Yellow Top Batterys

[Tonks]

Are they any good for your second battery,

We only run a 60 litre Fridge & also have a winch,

They are smaller in Amp Hours 66 i think but they reckon they charge up a lot quicker via your alternator than a conventional 100 Ah Deep Cycle,

All feed back would be great,

Cheers
Tonks.

[threedogs]

For the money I think you can do better,IMO Winching requires CCA where as The fridge needs A decent deep cycle
which a yellow top is, My Aux is a 105 AH wet cell Trojan with water kit. A bit messy but my battery top is kept clean.
Work out your amp usage for the fridge and see if 66 AH is enough, for winching your motor will be running anyway.
66AH seems a little shy af the mark for me, sorry

[Cuppa]

I have a pair of yellow top D31 75ah batteries used as cranking batteries in my bus. They are paralleled with a pair of older Fullriver AGM batteries via a Redarc Voltage sensitive relay. The yellow tops are good batteries, but in hindsight are, I think, overpriced compared to other AGM batteries. They claim that being 'spiral wound' is an advantage, but I'm not convinced, & suspect it may be more marketing hype than reality. They sell the Yellowtop as a 'dual purpose' battery, so they should be the ideal choice from their range for your purposes. However, if you are intending on paralleling them with your start battery via a VSR, then it is best that both batteries are of similar type with the same charging requirements. This is not essential, but is preferable. However if the second battery is to be charged via a dc to dc charger it makes no difference having different types.
Any AGM battery will charge faster than a wet battery, & there are plenty of good ones around at much better prices than the Optimas. eg Ritar, FullRiver & others. I would fit the largest you can get into the space available.

Cuppa

Edit: Of the various different typed of AGM deep cycle batteries produced by each manufacturer the DC series generally last longer in vibration prone environments such as 4wd's.

[pearcey]

G`day mate
I have 2 75 AH blue top marine batteries and have had no problems, but I do run 2 alternators.
I also have a 55 AH yellow top in my caravan which is all I need as it only runs lights.
The reason I changed to these was all of the wet cell batteries I used apart from the OE one would only last about 2 years where as these are 3 years and are working exactly the same as when i bought them. Mate has 2 yellow top one of which is 7 years old and only gets charged may be every 8 months and it still hold 12 .84 volts when checked before use and charging.
Most AGM batteries are very good and it`s up to you which you choose. All I`m saying is I`m very happy with my units

[BillsGU]

Over many years I have tried many types of batteries in my 4WDs. They have all (regardless of price and exotic construction and other claims) lasted for 2 to 3 years. Now I just buy the largest, cheapest battery I can fit in the space so my fridge runs for as long as possible - and it lasts from 2 to 3 years.

In my caravan I use an AGM battery and I expect 5 to 8 years life from it, but all the experts I have spoken to do not recommend AGMs for off road use as they tend to fall to pieces.

[Tonks]

Thanks guys,

I think I will just get a century deep cycle marine battery there only about $ 200.