Optima Yellow top

[Cpl J]

Has anyone had any experience with the yellow top?

 

[NorthStar96]

Yes, I owned a Yellow top Optima. it lasted 6 months and I got rid of it because it wouldnt take a charge. got a new interstate.

That was in my lincoln Mark Viii.
In my FZJ80, fhe guy who sold it to me kept his battery. So being the thrifty person that I am, went looking for a nice heavy duty battery for the Land Cruiser on Craigslist.

I found a nearly new Duracell that was bought from Batteries Plus for $60. I SAVED $100 clams.

The battery has not failed me. Thru -60 below zero wind chills, and 100deg summer, my truck has started every day without fail.

I can highly recommend the Duracell. I hope this helps disuade you from the Optima, for they are not the battery they used to be.

 

[4xFar Adventures]

Many years ago an Optima seemed to be a good option. I had a Blue Top for a bit. But after seeing one get an internal short and cause one of the terminals to glow red hot and burn through welding gloves, I switched to a Die Hard Platinum marine battery. Sears no longer carries that so I have a big ole Interstate battery now. So far so good. I've winched a couple heavy loads with it had no issues.

 

[Cpl J]

Yes, I owned a Yellow top Optima. it lasted 6 months and I got rid of it because it wouldnt take a charge. got a new interstate.

That was in my lincoln Mark Viii.
In my FZJ80, fhe guy who sold it to me kept his battery. So being the thrifty person that I am, went looking for a nice heavy duty battery for the Land Cruiser on Craigslist.

I found a nearly new Duracell that was bought from Batteries Plus for $60. I SAVED $100 clams.

The battery has not failed me. Thru -60 below zero wind chills, and 100deg summer, my truck has started every day without fail.

I can highly recommend the Duracell. I hope this helps disuade you from the Optima, for they are not the battery they used to be.

Thanks, I was wondering if they were worth the cost.

 

[Mike W]

I have read the same about those. So far I have had good luck with Odyssey and Exide Edge AGM batts.

 

[dstock]

I had 2 Diehard Platinums, (re-badged Odyssey). The starter battery died in less than 3 years. The Aux battery can't hold a decent resting rate overnight and I figure it will be on it's way out soon as well.

After looking at multiple options, I decided to go back to Optima, due to their being readily available all over the country compared to some of the other brands. Also, they have active reps on some of the forums who are responsive to issues.

So far the Optima is performing well, but it's only been a few months so time will tell.

No brand is perfect, I had enough issues with the Platinum/Odyssey that it put me off them for now.

YMMV

 

[Mike W]

I had 2 Diehard Platinums, (re-badged Odyssey). The starter battery died in less than 3 years. The Aux battery can't hold a decent resting rate overnight and I figure it will be on it's way out soon as well.

After looking at multiple options, I decided to go back to Optima, due to their being readily available all over the country compared to some of the other brands. Also, they have active reps on some of the forums who are responsive to issues.

So far the Optima is performing well, but it's only been a few months so time will tell.

No brand is perfect, I had enough issues with the Platinum/Odyssey that it put me off them for now.

YMMV

Did you use a battery charger/maintainer with your setup? Most modern vehicles have smart charging systems and tend to undercharge batteries, especially in dual batt setups. My 2013 land rover is no different. It will let the setup get pretty low if I don't use a maintainer on it. Still works great, but the vehicle doesn't mind being near 12.0v if I let it.

i think running a maintainer just keeps the batts more healthy and obviously more charge for trips. I just bought a little 5 watt solar maintainer that I will try out on my next trip also. Im not running a fridge yet, but want to soon. Need something to take the edge off.

 

[Matt_Whitman]

I had one for a long time. Was great but my truck sat for a long time waiting for me to finish it. I didn't have the money for another when I finished it so I got a cheap Walmart battery. Has been good for the last couple years but I also have a 200 amp alternator.

 

[Lifestyle Overland]

I'm a fan of the Diehard and Odyssey batteries. No issues so far.

