Optima Blue Top in my taco?

As you can see below, my work goes thru blue- tops's for some reason. I work at an airport go figure. These are on the recycling pallet and I can get my hands on one. The closest one there says it was installed 6/24/2008. Do you think its still good? I would imagine they didn't see much use, and it looks clean. Its rated at 750 CCA. I am going to hit it today with the volt meter. If it still good, Is it worth installing it in the old taco? Thanks

 

Some batteries are junk after 5 years. Some might last another couple years. I wouldn't bother.

 

Alright. I've heard a lot about how awesome optima's are. Didn't know if they lasted a lot longer than regular batteries.

 

And I should mention I work for the Gov and they replace the batteries regardless if they are still good or not. Everything has an expiration date and has to be replaced even if it doesn't need it

 

Blues are deep cycle batteries... Are they worth it not when you put extra strain on your alternator.. Remember deep cycle likes to charge SLOW not fast as in your truck for example.

 

I understand that you wouldn't want to put a true deepcycle in, but the optima website makes it sound like it's better than a standard deep cycle

Installing an OPTIMA® BLUETOP® high-performance AGM battery in your boat or RV means exceptional running time and more recharges than you’d get out of a traditional battery. It’s perfect for boats with trolling motors, extensive electronic systems, or RVs with creature comforts that tend to drain batteries quickly. On top of providing outstanding vibration resistance, the BLUETOP’s efficient power delivery and faster recharge time mean you’ll spend less time worrying about your battery. This means more time for fun. Again and again. This battery is ideal for those who need a sure-starting, strong-cranking, maintenance-free power source.


Edit: and the yellow top for my truck is advertised as

BENEFITS OF THE YELLOWTOP®:
Deep-cycle and cranking power
Up to two times longer life
More than 15 times the vibration resistance
Completely spillproof, mountable in virtually any position
Maintenance-free
Faster recharging
Optimal starting power
300+ discharge/recharge cycles

 

Optima's are awesome up north. The heat down here kills them in a few years just like any other battery.

 

I live in Richmond, so it's not terrible. Maybe 95 in the summer, haven't been here through the winter though.

 

Occasionally you can get Optimas and other AGM type batteries back from the dead. I used to work for a battery store and customers would bring in Optimas and say they were junk. We would throw them on a long 72 hour deep charge and most of the time they came back good. Just throwing a volt meter on them will just tell you the current voltage, which doesn't tell you if they are good or not. So its worth a try if you can get your hands on a good charger. Then the proper way to test it would be using a load tester to see if it can handle a starting/load simulation. The blue tops are Deep Cycle type but they still have some cranking ability. Red or Yellow tops would be ideal in a vehicle. Good luck!

 

Awesome, I'll grab one tonight and throw it on the trickle charger. Worst case is I have a free core battery. I agree, I would rather have the Red or Yellow top, but when it's free, you can't complain

 

It depends on the charger but sometimes if the current voltage is too low, say 8 volts, a trickle charger may not recognize the battery and will not provide a charge. But you can test it during the process and see if the voltage comes up. If the trickle charger is a really low amperage (0.25a) you may want to give it a solid week long charge.

 

Why would you want to swap your 2012 battery for a 2008? Doesn't make much sense to me...

 

Anybody will tell you anything for a sale now a days to make a buck...

Honestly they are made by johnson controls (junk company) ..

 

Im going to see if it works, use the taco as a test kind of, then throw it in my 98 T100. It's in storage right now out of state so I don't have access to it. But I might just charge it then take it to an auto parts store and have them load test it, then pop it in the T100

 

Ahaa, I see. Well if its free, might as well go for it!

 

That's my thought Don't think it can harm anything

 

Section 16 in the Car and Deep Cycle FAQ on www.batteryfaq.org has information on Sulfation and how to try and recover from it. If the battery will retain a charge, you should load test it before using it for critical applications.

 

thanks for the link