Battery experts needed - substitute 24F for 24 to get positive terminal forward.

[powerscol]

Its time to replace my 2009 made Group 24 battery in my CT 235. The Group 24 that is in it which has the positive terminal in the Rt rear (looking at it from the front) close to the oil cooler line and under the air cleaner. In looking at where the power cables come in I should be able to put in a 24F and turn it so the positive terminal is Rt front, giving more clearance from under the air cleaner and away from that oil line. I haft to remind myself to take the negative off first - which I should be doing for safety. However when I have had to jump the battery I must be extreme careful with the positive clamp. Does anyone see a problem with this.

Also battery choices. I come from the era before maintenance free. In the tractor it takes a lot of vibration and bouncing. I have heard Optima red tops are having issues - are there other sealed brands that will work. What about a glass mat type? I know nothing, so please be kind in my education, and yes I look like my avatar:laughing:

 

[IH782]

We have had over a dozen Optimas, and one Odyssey both with great luck. We had one yellow top that was indestructible, you could see through 4 of the cells and it lasted almost a year after. We also had a absorbed glass mat from Advance Auto but it didn't live long enough to even use it (read, fell off of trailer doing 45).

 

[John_Mc]

I have an Optima D51 Yellow Top in my NH TC33D. I've only owned it for 7 months, but no problems. I researched pretty thoroughly before buying, would have bought either an Optima or an Odyssey brand. The Optima was a better fit in my tractor.

What are you hearing about the Red Tops?

 

[powerscol]

I have an Optima D51 Yellow Top in my NH TC33D. I've only owned it for 7 months, but no problems. I researched pretty thoroughly before buying, would have bought either an Optima or an Odyssey brand. The Optima was a better fit in my tractor.

What are you hearing about the Red Tops?

Just a few threads that that they are now made in Mexico - used to be Colorado, and folk are having some issues.

 

[John_Mc]

Just a few threads that that they are now made in Mexico - used to be Colorado, and folk are having some issues.

So are these issues top secret or something, or can you share with us what they are? Others may want to keep an eye out for the problem.

 

[RjCorazza]

The Optima red, yellow, and blue top batteries are AGM (absorbed glass mat). I had a red top in my previous L3410 for 9 years without issue. I am not familiar with any current manufacturing problems, and I can only assume my battery was made long before.

 

[LD1]

I have bever paid the extra for an AGM or optima battery in anything other than a motorcycle. So no experience with full sized batteries. Just cannot justify the cost. The battery in my old L3400 that I sold to dad, still has the OEM battery in it from 2005.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have had a lot of batteries and use to have over thirty to maintain in various vehicles and tractors. I have the Odyssey batteries in my boat and camper, very good product with long life. For trucks and tractors that get frequent use I use the Walmart EverStart batteries at about $100+ these seem to be the best bang for the buck, cost works out to $15-$20 per year. I find most all batteries today will hold their charge for several months at a time. Some vehicles will have a constant battery drain, that is not a fault of the batteries though.

I do not use battery maintainers on each vehicle as it is too much trouble imo. For some people this works well but my equipment tends to be spread out in different places and needs to work without these maintainers.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I had a red top Optima battery in my 2009 RTV when I bought it in 2010 but it went bad within a year. I went to NAPA (local authorized dealer) to replace it but he didn't have any in stock. He said no one buys them because of the price but he could order one for me but it would be around $200. I said no thanks what else do you have. He recommended the NAPA 84 which was around $120. IT has been trouble free since 2010.

 

[dickfoster]

Its time to replace my 2009 made Group 24 battery in my CT 235. The Group 24 that is in it which has the positive terminal in the Rt rear (looking at it from the front) close to the oil cooler line and under the air cleaner. In looking at where the power cables come in I should be able to put in a 24F and turn it so the positive terminal is Rt front, giving more clearance from under the air cleaner and away from that oil line. I haft to remind myself to take the negative off first - which I should be doing for safety. However when I have had to jump the battery I must be extreme careful with the positive clamp. Does anyone see a problem with this.

Also battery choices. I come from the era before maintenance free. In the tractor it takes a lot of vibration and bouncing. I have heard Optima red tops are having issues - are there other sealed brands that will work. What about a glass mat type? I know nothing, so please be kind in my education, and yes I look like my avatar:laughing:

Go get yourself an Odyssey battery and never look back. An Odyssey 34-790 would probably fit if you want lead terminals but I like their brass terminals. You could even fit a smaller group 31 battery with one of their 4 dollar spacers. They have several models that will fit depending on how much you decide to spend, anywhere from $200+ to $400+. As a general rule I get the biggest and best that will fit then forget about it.
Some years ago Optima moved production to Mexico then started selling more label than product. Since then I've heard several Optima complaints that I haven't heard for the US made Odyssey brand.
Besides the Odyssey design allows for more charge to be stored in the same or less volume over the wasteful Optima spiral cell design. To illustrate, imagine a box sized to hold a six pack of beer then imagine how much beer you could fit into all that wasted space between the cylindrical cans. For some reason Optima touts this design but there is also a saying that goes "if you can't hide it, highlight it". It's simply a way to make their batteries cheaper and that's it.