Optima as aux

[threedogs]

Cuppa may be your man here he uses Full river batteries but
not sure how they would go under your bonnet though

[the evil twin]

Cuppa may be your man here he uses Full river batteries but
not sure how they would go under your bonnet though

I also use Full River amongst others depending on application and rate them as probably the best of the Chinese batteries by a long way.

As prev posted some Full River Deep Cycle AGM's are spec'd for high temp environments and some aren't.
If you put one of the lower temp specification units under the bonnet it will last 6 to maybe 12 months if your lucky.

No matter what brand you need to check the operating specs published by the manuf.

I have 2 Full River 120 AH in a camper that are approaching 6 years and still have excellent capacity.
The same battery under the bonnet of a Patrol dies in a year or so

[MudRunnerTD]

I have had 2 full rivers under the bonnet of the GQ for a long time. I have now pulled them out and have used them as my bank for the 24v setup in the back. Been quite pleased with them.

[TimE]

Yep, I have a 100ah Fullriver AGM under the bonnet, been there coming on 7 years and still going strong (has seen plenty of "hard" tracks in that time). I also run a 105 ah Fullriver AGM in the back for the second fridge and HF radio, 2 years on and still going strong. So I'm happy with Fullriver AGMs. My starter is a "no name" 760cca that has been going strong for 5 years.

I might add that I put the batteries on the CTEK 7000 charger at least once per month to "top up" the charge. I also run the charger overnight before each trip away to ensure all batteries are fully charged before we head off.

[georges80]

Yeah, Odyssey are likely stupid expensive in oz. Here (in the US) you can get a decent sized 4wd sized one for around $200 or less (on sale).

The optima failures were a dead cell overnight in my 80 series. I have dual batteries of course, but a real piss-off to lose 2 of them after only 3 years or less. Some folk have good luck with the optima bats but the problem is that TOO MANY folk are having reliability issues for what purports to be a top notch product with a top notch price.

I've gone back to wet SLA, for 1/2 to 1/3 the price they last at least as long. I had an interstate that I replaced in my heep (here in the US) that was NINE years old and still going strong - just felt I was pushing my luck with winter coming and it would have turned 10 years old...

cheers,
george.

[Rock Trol]

I have read about the Optima's in the US as well. I am running another US brand as my auxiliary battery under the bonnet. It is a Deka Intimidator which seems to get good reviews in the US. It is rated for under bonnet installation and is a hybrid type. rated at 95 amp hours. It's only been there for 2 years so cannot say how long it will last next to the turbo. I also installed a Redarc 1220 dc:dc charger to give it the best chance of survival and a long life. Battery world sell them for $350 so not dirt cheap.

Was it worth it? Depends on how long this battery lasts. With the cost of the battery and Redarc this unit needs to last a long time, and even then I might not break even. I could have replaced with a $200 Century marine battery at the time and changed it every 3 years and would still be cost effective..

[Gary Vansleve]

Some interesting comments made. I have both the yellow top and blue top big crankers in a 40 series cruiser both have 2006 date on them and they have been shown no mercy since 2010 when i took over ownership.They are still goin strong.

Were the gun battery in the day but like previously posted they went off .the boil so to speak when outsourced to Mexico I have read some where that production has since moved back to the good ole US of A.

I will be gettin either the yellow or blue top as a cranker in the near future I can only go on my experiences with them for better or worse.

For my 10 cents worth I say go the D31A or D31M.

[megatexture]

Cheers, I'm still considering these ATM just to try them out. The new optima I've seen in the shops have made in Mexico printed on them.

[threedogs]

If you have concerns about the weight and I believe what others say in its much the same as other batteries.
Check the way your tray is mounted, some I've seen are mounted using self drilling screws which makes me cry.
Get some decent penny washers [mudguard] some stainless bolts with a nyloc nut, you could even cut
small rubber gaskets to separate them from your inner guard or small nylon discs,
Just make sure you have plenty of meat around the hole even if you need to fashion a gusset plate or something