Optima Blue top Battery

[steve123]

Hi i just bought a Mercury 225 Optimax. And i was told that it needed a Optima blue top battery. Is that true?

[harrells]

I've had one going on 8 years on my 3.0L 250xs and never a problem. Always keep it on a trickle charger when not on the water.

[steve123]

Great. Thank You.

[OMCFREAK]

Optima was bought out by Johnson Controls and manufacturing was moved to Mexico. Quality is **** compared to the Optimas of old. East Penn makes the best consumer batteries. AGM batteries from Die Hard are made by East Penn. They have a Marine battery too. Walmart batteries are mostly made by Exide which manufactures mediocre at best and total **** at worst.

[steve123]

WOW thanks for the info.

[Baja170]

Optima was bought out by Johnson Controls and manufacturing was moved to Mexico. Quality is **** compared to the Optimas of old. East Penn makes the best consumer batteries. AGM batteries from Die Hard are made by East Penn. They have a Marine battery too. Walmart batteries are mostly made by Exide which manufactures mediocre at best and total **** at worst.

I have two of the "new" Optima's in my Cougar. They are definitely not as good as the single that is in our pontoon. I just bought on a Amazon flash sale a new Marinco (Marinco Power Products ChargerPro 2 Bank 120V Input On-Board Battery 1/EA 4/Master, 10-Amp) onboard charger/maintainer for them that I still need to install to replace the old Guest not made for AGM that is already installed in the boat.

Odyssey batteries are also not nearly as good as they used to be. I run the PC925's in all 3 of our SxS machines and the last one I got is nowhere as good as the prior two. And I use their own charger made for Odyssey.

[FMP]

Nautilus by Exide 115min 1000 A , I have used them for years without fail. Trickle , top up in off season and years of trouble free service. Can't say about todays version mine are a few years old and great.

[XstreamVking]

Napa parts store batteries are deka re branded. Had good luck with the commercial series that have the studs on them instead of posts....

[steve123]

I think the Deka 24m7 12v 1000 MCA marine is the way to go.

[FMP]

Maintain and disconnect when not running.

[Onetime]

Will not run Optimas any more. They have left me stranded on the water more then once. I agree they used to be a lot better. Even though they are made poorer and cheaper then previously made, they are still way to expensive and I see no benefit to them.
Also to add insult to injury they seem to always go bad just after the warranty is up!!

[OMCFREAK]

Odyssey was started by some guys that left East Penn. Over priced for sure. I don't know anything about their current ownership or manufacturing practices. They were great batteries at one time.

[OMCFREAK]

Deka batteries are made by East Penn.

[mrcrsr]

the one in my skater is over 5 years old, never on a maintainer, just changed out the one in my '69 camaro, it was over 7 years old. in florida with the heat you are lucky to get 3 + years out of a lead acid battery. i heard the same thing about the new optimas, talked to my battery supplier and apparently they are back to what they used to be according to him, but they did have problems when they were first bought out.

[steve123]

Hi should i buy a Starting battery or Deep cycle?

[OMCFREAK]

Deep Cycle is for running trolling motors etc. They are meant to be run to near dead then recharged. That's not good for regular batteries and constantly being on an engines charging system isn't the best for deep cycle batteries. Not saying you can't do it, but it's not the intention of the battery design.

[steve123]

I'll stick with a starting battery.Thanks for all your help.

[OMCFREAK]

Your welcome!

[4Speed]

Jack Barsh put a Optima Blue top in my 2010 Euro when he built it and have had no issues to date. The motor is a Mercury 225 Sport XS. I don't use the posts for connections, I use the studs with lock nuts and stainless washers for the connections. I had a dealer tell me that with all the electronics on todays motors that a loose terminal can raise havoc and even cause electronic damage. During the winter months I charge all my 4 "summer time batteries" the 1st week of the month.

[tux974]

I have been running the blue top on my boats for years with great results. I guess either I have been lucky or maintained them accordingly....:confused:
They are a bit heavy piece....:eek::D

[NICE PAIR]

I have been running the blue top on my boats for years with great results. I guess either I have been lucky or maintained them accordingly....:confused:
They are a bit heavy piece....:eek::D



"What Tony said" :thumbsup:

[STV_Keith]

I'd probably move away from Optima batteries if I didn't have billet battery boxes in my boats that are specific to Optimas. I get 4-5 years out of them still.

One thing to look at if you do decide to go the Optima route is that they make a deep cycle battery and a starting battery. The deep cycle is great for stereos and other items that will run the battery down. It's got 850 cranking amps. The starting battery has 1000 cranking amps.

[jdewaard]

Check out Crown batteries. Best deep cycle batteries made. US made in Ohio. I run them in my boat and golf carts. Their manufacturing process is second to none. I have seen it for myself. They have been making deep cycle batteries since 1926. Just my .02.

http://www.crownbattery.com/crown-battery-marine-recreational-vehicles

[steve123]

Who sells Crown Batterys? Thanks.

[jdewaard]

Follow this link and click on your region to inquire about a dealer close to you.
http://www.crownbattery.com/find-a-dealer