Optima Battery- how long did yours last?

[Euroski]

It's that time again my 2.5 year old Interstate battery died and I need another one. In the past all my Marine batteries dies shortly after the warranty so I'm seeking to know if the Optima batteries are worth the extra cost eventhough thy have the standard 2yr marine warranty on the blue tops? Which one do you have and how long did it last??

thanks

[gregpro50]

I have 4 seasons on my blue tops. I've got a dual setup in my boat. I don't know if that helps them last longer or what. I'd buy them again.

[MTOLLEY]

My red top optima died last fall after 5years.used it for a starting battery only

[afr]

wow my red top is over 7 years old

[stokernick]

It's that time again my 2.5 year old Interstate battery died and I need another one. In the past all my Marine batteries dies shortly after the warranty so I'm seeking to know if the Optima batteries are worth the extra cost eventhough thy have the standard 2yr marine warranty on the blue tops? Which one do you have and how long did it last??

thanks

3 years,so far,still going strong!

[ghost28]

the newer optimas are crap......look around for a deka dealer in your area and grab a Deka Intimidator AGM or go to sears and get a diehard platinum.....they come in all the standare sizes and fit your old battery trays perfect and blow away the optimas.....

5-6 years ago i would have said buy an optima but they have gone way downhill.....

[Frank Molé]

i use ac/delco marine,lasted 6 years still good,but just replaced it because......................

[XstreamVking]

The sears diehard platinum are made by odyssey batt. company. Have been using the odyssey batts for motor and trolling with great results. Have 3 in my fish boat that are 5 yrs old and going strong..... My first choice.... 3 and 4 year replacement warr. depending on batt....

[Evolution Marine]

I have alot of optimas. get 6-7 years out of them. got 2 that are 6 right now.. Todd

[Forkin' Crazy]

the newer optimas are crap......look around for a deka dealer in your area and grab a Deka Intimidator AGM or go to sears and get a diehard platinum.....they come in all the standare sizes and fit your old battery trays perfect and blow away the optimas.....

5-6 years ago i would have said buy an optima but they have gone way downhill.....

I have heard the same thing. I have a 6 yr old blue top that still works. I also have a couple Orbitals that are 3-4yrs old and still strong as well as a few older Optimas.

I have one Odyssey.... on my 4 wheeler (adapted Harley battery). Any one have a Odyssey or other dry cell? http://www.batterymart.com/c-odyssey-batteries.html
Get ready to break out your pocket book! ;)

[Euroski]

the newer optimas are crap......look around for a deka dealer in your area and grab a Deka Intimidator AGM or go to sears and get a diehard platinum.....they come in all the standare sizes and fit your old battery trays perfect and blow away the optimas.....

5-6 years ago i would have said buy an optima but they have gone way downhill.....

The sears diehard platinum looks like a good deal with 3yr 100% replacement and current price is $215 for the 34M size. Just got to check to see if it fits.

[ghost28]

yeah the seard platinum is a rebadged odessey and offers a better warranty.....We are a Deka dealer at my shop otherwise i would be running the diehard platinums.....

[specboatops]

My Optima blue top is 4 years old and never a problem of any kind.............

[Euro Muscle]

I've also got the blue top dual setup in my boat, going on 4+ years now no problems

[HP]

the newer optimas are crap......look around for a deka dealer in your area and grab a Deka Intimidator AGM or go to sears and get a diehard platinum.....they come in all the standare sizes and fit your old battery trays perfect and blow away the optimas.....

5-6 years ago i would have said buy an optima but they have gone way downhill.....

I agree, the Optimas are not what they used to be! I've gone through 3 Optimas in 5 years. Red tops in my daily drivers and the blue top in my boat. The red top in my tow vehicle exploded and I'm replacing the one in my boat this year. Go with the Die Hard Platinum.

[flabum1017]

mine are take-outs from work.... Trojans do fairly well.....whatever battery you getm make sure it gets charged properly.... batteries die from over and under-charging......

[Fish]

2 optima blue tops in 3 years, wont be a third.

[David"Skywalker"Carver]

I was a distributor for Optima.They had about 20 patents then.They were developed by Gates rubber Co and were only sold to military for years because of the cost.They could stand 9 G's, hellatious vibration,and hi temp, and you could shoot bullets thru them and still work without leaking!! If you use a cranking battery and it gets deep cycled, meaning discharged more than 3-4% reduced charge between charges, that will greatly shorten the life! A good deep cycle battery will not have as much punch as a cranking batt. but will survive cycling of 30% loss about 300 times.I always put deep cycle in boats except for drag boats where re charging is done quickly between rounds. I don't sell batterys now, but the Optima was the best period in the 90's. I used 2 Odyssey AGM small batteries in Skywalker to save lbs. and they were awsome for drag racing.Sorry to hear that Optima may have lost their quality. Dave

[malexie]

3 blue tops came in my xr 6 yrs ago. 1 went bad 2 yrs ago.

[tj309]

When they say a battery will last 3 years that is based on 2 things.

1 - average use patterns.

2 - the thickness of the metal on the annode plates.

If you put a regular battery in your car or truck it will last +/- 3 months from what it is supposed to. A boat battery does not get "normal" use and can vary widely from what the manufacturer says how long it will last.

A battery will last a given amount of time based on how much metal is in it. If you use it you will get your money's worth out of it. If it sits the process of electrons transferring from one plate to the other is still going on but at a much slower pace. That is why some marine batteries seem to last forever and others do not. It all depends on how much you use the battery.

