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Optima vs Odyssey batteries??

C

Casey in Ky

Member
Went out this morning and the NAPA battery in my 06 Chevy 2500 was dead. Looking to replace it with something better. It is the 6.0 gas. Local guys have the optima in stock, but I've heard(some of the local parts guys recommended cheaper batteries when I called about pricing) that there not hardly as good as they use to be. Started doing a little more reading online and found where a lot of people have been recommending Odyssey batteries. One down side is there's no local dealers, so it has to be ordered online. Should I be considering anything else? If I go optima, redtop or yellowtop? Thanks
 
Do you have a dealer for Deka batteries near you? I have one of there glass mat batteries, and am figuring on getting two for the duramax when they go bad. Got it from the local starter rebuilder, and he was chargeing about 10% below what autozone was charging for Optima. Only had it 3 years, so it is not much of a test so far.
 
You're saying your OEM battery finally went bad after 8-9 years and you want something better? Define "better." Seems you did amazingly well.

Optima is made by the same company that sells batteries at Walmart. Comes with a 3-year warranty. The size for my truck would cost $185.

Odyssey battery for my truck would cost $375 and has a 4 year warranty.

I can buy a standard FLA battery at Walmart for $100 and be way ahead as far as how much battery I get, for how long, for the dollar.
 
Local parts store had a grand opening give-away 9 years ago this past December. I won a new Optima battery. Coincidentally, the battery in my Massey Ferguson 150 went dead the very next day. So guess where I put the new battery? It's still going strong. Never had a battery last more than 3 or 4 years in that tractor before they started leaking. (vibration?) It's a diesel, and does NOT always get the heater plugged in, but starts just fine in some mighty harsh weather. Since then, I've bought a few Optima batteries and have had very good service from all of them.
 
I'll second that. My T250 Bobcat has a Decka battery in it and endures constant jolting and shaking due to the tree saw and root rake/grapple. Don't want to jinx anything so will just say it was installed about 8 years ago. I put a battery charger on it a couple of times during the winter if I'm not using the machine for a week or two.
 
It's not the oem battery. I bought the truck in 09. Replaced the battery in 2011 or 2012 with best battery the local NAPA store had. Now its dead. The NAPA store is out of business So I'm looking for something different.
 
I have a bunch of Optimas. They've all been good batteries for me. If you need to charge them you need a smart charger to do it right.

Odyssey is the better of the two. More power in a smaller package. I have one in use. Replaced a huge battery from Europe in my tractor. The Odyssey is less than half the size. Battery that came in tractor started leaking around the post like most lead acid batteries do. It sits in front of the radiator and coolers so Odyssey solved that problem too.

Optima and Odyssey can be mounted in any position. The post won't corrode.

The Odyssey can be pulled down dead and can be charged with a fast hot charge and won't harm the battery. Don't try that with an Optima.

Odyssey cost more but is a heavier battery. Duty and weight wise. I bought the Odyssey for power in a small package, heavy duty for diesel vibration and knowing it won't spew acid out in the radiator and cooling coils.

Check around and you might have a www.batteriesplus.com/ in your area
www.batteriesplus.com/
 
I have had the best luck with Walmart batteries especially considering the cost. I have had poor performance with both Sears and NAPA products.
 
The heat in AZ will kill Optima batteries pretty fast; don't see them stocked in most stores anymore.

I've found that WalMart batteries last as long or longer here than other batteries - and there are lots of stores around if you happen to need warranty.
 
Agreed - they pretty much last as long as they are warrantied. When they hit 5 years I buy a new one and the old one gets put on an electric fence somewhere.
 
I have no idea what your NAPA battery was that only lasted 3 years. Sears Diehards and some of NAPA batteries made by Exide had a very failure rate. So they got dropped.

Interstate batteries are made by Johnson Controls. Same company that makes batteries for Walmart and Optima.

I've got two diesel trucks with a pair of Walmart batteries in each. Both are on their 8th year and still working. Both are also on battery maintainers when not being used. I cannot see how any Odyssey or Optima is going do better or even as good - for the price. The Odyssey equivalent batteries cost more then twice as much and are rated to have a max 7 year life when used as a starting battery.
 
I LOVE the Optima battery. Have like five of them around and had only one fail so far. Cost a pretty penny more but worth it. Now I did hear that very hot areas like south west they get cooked and I live in New Jersey so no problem. DO NOT over charge them! Voltage of 14.8 is about as high as you want to go. Don't know about the other type so I would tell you a RED top. Yellow is a deeper charge type and the Blue is very deep cycle marine use.
 
My brother and I both use the yellow Walmart maxx start battieries in our ford diesel trucks, each truck takes 2 battieries, in eight batteries only 1 of my brothers had a bad cell, Walmart gave him a new battery, Iv had 4 or 2 sets with no problems in my truck, they are also priced pretty good.
 
Car Quest I have in my 901 (6Volt) is made by Dekka,about 8yrs old still strong.

I use United Battery group 31's $79.00 in my 93 dodge Cummins last about 10 yrs
 
Casey are you not close to a Rural King.. Their group 31 was on sale around 59 bucks or so. We usually run innerstate but bought 12 of the RK batteries last year on sale and so far they are doing fine. Hard for me to see the return on either of those Optima or Odyssey . Way over priced in my book.
 
You might also check your local Exide dealer for an Exide Orbital starting battery. They are a spiral cell AGM clone of the Optima.
I have around a dozen of the Exide orbital spiral cell AGM batteries in my fleet of farm equipment, plus 3 Optimas.

They have been a powerfull and long lasting as the Optima batteries for about 25% less money.
I have several Exide orbitals that are 15+ years old and still working like new.
One old Optima in my reversed W9 loader(305 chev powered) is 21 years old and still starting it on any given winter day.
 
OK before you guys jump to conclusions here do a bit of research. Some of the Jeep guys here in the KC area are swearing by the Duracell 6 and 12v vehicle batts.

Prices are comparable with others. These have been averaging 4-6 year lifespan with a couple at 8 years and counting. Getting ready to try one on my 960 in 6V.
 
Just had one replaced in the company van a week ago that was about a year old. Wasn't the fault of the Optima, was the fault of where it was installed. The 2014 Chevy van has strobe lights since do line work along road sides, so someone installed a "supplemental" battery below it since was no more room under the hood. They actually mounted it below the filler neck, so if you were standing off to the side, you could see about half of the Optima showing down below. A couple of weeks ago I saw something hanging, it was the positive cable. The company had me take it into Goodyear to have it fixed, and when they raised it both the positive and negative cables were hanging. My first guess was that someone somewhere tried to steal it, but the cables were severely corroded green where they were broken off. Worse, the terminals on the battery were so corroded it couldn't be used either, so it had to be replaced. The issue was where it was mounted with no protection, and two Winters of road salt. I told our fleet manager at AT&T that if mine is any indication, within a year or two there are going to be a whole lot more of the same showing up.

I've never heard anything bad about Optimas, other than pound for pound, they aint cheap.

Mark
 
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