In a message dated 9/19/08 9:17:19 AM, nwolf@u.washington.edu writes:
> This reminds me of the legend of why cheddar cheese is orange. Long ago,
> the story goes, the natural color of this cheese varied from off-white to
> yellow depending on what the cows ate. Consumers at some point decided that
the
> more brightly colored cheese was better, and selected that. Maybe it tasted
> better, or maybe it was just the fashion. In any case, the manufacturers
> caught on, started adding a little bit of dye (annatto), the baseline
shifted,
> things got carried away, and now almost all Cheddar is bright orange, with
no
> correlation (or perhaps a negative one?) between color and quality.
> So, does this mean we're headed toward 80-Lb ballast-filled batteries? I
> hope not. ;)
>
> In any case, since we're talking about non-original batteries anyway,
> I'll make the usual pitch for spending a bit more to get a sealed battery
like
> an Optima. You can thank me later when your battery tray isn't rusted
through
> like most of them out there. The Group 34 red-top is the one to get, or the
> yellow-top if you have deep-cycle tendencies.
>
> Optima specs (redtop/yellowtop):
> minimum weight = 38 Lbs/44 Lbs
> cca = 800/750
> RC = 100/120
> c/20 = 50 Ah/55 Ah
> LxWxH = 10" x 6 7/8" x 7 13/16"/ditto
>
> No, they don't pay me for this. :) It just makes me sad whenever I see
> good cars with holes under the battery.
>
> -Nick Wolf
> 1962-ish TR4 (Optima red-top)
> 2000 New Beetle TDI (dunno... it's buried under the plastic)
>
>
>
Actually Nick, I now remember that the weight issue was brought up in a
consumers magazine which listed various batteries, their weight, and their
capacity-as well as their guarantees,
About Optimas: I have bought a number of Optima batteries over the past 12
years or so. I started buying them after I had a led acid battery boil over
due
to overcharging caused by a regulator failure.
I have had problems with them though in 3 different cars and will not use
them again.
I discussed my problems at length with the last dealer (who gave me my money
back) and also with an ex dealer.
If your system is in great shape, your regulator charges within limits, and
you never let the battery get low, they work just fine.
They have not proven to be very robust though for me or for the e-dealer or
for my current dealer. I had to send one back to a "center" to ensure it was
properly charged.
The claim that time was that they had to be charged at a very low rate. Then
I later read they had to be charged at a very high rate. The ex-dealer quit
handling he said because the factory "autopsied" warranty return batteries he
sent back, and if the gel was burned out , they rejected his return forcing
him
to either find the customer or eat the loss. l
Mike Moore
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