Pelican Parts Forums - Problem with Optima YTop - Is OptimaJim still around here?

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To finish this thread. I took the YellowTop battery back after the store said they had another one. The replacement was 8 months old per the sticker and the volts were low (under 13.0). I asked for and received my money back without any issues. Other Optimas I have work great.

I would like to apologize to all of you and to Jim, I passed erroneous information on that I had received from one of my suppliers. I will be more cautious in the future.

I've used Optima yellow tops in my 912 daily driver and am very happy with it. The application guide says I need a 51R which only comes in yellow but I think a higher CCA red would actually fit in my battery holder. I bought my last batter at Advance about 2.5 yrs ago. I too noticed similar behavior recently that it would not hold a charge. I took the battery back and tested it and said it needed a charge so I left it with store to charge on their machine overnight. Next day test said battery was good but still needed a charge. The salesman provided a free replacement under Optima 3yr replacement warranty. I've had no problems since. I was impressed with the excellent warranty service.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptimaJim (Post 7207448)

I can say that we generally recommend chargers that are microprocessor-controlled and have specific settings for AGM batteries.

We do not recommend “gel” or even “AGM/gel” charger settings, as they may not fully-charge non-gel batteries and could damage them over time.

If you guys have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

I have one for you Jim.

On your site, the Yellow Top battery calls for a 13.8 to 15.0 V charge.

What is the optimal charge voltage at say 25C/77F that fully charges that battery or are you going to tell me that 13.8 or 15.0V fully charges the battery equally.

The AGM/Gel chargers are lumped together because they most likely programmed a lower end voltage into the charger to not overcharge the Gel battery...while the AGM will then be slightly undercharged.

I take it all Optima batteries are AGM?

By the way, I "highly" recommend the Xantrex Truecharge2 line of chargers. The "highly" part of it comes from thoroughly testing numerous brands in our defense labs. Would you like to send one of your chargers to us for testing?

Spencer, not a problem about the misinformation from your supplier. We see it every day and are working hard on our end to make sure folks get accurate information. Alex, please PM me your e-mail address and I'll put you in contact with our folks who handle our military and defense accounts and can assist you further for questions relating to your specific applications.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
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