Technical optima battery

Its that blowing up stuff that I'm concerned about, I hoped that maybe an optima would be a solution but perhaps I need to consider a sealed box that's vented outside the car.

 

Where I work we have over 70 of them in service. The only battery we use. When the 8D's fail we replace two of them with four yellow top Optimas. In addition to heavy transit vehicles, we use them as the main battery and aux batteries in paratransit vehicles that can have over 80 amps draw on a hot day with the engine at idle. Due to the dual post and mounting flexability we can stock just one part number for seven different applications.
The biggest cause of failure on any AGM battery is overcharging. You absolutely can not overcharge them. If your alternator is charging much past 14 volts it will take them out. The battery charger you use must have an AGM setting as well. Keep them under 14 volts and they will last a long time.

B

 

I had the same experience as gimpys, had one in my dads car that lasted forever, and I was a believer. After production went to mexico, I was no longer a believer. I've seen a ton of them fail since.
Notice how all the people on here who said they are happy with their optima, all say they are over 10 years old?

Quality goes down, but price sure doesn't

 

I'm on my second one. The first one lasted 12 years; I got this one 4 years ago, and it's still working fine. I'll post back in 2024. I think "Oldb" is correct; they need proper maintenance and chargers. People these days are used to the "get it and forget it" program. It sounds like folks should be a little more careful about charging rates, etc.

 

If I can predict the future, you're going to be onto a different battery way before 2024, and will have forgotten all about optima. It's certainly more then proper maintenance and chargers.
My dads battery from optima that was good, lasted forever, bought it way before the car was done, and it held a charge great, was used for jumping and all kinds of things, run down to dead, charged back up multiple times, and still lasted years. All without any special maintenance or chargers. Once it finally died, based on how that one went, we got an optima again, but it wasn't the same. We went through multiple junk batteries after that. And I see junk optimas at the shop all the time.
It's no coincidence that quality went down after the factory moved to Mexico. Of course they will tell you that quality is the same. What company is going to tell you that they cut costs with labor and quality, and now you are getting an inferior product for the same, if not inflated price? Just another of the countless examples of corporate greed where the consumer gets the shaft. God bless america.