on 8-31-11 @ 9:26 AM ford38v8 08-28-2011 @ 4:15 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2780 Joined: Oct 2009 Bertha, you are correct if your believe that the Optima is not for those that don't follow instructions. Fortunately, it is made in America, and the instructions were written by English speaking Americans. The optima doesn't do well at all with a fast charge. A cheap 2 amp 6v charger with automatic off is all you need. I looked up the Lifeline battery you listed. That is quite a battery, all right, but way way too tall for a Ford. Be careful with your lead/acid batteery: Best to charge it outside your car due to outgassing during the charge. The gas produced during charge will eat your paint in the engine compartment. When it ends it's useful life as a battery, save the case for conversion to an Optima for some lucky guy. Alan BERTHA 08-28-2011 @ 5:15 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 129 Joined: Nov 2009 IMHO....just my experience... Optima circular gel plates are VERY tempermental in their charge voltages and the slightest bit of over voltage will cause the gel to strip from the plates...leaving a scar that doesn't heal and a marked decrease in capacity. I use a conventional lead/acid Ford script 6v, remove for winter storage keep things clean...no problem. Go with Lifeline AGM's if you want a fancy batt. Bob ford38v8 08-19-2011 @ 11:00 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2780 Joined: Oct 2009 MG, Where there's a will, there's a way. Nuff said. Alan MG 08-19-2011 @ 9:57 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1262 Joined: Nov 2009 Stroker, To "draw and clean" a Script battery case would be an exercise in futility given that Optima no longer makes a battery that will fit into a Group 2L battery case..... This message was edited by MG on 8-19-11 @ 9:58 PM Stroker 08-19-2011 @ 5:03 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 MG: You are probably right, it's been a couple of years...and I don't have an Optima in my Ford..Yet. I do plan on buying one however, as my 38 battery box is "pristine", and I really don't care about the looks of a "consumable" item. We have a Bobcat skidloader that has a battery location that must have been the first thing that was installed on the assembly line. This now has an Optima for obvious reasons. For years, I've used a High-Type Ford batteries, and I've welded extensions on my hold-down's to accommodate them. Having a battery that looks like a Kansas grain elevator is not a big deal for me. Do I want to "draw and clean" a Script battery, just to hide an Optima? That would be WAY down on my list of fun things. MG 08-19-2011 @ 4:29 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1262 Joined: Nov 2009 Stroker, I've heard of this, but have been told to hook up the sacrificial battery in parallelto the Optima...... Stroker 08-19-2011 @ 4:06 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 One other caveat regarding Optima (spiral wound glass mat) or any other glass mat battery: These batteries can discharge to the point that they essentially become an "open" circuit. Some modern battery chargers will not begin to charge without sensing some resistance,(load), and the battery will not receive a charge, because the charger senses that it isn't connected. The simple solution is to hook another battery of matching voltage; lead-acid or whatever, in series to start the charging process. Once the Optima begins to charge, you can remove the other battery, and complete the charging cycle. This rather strange characteristic has apparently resulted in some perfectly good Optima's being abandoned, when they appear to not accept a charge. I'm not an electrical type, but I gleaned this info from a Hot Rod Magazine technical article a couple of years ago.

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