[Burke Kilgour]

My red top is 8 yrs old and I haven't even taken it out for winter storage, I've been amazed with the toughness of it so far. Although I may have one of the older "better" ones after reading about the downhill slide of the Optima line.
Before reading about that, I would've recommended it 100%

[laglass69]

I have a optima blue top going on 2yrs now. The best thing I have found for extending the life of a battery is keep it plugged to a battery tender maintainer when not in use. I started doing this a few years ago after a bunch of battery problems and havent had trouble since. For the boat, I bought a 1.5 watt Solar battery maintainer from Harbor freight for $20 and put it on the boat battery, no problems.

[jpf091959]

I have four of them laying around. I take them out of the boat at the end of the summer and charge them up a few times over the winter, but they seem to last about three years.

[eli]

after going thru many 1 summer batterys i bought a optima blue top 4 years ago ,i dont charge it all winter ,in spring i charge it up before i go out in the spring for about 12 hours then a couple of hours before each time i go out ,i,m running 1 blue top for two motors,and works just fine ,i have no stereo and dont boat at night, good battery.

[RB in NM]

My blue top cranker and 2 blue top trollers are 7 years old,,, one troller is not holding as much of a charge as the other. There were some discussions on what chargers were better/recommended for these batteries... apparently there was a major issue using a wrong type of charger on these Optimas. I have a Pro Mariner 20 amp charger on mine, never an issue..RB

[Markus]

I was a distributor for Optima.They had about 20 patents then.They were developed by Gates rubber Co and were only sold to military for years because of the cost.They could stand 9 G's, hellatious vibration,and hi temp, and you could shoot bullets thru them and still work without leaking!!

The story goes like this:

The battery was developed by Gates Rubber Company in Colorado. A Swedish company, Gylling Optima, bought the R&D and manufacturing in 1992 and grew the business. Then, in 2000, Gylling Optima was acquired by Johnson Controls.

So, what you see is probably the typical results of American big corporate cost cutting kicking in after a few years...

[njj502]

i use ac/delco marine,lasted 6 years still good,but just replaced it because......................

I don't think the Optima's are worth it when you replace em every ~4 years. Dad and I have been using AC Delco Marine/RV batts for years now. His troller batts (24v) usually last 5-7 years with no maint what so ever. They don't even get brought in where they don't freeze. The starting batt in his rig is now 11 years old!!! :thumbsup: :reddevil:

[mod25]

Had an old Blue Top lasted 4 yrs. Bought a new red top lasted 1 yr. and had to replace it. Oreillys replaced for no charge. They are tough batteries had one come loose in my race car in the heat race.The Battery fell out and i ran over it knocked half the top off and holes in the side. The post were still on so I stuck it back in the car ran the feature race. Battery is still in the car. Looks like hell but still works!

[hydroholic]

Red top in my stream is 5 yrs old still going. Red top in my wellcraft is 4 yrsold and still going. They never leave the boat summer or winter. Charge them each once at the beginning of every boating season. No problem so far!

Hydro

[brussrude]

those Optima blue top batteries are maintenance free. according to a mfg of outboard electronics they recommend NOT to use maintenance fre e batteries for outboar applications. what are your thoughts on this? They recommend a dual purpose automotive battery with a minimum of 750CCA.

my Blue top only lasted 1 year and went bad.

what are your thoughts on this?

[johnboy 88 vegas]

First red top I bought for my old truck lasted 6 years and was killed many times playing the stereo at partys. The two in my diesel truck only lasted 3 years so no more Optima for me. It seems the quality isn't the same as it used to be as I know a few other people that haven't had the best of luck with the newer ones as well.

[dogeatdog]

Just replaced a blue top at 3 years old. Horrible!! I was in a pinch so I bought another but next time around I will not.

Get the diehard platinum - great warranty.

[wired247]

those Optima blue top batteries are maintenance free. according to a mfg of outboard electronics they recommend NOT to use maintenance fre e batteries for outboar applications. what are your thoughts on this? They recommend a dual purpose automotive battery with a minimum of 750CCA.

my Blue top only lasted 1 year and went bad.

what are your thoughts on this?


I think thats only true with unregulated outboards. With a regulated stator its no different than a automotive system except its not used as much and gets a deeper discharge between charging.


I use a 40 amp system and it runs 14.4 volts all day even at idle with a wal mart deep cycle group 27. lasts until I change it for the hell of it.

[Bruce C]

I have a red top that is almost 5 years old. I used it in the boat, truck, etc. Seems to be doing well. I always use a good charger/maintainer and it hasnt given me problems.

[perfmarine1]

The problem with the Optima batteries is the shelf life. I cant remember how many customers brought me a optima battery and it had only 4 volts. You can buy 3 interstate batteries for that price.If you can get a fresh optima they are ok most sit around for 2 years before you buy them I believe this is the problem with them.

[rgsauger]

The real problem is that johnson controls moved the original plant from colorado to mexico and did NOT transfer the old timers who knew how to make them. Thats when quality went to hell. The red top in my CJ-7 is about 11 years old and still hits hard. The new ones would never do that.

[chad202]

My first set of optimas lasted 9yrs, well worth the money. My second set, one died completely at 1yr and the other at two. Needless to say I didn't go back with them. I'm currently running the Cabelas AGM and after one year so far so good. I will be saving my money for the new lithium batteries though.