How to Read Date Code on Optima Batteries
What'south the Difference Between Optima Bombardment Colors ?
Use this for a vibration resistant, bulletproof, not-leaky starting-only battery.
Use this for starting and deep discharging - like winching, huge stereos, and 12V fridges.
Considered a marine and RV battery. Starting or starting/deep discharge versions are available.
This is the number one question people have. The brusque version is this:
RedTop Optimas: Starting bombardment - Your electrical organisation has a working alternator, a normal radio, no winch, no enormous lights, no big electrical loads.
YellowTop Optimas: Deep wheel battery - Your electric system may or may not have an alternator, and has big electric loads that suck down the bombardment, such as a winch or large aftermarket radio arrangement.
BlueTop Optimas: Starting (dark case) or Deep Bicycle (low-cal case) batteries for marine/RV use - Yous demand stainless steel bombardment posts with ane of the to a higher place options.
That should give you a general idea of the type of battery that you need, but side by side nosotros're going to accept an in-depth look at each of these.
Keep reading, because Optimas have more differences than just the colors of their tops!
How Your Electric System Works - READ THIS!
Most batteries like to alive in this state for longevity. But nosotros need them to do things that take them out of this state.
In a normal, stock vehicle the battery is just an electricity reservoir. Information technology basically has one purpose: provide plenty juice to start your vehicle.
That'south it.
If you can understand that, you can easily pick the right Optima.
Along with the battery, there are ii other major components to your electrical system:
- Things that brand electricity: alternators/stators/generators
- Things that utilise electricity: winches, stereos, inverters, etc.
It's important to remember that batteries don't make electricity, they shop it.
So let's go into that a little further and look at 2 battery types:
- Starting
- Deep Bicycle
What is a Starting Battery?
Later a short, quick flare-up of electricity, your battery gets charged upward. During starting, the amount of electricity in the battery doesn't drop very much.
Here's what the starting battery is best at:
A commute to work.
In normal performance, you start the car upwards in the forenoon, drive to work, and turn it off at work. Here's what happens:
- Yous start your car: Your starter motor draws a rapid burst of electricity from your battery for a few seconds while your engine turns over.
- You lot drive to work: Your alternator quickly tops off your battery as you bulldoze.
- You turn off your car: Y'all make it at piece of work and your battery is in the same state as when y'all left your house in the morning.
The bombardment's reason for existence is to get-go your auto. On the drive, your alternator (not your battery!) powers your radio, lights, phone charger, ECU, and any other normal (OEM) electrical draw.
Your battery is a starting battery.
Starting batteries are:
- Used for starting a vehicle just
- Are nearly always fully charged, except when drawn down slightly for starting
What is a Deep Cycle Battery?
After a sustained winch pull or some other long-term, high draw electric load, an enormous amount of electricity is taken out of the battery.
Permit's take wait at another scenario:
Winching.
Y'all get stuck in a mud pit. You pull out some cable, hook upward, and first reeling it in. In a existent sticky mess, y'all could be pulling close to 500 amps off your bombardment as your winch reels in.
Then here's the bargain:
The deviation between this and the commuter situation is that a winch pull can be long and intense! Your starter operates for a few seconds to turn your engine over. A winch may operate for a few minutes to pull your 5000 lb. Jeep from the Black Lagoon! (Brand sure to let it cool down while winching!)
Your starter operates for a few seconds. A winch may operate for a few minutes!
This pulls a tremendous amount of electricity out of your battery. While your alternator will eventually replenish your battery, the problem is that starting batteries don't like to be drained of enormous amounts of electricity on a regular ground.
Consistent deep drains will eventually kill a starting bombardment. A deep cycle battery, though, tin can handle both starting and deep discharges.
When to Use a RedTop Optima - STARTING, NORMAL LOADS
This is the same as a standard Optima 34, but besides has the side terminals. This results in a slightly wider width and the upraised terminal ridges on the elevation.
RedTops batteries are simple:
It'southward your normal auto starting battery on steroids.
A starting battery exists to provide short blasts of high current. It holds a certain capacity, just merely delivers a small amount of it at a time.
So allow's take our commuter car example above, and change that into a "commuter Jeep" on 37s. It'southward a uncomplicated Jeep. No stereo, no winch, no light bars. Your bulldoze to piece of work is a 5 mile stone garden.
For this drive to piece of work yous need a battery that will agree upwardly against vibration, that you tin mount sideways, and that can sit for a while without self-draining while you hike into the jungle looking for Mayan artifacts.
Y'all demand to know that you lot can roll your Jeep without battery acid getting everywhere, and that when the drugrunners shoot at you for stealing Mayan artifacts, your Jeep will (probably) all the same start.
Just remember!
Y'all yet don't take a winch or a huge stereo in this thing - that'due south what a YellowTop is for.
