Visit our Popular Forums

montanaandy · 05-13-2002, 04:57 PM

I read your message re: the Yellow Top Optima. I need to replace the 2 x 12 Volt deep cycle batteries in my 79 Airstream. Optima Corp. shows the Blue Top as the recommended RV Battery on their website. They also have the 2 pack - Troll Fury. Not being very knowledgeable about batteries, I want to make certain that I don't make a mistake here. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. AJ

Jim W · 05-20-2002, 01:54 PM

I bought yellow tops for my A/S. I talked to a local auto supply person who said yellow was the one I should get for the A/S. I don't know the person, so I don't know if he knew what he was talking about. You could go to Optima web site & see what they say. They my have a phone # you can call. I bought a red top for my Suburban. All have been doing fine for a year.

Pick · 05-23-2002, 02:17 PM

From what I understand, the Yellow Top is the preferred battery for a trailer. I just put a YT in a car at work. The car gets used very little but has several two-way radios in it that do draw some current when they are off. These seem like very good batteries.

BobbyW · 05-23-2002, 05:19 PM

The Optima Marine batteries (Blue) come in 2 models. One is a deep cycle starting battery and one is just a deep cycle to run accessories. They made them blue just so they match in appearance. We boaters are picky.

The Yellow tops are the recommended RV and spare battery for accessories for land based vehicles.

The Red tops are just a very good starting battery.

Marine batteries are usually built a little stouter in the cases. They take a real bone jarring beating with all the hard slams a boat will have against waves. (Trust me on the beating).

-BobbyWright

maznblu · 06-18-2002, 08:15 AM

Greetings.
I've read all the posts about batteries and even went to a store that sells Optimas. My jaw dropped at the price of a yellow top: $178!! So I wondered about other choices in a deep cell. I'm new to RVing and on my first major trip I plan to stay in regular campgrounds with external power supply. The battery would just be for backup.

Right now there are two regular 12v auto type batteries in my "new" '77 Sovereign, but they seem close to dead. However, I haven't run it enough for them to charge on the road. My manual says that batteries that discharge completely will never reliably charge fully. Also, they were left in place during the winter, not stored inside or trickle-charged. So I thought it would be a good idea to replace at least one of them.

Any suggestions appreciated.
Eugenie

83Excella · 06-18-2002, 08:28 AM

If you do replace just one of them remove the other so the bad one wont pull the good one down and it will last longer. You want to get an RV deep cycle battery, I dont know what size yours takes, if it is the same, but mine use group 27 batteries.

John

FrankR · 06-18-2002, 08:43 AM

Batteries will discharge about 6% per month at rest with no activity. Usually batteries are replaced in pairs as the low battery will draw upon the highest voltage battery. An easy way to keep batteries fully charged is to get small amperage charger and connect to batteries thru a 24 hour time clock. Getting the clock set to come on a few times a day will make the batteries stay at a maximine charge with no water or voltage loss.. The ideal battery voltage is 12.6 volts. Our trailer uses 2 group 27 batteries, but we also have 2 group 31 batteries in the truck bed, in plactic battery boxes. The inverter loves lots of battery power. There are also manual battery selector switches between the trailer batteries and the truck batteries. A large switching relay controls the on the road charging. A big truck alternator fills batteries very quickly. There are many options.

Pick · 06-22-2002, 09:14 PM

That's a bit pricey for a Yellow Top. I bought one for a car at work for around $130. For my Airstream I bought an Exide Group 27 deep cycle (95 AH) from Tractor Supply, for around $59. One thing to remember, those Yellow Tops are only 55 Ah.

davidz71 · 06-23-2002, 06:41 PM

Unless you have the ability to switch and only use one battery at a time, you'd better change out both batteries at the same time. There are numerous battery sites on the internet that tell you that batteries must be closely matched if they are working together. If one is half gone, it will draw from the other.

A deep cycle should not be be discharged more than 50% of its power. Each time you do this, you affect the ability of the battery to recharge back to its full charge. Not keeping it fully charged when not in use and allowing it to discharge fully will end a battery's life quickly. Many recommend pulling the battery out and placing it on a trickle or maintenance charge over winter because the water will not freeze on such a charger.

I have heard of Delco Voyager 105 Amp Hr. batteries lasting up to 10 years when kept fully charged with a battery maintainer. I had heard that sealed deepcycle batteries were bad because water would boil out you could not replace it. Bad battery chargers and poorly designed converter/chargers were responsible for that. I've had my grp. 27 Voyager batteries for over a year now and they are as strong as they were when new. A BatteryMinder brings the charge back up after any heavy use and a Solargizer solar charger/maintainer keeps the charge up when boondocking for up to a month.

