I went through two Yellow Tops. Now I have a Diehard Platinum.
Like others here, I wouldn't trust an Optima for any application.
Like others here, I wouldn't trust an Optima for any application.
What kind of Battery?
- Thread starter Outdoorsman
- Start date
Would be nice for sure. When I bought my Exide it was a NAPA label battery, Now NAPA batteries are made my JCI. Or were last time I looked, which has been about a year I think.kennith said:
The manufacturing companies sometimes will issue a press release when they get a new contract, or buy another company. JCI when they bought Optima, East Penn when they started making the Diehard Gold, Enersys when they started doing the Platinum line. I also called Enersys the other day to see if they still were since someone said they had stopped.
AfiRover said:
A battery is one of the most important parts in a vehicle.
It works in concert with the alternator to form the backbone of your entire electrical system, which is required for the vehicle operate. You need three things to make a Rover V8, like most engines, function:
1: Fuel
2: Air
3: Electricity
Fuel is readily replaceable nearly anywhere. You can carry as much of it as you like for long journeys. Air is in no short supply. You've only got one battery or battery array, though, unless you carry spares. Neither fuel nor air will make a vehicle go without a battery.
It's got to work. I ask a lot of batteries. Many of us do.
Batteries operate winches both while the vehicle is operating and when it is not. They operate lights in similar conditions, endure extremes of heat and cold as well as heavy vibration. They are forced to cope with complex navigation and communication systems, and some of us have even used them for minor welding.
After all that, they are only allowed the paltry amount of current our alternators provide in order to recharge themselves during use.
Adding insult to injury, they've got to do all that, while still providing the same reliable starting and operating service one would require in a conventional vehicle.
When it's battery fails, your vehicle fails. When you rely on your Land Rover, you rely on it's battery. If money makes me choose, I'll take a nice battery over conventional modifications any day of the week.
A Rover with a three inch lift, thirty two tons of armor, twin lockers, and a stack of Hellas is just comically stupid when paired with a battery that wasn't very carefully chosen based on experience and study. When I see a battery like that in such a vehicle, I'm not surprised to find a clunky, noisy, and poorly running hunk of greasy aluminum directly to it's right.
Such a choice implies poor planning and priority management.
Cheers,
Kennith
Guys
Thanks for all the advise. I am glad I asked because I probably would have just put an Optima back in there.
I will go with a DieHard or a Duralast depending on who has one in stock around here.
Thanks again for all the responses they were very helpful and gave me some good insight.
Take care.
atriot:
Thanks for all the advise. I am glad I asked because I probably would have just put an Optima back in there.
I will go with a DieHard or a Duralast depending on who has one in stock around here.
Thanks again for all the responses they were very helpful and gave me some good insight.
Take care.
atriot:
My Disco sits for weeks at a time and my Red Top is dependable as they come. I can always count on it NOT to start and be dead! I'm on my 3rd one since 09 and just had it on the charger after sittn for 10 days. A total POS! I'm thinking Diehard Marine.
I have a duralast group 24 marine in mine, I should have gone bigger though, although the battery in the boat is due for a replacement, so i'll put it in there, and get a 31 for the truck.
I'm running the Diehard Marine too. Works great, but I hear all group 31 batteries should be very good deep cycle batteries as they're common in heavy trucks. A lot of what we're paying for is the Diehard warranty...
Not sure if it's true, but I'll try a regular group 31 battery next time...
Not sure if it's true, but I'll try a regular group 31 battery next time...
AfiRover said:
That's easy to determine: Enjoy an unsupported vehicle-dependent journey in harsh environments and temperature extremes for a few weeks.
If it the battery gives you no trouble, either it's valuable or you are damned lucky.
Cheers,
Kennith
dcarr1971 said:
That all depends on who made the battery, how well they made it, what technology was used in it's construction, and it's level of compatibility with your vehicle and intended use, regardless of it's group.
DieHard, as you probably know, is simply an in-house private label by Sears. They have historically branded good batteries, and currently provide some of the best batteries available. Sears also supports better than average return policies, generally.
To some degree, you pay for the warranty on any product, but with batteries, the amount you pay is only calculable when comparing identical batteries sold under different brands, as well as comparing the warranties and return policies offered with those brands.
When you examine that information in relation to similar data applying to an identical manufacturer-branded battery (such as Exide or Odyssey, by Enersys), you'll get a reasonably accurate picture of how the profit, warranty, extended support and return policies affect the purchase price.
Cheers,
Kennith