Optima Yellow-Top from Les Schwab wasn't worth it...

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mofoco - 07 Aug 2007 02:22 GMT

I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
at the time. I'm sure they're pretty good batteries but apparently I got a
bad one. I bought mine for a vintage 87 RX-7 with less than 64k original
miles on it. I purchased the car as an investment (you rotary heads can
appreciate that) and I wanted the nicest battery available and paid over
$200 dollars for it. I drove the car 1 - 2 times a month to work and back
and kept it garaged (heated all year around) and after 22 months the battery
developed a short in one of the cells. I took it back to les schwab and the
only thing they would offer me was a $79 dollar credit. On a battery that I
expected would last several years I figured I had the real deal. Turned out
I had to take it in the shorts because les schwab insisted that the car sat
too long and that's what caused the short. On the 1 - 2 times per month that
I drive the RX7, the car gets started 4x each day (includes lunch-trip) and
is driven 60 miles round-trip. Anyway, I obviously feel ripped off. ...and
les schwab has crappy customer service! They told me that this rarely ever
happens. If that's so, why didn't they just give me a new optima battery and
send the bad one back to the manufacturer? I'll never buy one again after
that experience and I will tell everyone I know the same story!

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clare at snyder.on.ca - 07 Aug 2007 04:47 GMT

>I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
>Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>send the bad one back to the manufacturer? I'll never buy one again after
>that experience and I will tell everyone I know the same story!

They sold you (or you bought) the WRONG Optima.A YELLOW TOP is a deep
cycle battery. You should have been sold a RED TOP, or at thr very
least the BLUE TOP (Marine -kinda halfway between a deep cycle and an
automotive SLA..

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News - 07 Aug 2007 12:12 GMT

>>I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
>>Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> least the BLUE TOP (Marine -kinda halfway between a deep cycle and an
> automotive SLA..

I was recommended and use a Yellow Top Optima in a vintage sports car
driven less frequently than the OP and am on the third year of
trouble-free use. ("Die Hard" batteries lasted less than a year.)
Starting is assured, effortless and recovery quick. The battery has to
withstand heat and vibration, and has done so without deterioration.

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clare at snyder.on.ca - 07 Aug 2007 19:12 GMT

>>>I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
>>>Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>Starting is assured, effortless and recovery quick. The battery has to
>withstand heat and vibration, and has done so without deterioration.

But a red or blue top would be a better fit for the application

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News - 08 Aug 2007 00:15 GMT

>>>>I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
>>>>Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>
> But a red or blue top would be a better fit for the application

Ever tried to start a seldom-started vintage sports car, cold or hot?

That's the definition of 'deep discharge'.

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clare at snyder.on.ca - 08 Aug 2007 01:13 GMT

>>>>>I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
>>>>>Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>
>That's the definition of 'deep discharge'.

Yes I have, many times, and that is not DEAP DISCHARGE, it is HIGH
AMPERAGE DRAW. Two different things.

Does an early hemi meet the description? A cloud within 50 miles and
all that? Deep Cycle batteries like the YellowTop are designed for low
to medium draw over an extended period. SLA batteries like the red top
are designed to punch out HUGE umbers of amps for a short time, using
less than half of the available power capacity.

Using a deep cycle battery for SLA (Starting,Lighting and Accessory)
use is misusing the battery, as is using an SLA battery for deep cycle
use.

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News - 08 Aug 2007 01:19 GMT

>>>>>>I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
>>>>>>Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
> Yes I have, many times, and that is not DEAP DISCHARGE, it is HIGH
> AMPERAGE DRAW. Two different things.

High amperage draw down times long duration equals deep discharge.

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clare at snyder.on.ca - 08 Aug 2007 02:40 GMT

>>>>>>>I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
>>>>>>>Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 37 lines]
>
>High amperage draw down times long duration equals deep discharge.

True, but the high amperage draw is the key - DEEP DISCHARGE BATTERIES
ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR HIGH AMPERAGE DRAW. This is a FACT.

200 amp hour deep discharge battery will provide something like 8
hours at 20 amps for an 80% DOD, time after time with no damage, but
200 amps for 20 minutes will kill them dead - permanently after a few
times.Never mind trying to pull 400 amps for as little as 7 minutes.(
only 25% DOD)or 800 amps for 3 or 4.

An equivalent SLA bvattery may be rated at 800 CCA and provide 800
amps for 7 minutes, or 400 amps for 10 minutes or 200 amps for 20
minutes without serious harm (if immediately recharged), with a DOD of
less than 50%.

The internal resistance of the SLA battery is a lot lower, and all
around it is deisigned for high power output, while the DD is designed
to be drained slowly over and over.
Diofferent ponies for different tracks.

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Wesley - 08 Aug 2007 04:13 GMT

And read your warranty carefully if you get a battey from Batteries Plus (or
probably anywhere!). I got one years ago for my 92 Caravan...came with a
6-7 year warranty or something like that. I bought there because they were
great folks to work with, even installed it for no charge. Well...the
battery goes bad about 6 months prior to the end of the warranty period, so
I call them up thinking I can at least get a few $$ off of a new battery
(but not expecting much cash back that far down the road). I'm told I would
be better off just buying a new battery than taking the warranty claim.
Huh? They will happily give me a pro-rated amount back on another
battery...but if I do that, the new battery only carries the balance of the
warranty of the original one. What?!? Yeah...that was their story and they
stuck with it. Needless to say, I took my business elsewhere... It's got
an Interstate battery in it now, which probably has a half-decent shot of
out-lasting the van...193k on the clock now...

Wesley

> I bought a yellow-top optima gel cell from les schwab in Orchards
> Washington. They highly recommended it and so did everyone else I talked to
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> send the bad one back to the manufacturer? I'll never buy one again after
> that experience and I will tell everyone I know the same story!

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