Dwight · 07-10-2002, 11:11 AM

Where is the best place to buy the Delco Voyager batteries?

davidz71 · 07-10-2002, 11:42 AM

Dwight,
Go to www.acdelco.com for info on the voyager batteries. They also have a retail dealer locator. I had my local auto parts place order mine because he gave me the "good neighbor price".

melprice · 07-10-2002, 04:02 PM

Eugenie,

You may want to also check out Sears. I recently bought a DieHard from them, it has a capacity of 105 Amp Hours and was on sale for around $55, this was with a 12 month full replacement warranty.

Here's a link:
http://www.sears.com/sr/automotive/marine_battery.jsp

I got the middle size, the site is showing it at $69.99 but they may still have the sale price. I bought the middle sized one because I was concerned it wouldn't fit in the battery box. It did and with room to spare so if I had to do it all again I would get the larger size which has a capacity of 115 AH.

davidz71 · 07-10-2002, 04:08 PM

Dwight,
The Delco Voyager battery is a group 27 battery that just fits in each of my battery boxes. Strange, but I have found that some other grp. 27 batteries like the Duralast did not fit the box because they were 1/4 to 1/2 inches too long.

Don't forget to try the Trojan battery site. I think they make a grp. 27 that also fits the battery box with no problems.

gwsullivan · 07-10-2002, 06:47 PM

I use Trojan golf cart batteries. They are designed for long drain periods (18 holes) and are 120AH. Two of them will cost you about $130. I use two of them with a 120-watt solar panel and never run out of juice while boondocking.

BobbyW · 07-11-2002, 05:42 AM

Just be sure that what ever brand of battery you install, IF it is a conventional maintenence style, that you have adequate ventilation to remove the hydrogen build up. Everytime it charges, those little bubbles you see in there are hydrogen being released from the water. All it takes is one spark.

The beauty of the Optima's is that ventilation is not a problem as they are gel filled, sealed batteries. There are other brands that have this same feature. Sometimes safety features aren't cheap.

-BobbyWright

Dwight · 07-11-2002, 06:13 AM

What "top color" is the best?

Pick · 07-11-2002, 11:04 AM

The "Yellow Top" would be best for RV use in my opinion. But the YT only has 55 ah of capacity. However, they say you can run them down to zero up to 350 times before they are damaged. I would not recommend anyone run ANY battery down to zero though. I am running an Exide combo "Starting and Deep Cycle" group 27 battery with 95 ah of capacity, and I can go about 2 days on it, running lights and water pump. My truck has a second battery in it, with a disconnect solonoid, but it is a "cranking" battery. I can last almost 2 days. I think they have a website at http://www.optima.com

BobbyW · 07-11-2002, 11:09 AM

Scroll down in the link below.

http://www.airforums.com/forum...ghlight=optima

-BobbyWright

Jim W · 07-11-2002, 01:03 PM

I had two Delco Voyagers last ten years. Infact I replaced them just because of their age. They still worked, they didn't seem too be as strong as they had been & I didn't want to be out in the middle of no where & need two new batteries. I bought two Optimas Yellow Tops on ebay for about $130 each. We were in Death Valley in Feb & they held up fine for four days. I also bought a Optima Red top ( ebay for about $110 ) for my Suburban when it was about a year old. The GM trucks with the side mount batteries will some times leak acid down the cables & make a bad mess. I replaced it so I wouldn't have that problem.

pebblepoint · 07-12-2002, 10:29 AM

Interesting info. I learn so much from this forum.

No one has mentioned that "maintanence free" batteries are a hoax, a scam, an industry rip-off. Every battery that I have seen in the last hundred years has top caps that remove, allowing one to add water. As a battery gets charged, it boils off a slight amount of water. Eventually the plates will be exposed to the air as the water level drops. Your battery is ruined and you have to buy another battery.
Take a screw driver and pry to caps off your battery. Add distilled water to keep the plates covered. Then you won't have to buy batteries as often.
I have always bought my batteries at Wal-mart. Why? Service. I get the maximum warrantee period, maybe 7 years. When my battery gives it up after 3 or 4, they pro-rate and a new one costs me very little. Plus, if you need one in Timbuctu, Idaho, you can get a replacement since there are Wal-marts everywhere.

Don, Kay and Max the Mastiff
'69 Overlander
'69 Avion Slide-in
'96 Starcraft

You can never have too many campers