Orange Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Evening all. I have come into the possession of an Optima Red-top battery. It's been dormant for a while, but seems to be holding a charge at the moment - at least on my primative testing methods.... I do have a couple of queries, though! It's going to be used as the second battery to run a winch and a few ancillaries off of, but the numbers on the top don't seem to be big enough (based on my limited battery experience). The numbers are: Part No. 4868999AC MOPAR CAT No. 4868999AC CCA (EN) 715 CCA (SAE) 700 AH (EN/SAE) 50 My questions are: Do these numbers seem right? The Paddocks website states that the CCA should be 815........ Are there different versions of the battery available? As far as I can make out, there is only one 'size'. Any pointers gratefully received... TIA Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHarv Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 iirc the Optima RedTops are available in BCI group sizes 34/78 (the 815CCA one), 75/25, and 35 (both slightly smaller / lower capacity) Their websites are all marketing fluff though - good luck finding any actual info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 when i bought mine it was labled up as a 50a/h but was replacing a 90 a/h so i quiryed it and was told by barden batterys that due to the way an optima works a 50a/h is the equivalent of about 100a/h lead acid and ive never had any problem with the cca on mine mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streaky Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 All of the 12v Optimas are the same case size. They also do a 6volt one which is half the case size of the 12v. Yes, there are different versions of the Red Top battery. I don't have the catalogue in front of me right now but remember reading up on it. The Red Top isn't really reccomended for applications such as winching...the Yellow top is the Deep Cycle variant and as such would be better for that. Why don't you use it as your starter battery instead? I heard that mixing these spiro-cell batteries and regular lead acid plate types is not reccomendd unless you fit a decent dual battery management system. Anyone care to add to that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Cheers chaps. I might have to use it as the starter, instead, then... The other battery I have is of a similar type, so I won't be getting into problems of mixing battery types! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I heard that mixing these spiro-cell batteries and regular lead acid plate types is not reccomendd unless you fit a decent dual battery management system.Anyone care to add to that? I saw that bit on the Optima site, saying if they're dissimilar types then they should be charged separately, unless you have a certain type of dual charging system. I raised this with the local agents, as I am thinking of an Optima yellow top for the 2nd battery, keeping my conventional starting battery and this was the answer : "Ok, I know about that but what the FAQ highlights is that if you have a dual battery system that uses diodes which causes a voltage drop to the second battery then this is a problem, but this would be a problem with any battery. Relay based isolators are not a problem. They recommend charging separately to prevent a lower voltage to the Optima, if this is not the case in your system then no problem. " So a voltage sensing relay/solenoid type charging system in the vehicle should be fine with mixed batteries, by the sound of it. National Luna or X-Eng come to mind as suitable, as they supply same volts across both batteries when charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.