 

[dstock]

Did you use a battery charger/maintainer with your setup? Most modern vehicles have smart charging systems and tend to undercharge batteries, especially in dual batt setups. My 2013 land rover is no different. It will let the setup get pretty low if I don't use a maintainer on it. Still works great, but the vehicle doesn't mind being near 12.0v if I let it.

i think running a maintainer just keeps the batts more healthy and obviously more charge for trips. I just bought a little 5 watt solar maintainer that I will try out on my next trip also. Im not running a fridge yet, but want to soon. Need something to take the edge off.

I bought the fancy Odyssey charger to maintain them, but it didn't help. I think the starting battery just plain had issues. The Jeep has a 160amp alternator and I have an Aeroforce gauge that shows the voltage off the OBD port. You can definitely see the changes in output, battery charges up and output drops as expected. I can tell you with the Optima, the dual battery system which separates the batteries when main battery drops below 12.7v stays connected for quite awhile after I park. With the Diehard, it would happen in about 30 seconds. Does this mean much? Probably not, the Optima has a higher resting rate in the first place. It says more that the Diehard had an issue.

So for the purposes of trying something else, maybe I'm taking one for the team trying out the yellow top.

Also, for what it's worth I have a 100 watt solar panel for our trips when we are in place for more than a couple days and it keeps up with the demands of the ARB 50qt fridge, along with keeping both batteries topped off.

 

[Winterpeg]

I have the bluetop Optima in the front and also a matching on in the back... all wired up together. It's the biggest I could cram into that space in the engine bay. It's 900 CCA and has I think 135 RC.

I have also swapped out my alternator diode to trick the alternator (high output alternator too) into charging at a higher rate as the AGM batteries like a higher amperage.

Every once in a while I put my charger on to "top it off" too.

I've had them for about 3 yrs now (?) and have no issues.

I killed my stock battery by putting too much strain on it with my winch.... draining it / charging it / draining it / charging it.... normal lead acid batteries don't like that from what I've heard... whereas a deep cycle battery can be drained a bit more often before it gives up the ghost.

 

[Mike W]

I bought the fancy Odyssey charger to maintain them, but it didn't help. I think the starting battery just plain had issues. The Jeep has a 160amp alternator and I have an Aeroforce gauge that shows the voltage off the OBD port. You can definitely see the changes in output, battery charges up and output drops as expected. I can tell you with the Optima, the dual battery system which separates the batteries when main battery drops below 12.7v stays connected for quite awhile after I park. With the Diehard, it would happen in about 30 seconds. Does this mean much? Probably not, the Optima has a higher resting rate in the first place. It says more that the Diehard had an issue.

So for the purposes of trying something else, maybe I'm taking one for the team trying out the yellow top.

Also, for what it's worth I have a 100 watt solar panel for our trips when we are in place for more than a couple days and it keeps up with the demands of the ARB 50qt fridge, along with keeping both batteries topped off.

What solar panel is it? Or what others do you recommend? My little 5watt probably won't help much.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Steve]

I plug my Battery Tender Jr into my 400W inverter, which is plugged into the Outback's 12V receptacle. Keeps the battery topped up nicely.

 

[dstock]

What solar panel is it? Or what others do you recommend? My little 5watt probably won't help much.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I got my 100 watt folding panel kit off ebay several years ago, but I ended up re-wiring it and changing out the charge controller for a better one. Lots of people seem happy with the Renogy kits, the consensus for running a ARB type fridge is a minimum of 60 watts. Considering you will never get 100% out of the panel, I went with a 100 watt panel. Most I've ever seen out of it is 80 ish watts which equates to 4-5 amps back into your battery.

This setup has worked to keep my batteries topped off and fridge running in Death Valley with 90+ ambient temps everyday.

Here is a link for a Renogy kit: http://www.renogy-store.com/Renogy-100W-12V-Mono-Portable-Solar-Suitcase-p/kit-stcs100d.htm

No affiliation, just have good things about their quality and customer service.

Sorry to the OP for the hijack, hopefully it's useful info for all!