So when practise you lot use a RedTop Optima?
- When your vehicle has some way of speedily generating electricity as the bombardment is drained
- When electrical load tin be handled solely past the alternator/generator/stator while running
- For regular car, truck, and RV starting
- For starting heavy equipment where there aren't too many other electrical loads
- When you don't intend to ever deeply discharge the battery - this kills the RedTop, like whatever other starting battery
When to Employ a YellowTop Optima - DEEP DISCHARGES
Like the RedTop 34/78, this battery has additional side posts. Information technology's a deep cycle plus cranking battery.
A good rule of pollex for YellowTop Optimas is this:
If you lot've added something to your electric organisation that tin quickly use electricity without immediately replenishing it, you lot need an Optima.
In other words, if you lot're going to do something that drains your bombardment downwards, use a YellowTop.
Here's why:
YellowTops are deep cycle batteries. Instead of providing a small-scale corporeality of its capacity in a short amount of time, deep bicycle batteries can provide large amounts of their capacity - they are deep-dischargers.
If y'all deeply discharge a RedTop, you can damage it. If you deeply discharge a YellowTop, it says, "Is that all yous got?"
At present:
If we accept our Jeep above, nosotros can imagine quite a few scenarios where being able to use a big amount of the bombardment'south capacity would be useful.
Tin I Use a YellowTop for Starting?
Yes!
The deep cycling ability of the YellowTop is similar an added feature - that's why they cost more.
In comparison to a RedTop, they should theoretically be less performant at starting, but for almost anyone this is going to exist unnoticeable.
Winching
Winching is ane of the all-time use cases for a YellowTop. There is no style any stock alternator (and probably most any high output alternator) tin keep up with the electrical drain of a winch.
A winch pull in fender deep mud can hands outcome in a well-nigh 500 amp load on the electrical organization. Do that for 30 2nd spurts until you become out.
How full do you call up your battery will be?
Not very.
The battery volition be deeply discharged and need to be filled upwards over again with electricity. Using a RedTop like this will somewhen destroy information technology.
Only that'due south what a YellowTop is built for.
12 Volt Refrigerators/Coolers
This is some other prime example.
12V fridges need to run all the the time to keep your food cool. That means not only while you're driving, but as well while you're sleeping, hiking, eating, sitting around a campfire, or whatsoever else you practice.
A adept 12 volt fridge coupled with a YellowTop can keep your food cool for a few days without existence charged. When you practise charge it, the YellowTop can deal with information technology.
Once more, this is non a chore for a RedTop.
Audio and Video Systems
If you have a monster sound or video arrangement, you demand to think a little differently than with our to a higher place examples.
If you'll merely use your system while cruising and information technology isn't too big, you tin use a RedTop.
If you lot program to park at meets and parties and show off or your system is 250 watts or more than over stock, you need a YellowTop.
Other Uses
You should choose an Optima YellowTop for any situation that will result in a deep discharge of the bombardment. This includes things like:
- Vehicles that don't fifty-fifty have a charging system: This is mutual for drag racers and others that don't desire or need the complexity and weight of a charging organisation.
- Electric vehicles: It probably goes without saying that something that runs on electricity will deeply drain batteries.
- Equipment that uses a lot of electricity to run pumps, actuators, hydraulics, lights, etc., especially when that equipment is used without a running engine.
- Trolling motors: Yous go out all twenty-four hour period and recharge your YellowTop at night.
- Portable welding setups: If you use a Gear up Welder or you ever weld with batteries, YellowTops are the way to go.
When to Utilize a BlueTop Optima
Like size to the D34M.
Similar size to the D34M.
BlueTop Optimas are for marine apply where you demand a starting battery OR a deep cycle.
You meet, Optima kind of made this a trivial confusing for usa. Where RedTops and YellowTops are differentiated by existence either starting or deep cycle batteries, the BlueTop line has both.
So, BlueTop Optimas have two case colors:
- Dark Greyness: This is the "starting" BlueTop. It is functionally equivalent to a RedTop Optima.
- Low-cal Gray: This is the "deep cycle" BlueTop. Information technology is functionally equivalent to a YellowTop Optima.
"But", you ask, "how is the BlueTop actually different from a Red or YellowTop?"
BlueTops accept stainless steel last studs in addition to the auto battery terminals.
Because of the extra staineless studs, these batteries are good for adding more accessories on a boat or for hooking up to a trolling motor.
If yous demand to choose between a dark case and a light case BlueTop Optima, information technology's but like choosing between a Carmine or YellowTop:
- Dark case BlueTops are for use as a dedicated started battery that isn't drained on a regular basis.
- Light example BlueTops are for RVs, trolling motors, and boats that have a lot of electrical accessories.
