Dead Optima Battery

Got my truck really stuck today...just about slid down a snowy embankment into a creek. Friend drove me home... brought the TJ and JK out to side pull while I front pulled with the truck winch.

JK has a POS something or another battery and a HF 9500 winch.

TJ has a Warn M8000 and a Optima.

In the middle of the recovery the Warn winch on the TJ started smoking and I checked the battery voltage and it was at 4... wasn't running either Jeep while winching...killed too many alternators doing that.

That Optima is just a flat out POS.

JK and the HF winch and POS battery didn't hiccup once.

-Mac
 
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Well this is very disappointing. This is the first "Good" Battery I ever owned. Turns out to be about average POS.
I hope the Renergy LiFePo I put in the RV works better. That thing was $500 on sale at a clearance store :oops:
 
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Well this is very disappointing. This is the first "Good" Battery I ever owned. Turns out to be about average POS.
I hope the Renergy LiFePo I put in the RV works better. That thing was $500 on sale at a clearance store :oops:

I'd love to play with some LiFePo batteries...but $500 to $1000 plus just makies me cringe.

I spend every winter schlepping deep cycle Costco batteries up to my Patriot electric gate because the solar charger can't keep up and I don't want to dig a 2800' trench nor want to afford the conduit and wire.

-Mac
 
I had a Wal-Mart battery go 8 years. Seen others do the same. Don't underestimate them. I usually see big names fail often, Die Hard, Interstate, AAA, and of course Optima.
 
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Just tossing this in
I’ve had really good luck with my Duralast Die Hard battery.
Winch pulls (about 10-15 pulls on this battery) I rev up a little to keep the amps up but it handles it
 
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I don't have a winch on my Jeep, but I've been using Optima batteries for years and love them.
Have always outlasted their life span and the one that didn't was replaced free of charge. Optima doesn't pro-rate.
If you got 4 years out of a 3 year battery, what's your complaint, if I read that right?
 
I don't have a winch on my Jeep, but I've been using Optima batteries for years and love them.
Have always outlasted their life span and the one that didn't was replaced free of charge. Optima doesn't pro-rate.
If you got 4 years out of a 3 year battery, what's your complaint, if I read that right?

I’d say you should be able to get more than the warranty lasts. Costs for an optima don’t warrant a short life span compared to other similarly priced options. You can get cheaper options that last just as long as an optima. So what’s the benefit of an optima at that point?

For comparison, I’d be pissed if my truck that came with a 5 year warranty only lasted 6 years.
 
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I’d say you should be able to get more than the warranty lasts. Costs for an optima don’t warrant a short life span compared to other similarly priced options. You can get cheaper options that last just as long as an optima. So what’s the benefit of an optima at that point?

For comparison, I’d be pissed if my truck that came with a 5 year warranty only lasted 6 years.

For me, it's the dependability, gel technology that never corrodes and 100% replacement value, no pro-rating (does anybody else replace for free?).
I don't expect to get more than what I paid for, but personally have with Optima with that one exception.
I have no complaints what-so-ever.
However, unlike Jerry and most, my Jeep never leaves the pavement so maybe they just can't take the beating which is a non-issue with me?
 
For me, it's the dependability, gel technology that never corrodes and 100% replacement value, no pro-rating (does anybody else replace for free?).
I don't expect to get more than what I paid for, but personally have with Optima with that one exception.
I have no complaints what-so-ever.
First, an Optima is not a gel battery it's an AGM... big difference. Second, what happened to cause us to no longer like the Optima which used to have a great reputation is when Johnson Controls bought Optima and moved the entire Optima automotive battery line to Mexico where a lot of cost cutting was done which reduced its reliability. That loss of reliability is why Costco, for one example, stopped carrying Optima batteries, too many returns. And then there's the loss of actual battery surface area which is significantly smaller when comparing like Group sizes between Optima and other brands. An Optima even weighs about 20% less than the same group size of other batteries which is a direct 20% loss of battery capacity. And personally, I had three Optima batteries in a row fail prematurely. Two Yellow Tops and one Blue Top.

Standard AGM vs. Optima AGM
Odyssey Vs.Optima.gif
 
First, an Optima is not a gel battery it's an AGM... big difference. Second, what happened to cause us to no longer like the Optima which used to have a great reputation is when Johnson Controls bought Optima and moved the entire Optima automotive battery line to Mexico where a lot of cost cutting was done which reduced its reliability. That loss of reliability is why Costco, for one example, stopped carrying Optima batteries, too many returns. And then there's the loss of actual battery surface area which is significantly smaller when comparing like Group sizes between Optima and other brands. An Optima even weighs about 20% less than the same group size of other batteries which is a direct 20% loss of battery capacity. And personally, I had three Optima batteries in a row fail prematurely. Two Yellow Tops and one Blue Top.