 

[Winterpeg]

I got my 100 watt folding panel kit off ebay several years ago, but I ended up re-wiring it and changing out the charge controller for a better one. Lots of people seem happy with the Renogy kits, the consensus for running a ARB type fridge is a minimum of 60 watts. Considering you will never get 100% out of the panel, I went with a 100 watt panel. Most I've ever seen out of it is 80 ish watts which equates to 4-5 amps back into your battery.

This setup has worked to keep my batteries topped off and fridge running in Death Valley with 90+ ambient temps everyday.

Here is a link for a Renogy kit: http://www.renogy-store.com/Renogy-100W-12V-Mono-Portable-Solar-Suitcase-p/kit-stcs100d.htm

No affiliation, just have good things about their quality and customer service.

Sorry to the OP for the hijack, hopefully it's useful info for all!

What temperature did you have your fridge set to? I use 2 40watt panels and they didn't keep up to mine when I had my fridge set to -12. Once I put it to a more reasonable temp... -4 I think... it kept up reasonably and things on the bottom stayed frozen solid. Ambient temps (daily highs) were only around 20-25 max (68-77 F)

EDIT: I just checked out that link... I love the case that's included!

 

[Mademan925]

I had a diehard platinum but it died quick. Now I'm running a yellow top and a red top. The yellow top powers my accessories(lights, fridge) and is charged by a 100 solar panel and the truck. My red top is just for starting the truck.

Sent from my iPhone using Overland Bound Talk

 

[dstock]

What temperature did you have your fridge set to? I use 2 40watt panels and they didn't keep up to mine when I had my fridge set to -12. Once I put it to a more reasonable temp... -4 I think... it kept up reasonably and things on the bottom stayed frozen solid. Ambient temps (daily highs) were only around 20-25 max (68-77 F)

EDIT: I just checked out that link... I love the case that's included!

The temp on ARB was set for 30F but it's usually 3-4 degrees off so real temp was probably 34-35F .

I use 10g wiring between the panels and the battery with anderson connectors and run no more then 15ft of cable since the charge controller is mounted to the panels.

 

[HudsonZRoamer]

I use Optima Yellowtop as my main battery and it works awesome. I got it about a year ago and have had absolutely no issues with it. I know they moved production to Mexico, which sucks, but there is this slightly exaggerated stereotype they just suck now which they really don't. I had a friend, who is an auto parts manager for a popular online store, he told me its rare they get the Optima batteries get returned. The whole Optima/Mexico stance is usually blown way out of proportion. I run a VMAX 60ah AGM Deep Cycle (made in USA) for my auxiliary setup and its a really good battery as well.

 

[HudsonZRoamer]

I got my 100 watt folding panel kit off ebay several years ago, but I ended up re-wiring it and changing out the charge controller for a better one. Lots of people seem happy with the Renogy kits, the consensus for running a ARB type fridge is a minimum of 60 watts. Considering you will never get 100% out of the panel, I went with a 100 watt panel. Most I've ever seen out of it is 80 ish watts which equates to 4-5 amps back into your battery.

This setup has worked to keep my batteries topped off and fridge running in Death Valley with 90+ ambient temps everyday.

Here is a link for a Renogy kit: http://www.renogy-store.com/Renogy-100W-12V-Mono-Portable-Solar-Suitcase-p/kit-stcs100d.htm

No affiliation, just have good things about their quality and customer service.

Sorry to the OP for the hijack, hopefully it's useful info for all!

Yep I am looking at the same setup last few months. I found a pretty good review on a Vanagons site of the Renogy setup. I am thinking about pulling the trigger pretty soon. I plan on replacing the wiring setup to work with my SAE connector on my battery as well which is located in my National Luna PPP. Here is the link to that review.

 

[dstock]

Yep I am looking at the same setup last few months. I found a pretty good review on a Vanagons site of the Renogy setup. I am thinking about pulling the trigger pretty soon. I plan on replacing the wiring setup to work with my SAE connector on my battery as well which is located in my National Luna PPP. Here is the link to that review.

Good link, good info for all.