If yous're a landlubber, don't worry also much almost BlueTops unless you find a adept deal on one.
A Final Annotation on Choosing the All-time Optima Color
ALL dark gray case Optimas are for starting. ALL lite grey case Optimas are for deep cycling and starting.
If you're easily confused and you already know what you want, you can skip this department. If you want a piffling more than trivia, this is the section for y'all!
We just wanted to emphasize that yous can split Optima batteries past cap color (red, yellow, blue) or by case colour (nighttime gray and light gray). Most people know virtually the unlike cap colors, but they don't know almost the dissimilar case colors.
There are two case colors:
- Dark grey example colors are starting batteries.
- Light gray case colors are deep bike batteries.
All RedTops have night gray cases. (They are starting batteries.)
All YellowTops take lite grey cases. (They are deep cycle batteries.)
BlueTops have dark greyness and light gray cases. (Some are starting and some are deep cycle batteries.)
The thing is, you probably tin't walk into an auto parts store and ask for a lite gray case Optima - nobody will know what that is. But they will know what a YellowTop Optima is!
Cull the All-time Optima Postal service Configuration
Let's talk a niggling nigh fitment. Once you cull the best color, yous need to pick a post layout.
First, in that location are top, side, and dual terminal layouts. See some mutual battery post layouts hither:
| Manufacturer | Terminal configuration | Battery Group |
|---|---|---|
| GM and Chrysler | Dual Terminal | 34/78 |
| Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Subaru | Top Terminal | 35 |
| Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Infiniti, Nissan, Acura | Height Final | 24/24F |
| GM and Chrysler | Side Terminal | 75 |
| Mercury and Ford | Acme Concluding | 65 |
For our purposes, we like to utilize the top terminal Grouping 34 or the dual final Group 34/78 if possible.
Why?
For large electrical loads like a winch, y'all e'er want to be pulling power through the large top terminals.
For minor accompaniment loads, side terminals are fine for running things like stone lights, GPSes, or other low draw accessories.
If Optima doesn't actually recommend a specific battery for you, here's what yous need to know almost concluding layouts:
12 volt auto batteries have standard terminal layouts. The battery terminals are offset to one side. If yous're looking at the terminal side of the battery, the positive post can be on either the left or the right.
These terminal configurations account for nearly auto/4x4 batteries. If you lot think you demand stainless steel terminals, wait at the BlueTops.
You'll want to match this concluding orientation to whatever you accept in your rig. If you don't, your battery cables will likely exist too short.
Of form, for custom setups you tin can stick the terminals where ever you lot want.
If you can, we'd recommend going with a RedTop 34/78 or a YellowTop D34/78 as they tend to be the most "supported" by companies that make Optima battery trays.
Choose the Best Optima Size
For most standard 4x4s, nosotros recommend the 34, 34/78, D34, or D34/78.
Why?
Equally we said higher up, aftermarket battery trays from performance companies tend to produce battery trays that'll fit these batteries.
If you get with a different Optima model and want to use it with an aftermarket battery tray, be careful:
Some Optimas, like the 34R have feet that will prevent you from using some trays. The tricky part is that the outer example is the same size as a normal 34 - it's but the feet that stick out !
We've heard of some people carefully cutting off the feet to go the battery to fit a item tray.
Unless you have a particular reason not to, nosotros suggest you stick with 1 of the "standard" Optimas:
- 34
- 34/78
- D34
- D34/78
Optima Battery Trays
Many aftermarket batteries trays are specifically made to fit Optima batteries. If you demand a super clean tray for a single Optima battery, check out the ICT Billet Aluminum Battery Tray. It'south:
- Low profile
- Lightweight
- As close to invisible as you can get
This aluminum tray fits Optimas with the standard 6-pack configuration. It won't fit batteries with staggered cells.
It clamps to the "foot" of the Optima, so information technology doesn't stick upward. Of course, once you lot have this tray, you're committed to Optimas until you swap the tray out.
For dual battery setups, we recommend either a side-by-side or inline mountain from a company like RuffStuff Specialties or Trail Gear.
This is our just adjacent battery tray. Information technology's great if y'all have room to practice this in your engine compartment, but this arrangement is too tight for almost of us.
There's a good chance this is the merely end-to-end dual battery tray out there! Weld or bolt it on.
You should pay attention to the differences between these trays:
Battery trays similar the RuffStuff have battery clamp "wings" that make them impossible to affluent mountain. If you lot need that capability, look at the Trail-Gear bombardment trays:
It's probably worth noting that if yous need a little extra elevation, you can shim the single vertical hold-down bolt, and slot the two horizontal hold-down holes.
This tray allows you lot to mount batteries end-to-end, and will also sit flush against a vertical surface.
Source: https://www.roundforge.com/articles/which-optima-battery-best/
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