Standard AGM vs. Optima AGM
View attachment 408263

That suck's. I've only used the red tops and except for that one I've never had any issues, but mine aren't beat-up and tossed around either.
Maybe there's something to that?
As long as they keep performing for me as they have, I'll stay with em.
I'll opt out if they quit the free replacement policy though. I don't mind paying $300 for a battery as long as it works for me, has no corrosion and has a free replacement policy.
 
...but mine aren't beat-up and tossed around either.
Mine weren't either. Of all the batteries I've installed into my TJ which also include Odyssey and Northstar in addition to my three Optimas, only the Optimas died prematurely. My first Odyssey-made battery was over ten years old when it finally give up, my current North Star is 5-6 years old. The Optimas had no tougher operating conditions than any of my other batteries have enjoyed. :)
 
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Mine weren't either. Of all the batteries I've installed into my TJ which also include Odyssey and Northstar in addition to my three Optimas, only the Optimas died prematurely. My first Odyssey-made battery was over ten years old when it finally give up, my current North Star is 5-6 years old. The Optimas had no tougher operating conditions than any of my other batteries have enjoyed. :)

Well, there goes that theory? Maybe the Optimas aren't built as strong/sturdy then?
Do the other ones have a free replacement warranty or do they pro-rate?
 
Well, there goes that theory?
Do the other ones have a free replacement warranty or do they pro-rate?
I dunno, none of my non-Optimas ever failed prematurely. Over ten years on the first Odyssey-built battery and 5-6 years so far on my current North Star. Warranty is only important for items that don't hold up. Which is why we don't worry about the 12 month warranty Mopar replacement parts come vs. lifetime warranties on cheap store brand replacements. :)
 
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I had one optima red top that lasted for years in my race car. it then went to my TJ, then to my Lj. All said and done I think it lasted 10 or 12 years before it died. I then went thru four within 3 months. The parts store kept warrantying them. I finally got fed up and used a Napa AGM battery that has been fine.
The parts store by me has stopped carrying Optima batteries, stating that they have far too many returns on them.
 
I dunno, none of my non-Optimas ever failed prematurely. Over ten years on the first Odyssey-built battery and 5-6 years so far on my current North Star. Warranty is only important for items that don't hold up. Which is why we don't worry about the 12 month warranty Mopar replacement parts come vs. lifetime warranties on cheap store brand replacements. :)

Look's like the Odyssey and North Star are also pro-rated if they don't last to the end of the warranty, and their website said it wasn't unusual for any battery not to reach its predicted lifetime either.
Lifetime replacement and the fact that I've had no issues is all that matters to me.
Tell me about another non-corrosive battery with 100% replacement warranty and I may be interested? lol
 
Look's like the Odyssey and North Star are also pro-rated if they don't last to the end of the warranty, and their website said it wasn't unusual for any battery not to reach its predicted lifetime either.
Lifetime replacement and the fact that I've had no issues is all that matters to me.
Tell me about another non-corrosive battery with 100% replacement warranty and I may be interested? lol
I give up. :)

P.S. @Tray Burge "non-corrosive"??? Huh? There's nothing inside any AGM battery that's not inside an Optima, Odyssey, North Star, etc.. All use a paste form of acid. And again, Optima batteries are NOT gel cell batteries. The acid paste that is inside an Optima is every bit as corrosive as the acid paste used in all other AGM batteries.
 
What's funny is..... Every wet cell battery I have ever owned has lasted well past the warranty period. I have an Interstate battery in my 1968 Torino and it's at least 9 years old, well past it's expiration date. I do keep it on a battery tender. I put it on the GR-8 occasionally to test it, and it's still at 85%.
The batteries that I see that don't last are the factory AGM batteries. When I was working for Chevrolet, I was changing the factory AGM batteries more than most people change their underwear.
 
What's funny is..... Every wet cell battery I have ever owned has lasted well past the warranty period. I have an Interstate battery in my 1968 Torino and it's at least 9 years old, well past it's expiration date. I do keep it on a battery tender. I put it on the GR-8 occasionally to test it, and it's still at 85%.
The batteries that I see that don't last are the factory AGM batteries. When I was working for Chevrolet, I was changing the factory AGM batteries more than most people change their underwear.
When did automotive manufacturers start installing AGM batteries? I've yet to see an AGM as the original battery in any new car I have purchased.