So I've had red top optima for a while. It's getting to where it won't hold a charge and I was wondering how long the life on these batteries normally are. Thanks.

 

im into my 3rd one in 3 years. did not even take the shrink wrap off the last one... starting to rethink the op battery thing

 

I have had my red top for 10 years still works great. When my truck sits I have a ctek battery tender installed.

 

I've had a yellow top for 2 years now, no problems.

 

Ok I've had mine about 7 years so I guess I got my monies worth

 

Red tops need to be used.If you let the vehicle sit for a while the battery will discharge.Constant charging/jump starting will not help it.They are not made for that.There is also parasitic drainage to consider.

My red top worked great when i drove my car daily, after i got a beater, not so much.Get a yellow top, deep cycle.Can be allowed to discharge/recharged w/out negative affects.Ctek is a good charger for both, got one myself.

 

i bought 4 redtops for generators at work, all four temp controlled and float charged 24/7. 2 lasted 3 and a half years so i swapped them all for interstate batteries which last alot longer. as an experiment though the two good ones i put in my yukon and firebird because neither is my DD. and i have a ctech that i charge them up once in a while and they seem fine so far. year 5 or 6 but 50% failure rate is not good IMO

 

I had a yellow top that lasted 9 years....
As with many other things, Optima's manufacturing changed and while they made really great batteries with great components, they changed their parts / chemistry to save money and no longer make the same batteries that lasted 9 years... & many people since have been having "average" battery performance... After finding this out, i just went and bought a NAPA Battery, they have pro rated ones for 7 years... for the same 2 or 3 year batteries sold elsewhere and about the same price...

Rafael

 

So I guess I should just grab a new battery then... Also there are two small ports (vents I'm assuming) on the top of the battery. When it is left on a charger for a while a hissing or sizzling sounds can be heard from those vents.

 

I might try the yellow route as the reds are just terrible. I leave my car for a few weeks and its dead. Then recondition it and its fine again. Its just a **** off more then anything

 

My first red top I had for about years and only replaced it because it had a dead cell and if I my truck didn't catch on the first attempt I would be in trouble and it was getting to be winter.

I've had several others all lasting a number of years.

Why?

Because I don't buy them from discount places like Sam's Club, or Walmart. You NEED to buy them from first run distributors.

 

So far the battery I got from Fleet Farm has lasted longer than the red top I tried.

 

It's exactly like 84 1LE said if it's a daily driver use a red top. If you are gonna park the car for more than a month just un do the positive cable. It will easily hold charge for 4 months with no loss of power. Or at least that is my experience.

 

get a regular lead acid interstate battery, they last twice as long as any optima and are half the money. if you have a interstate all battery in your area that is where i have found the best prices. by me they are maybe 10% less than whats on the website

 

The red top is lighter IIRC and also it is a sealed battery which it is needed for cars that run their batteries inside the car (I have it located where the spare/jack was).

 

interstate has sealed batteries now as well, but i wouldnt get one unless i needed to like if you have it in the car. i bought 4 of those to replace the optimas but they have only been installed a year or two so time will tell.

 

Battery is venting, somewhat normal...unless, if its hot disconnect it from the charger.Could be a bad cell.Sometimes the dead/damaged cell will be hotter than the other cells.

 

My Optima red top lasted 7 years and I replaced it with a Duralast Gold battery, which was a mistake. The gold lasted 1.5 years before I had enough of it and returned it and traded up for another Optima red top.

 

I've had my red top in my car since Oct '01. Yup, twelve years and going. I've had it sit in the car (disconnected) during deployments as well as sitting for almost 2 years when I had my car laid up working on it. Still works just fine.

 

I have it hooked up to a CTEK smart charger which keeps it topped off all winter, and occasionally if I don't drive it for more than a week let's say in the summer. My first one failed because I let it die, but this new one is amazing because i'm taking care of it.

 

what is the part number on the charger that everyone is using? The CTEK.

 

My Red Top has an '02 date code on it. Was in last car I bought which had sat for several years. Alternator went bad a while back completely draining the battery a couple of times. Charged battery, replaced alternator, and my brother brought his electrical system tester over and batter was still putting out 835 CCAs (I think it's rated at 800). No complaints!

 

I have had two Redtops. Each one lasted for 3 years and 3 weeks.. They started to crap out at 2 1/2 years, especially hot starts. Charging did not help. I guess that's why Optima made their own charger for $200. A $160 battery and a $200 charger. I finally bought a Duralast Gold 65-DLG 850 cold cranking amps. It starts my 91 formula 305 TBI so fast it almost scares me to death.

 

My red top has lasted a little over three years. The car is just a toy for me so it's never daily drivin and it was still going strong when I disconnected it for the winter a month and a half ago.




Mark

 

I had a red top in my Taurus sho and I switched into my iroc after the red top that was in it went bad after a couple years. The red top I switched from my sho has lasted so far 9 years. I keep a battery tender on it and haven't had any problems. The red top that went dead in my iroc was discharged and charged many times which caused its death.