Battery

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Battery

Postby Chris C » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:46 pm

Does anyone have any recommendations on the most economical place to purchase a Blue Top Optima Battery?
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Postby madjack » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:02 pm

http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/ best price I have found on the web, with the free shipping it even beats out local distributors because of sales tax
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Postby Chris C » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:03 pm

Thanks, Madjack, that's the site I'd settled on, but just wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving too much money on the table!
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Postby Larwyn » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:03 pm

I gave up, quit shopping, paid around $160 including state sales tax at Sam's Club.

Oh, and I have yet to go back with an old battery for my $8.00 "core charge/regund".
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Postby asianflava » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:24 pm

Yup, Sam's Club for me too.

I was going to buy one when I was in FL, I made some money at our stop over in Biloxi plus sales tax is a little cheaper. I went to a Sam's Club in Clearwater and the had the Exide Spiral batteries instead. Pretty much the same guts, but not what I wanted.
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Postby GeorgeTelford » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:02 am

Hi Chris

You could save loads and by a normal battery, What would make you want an Optima?
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Postby Chris C » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:55 am

From what I've heard from others, and read, it seems that the deep cycle Optima is the best thing out there for long term usage. I plan on being hooked up to AC electricity about 5% of the time I camp.
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Postby Chris C » Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:25 am

George,

You never came back about the battery. Other than cost, what is your objection to Optima?....................and what other battery would you recommend, and why? :thinking: I'm open to opinions here. :)
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Postby Chip » Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:24 am

Chris,, If I am reading ya right you are seldom gonna be hooked up to shore power and are gonna rely on battery for everything,,, in that case I would want the most battery I could find,,, but in my case I very seldom go without 120V power so anything larger than a small battery is wasted money,,, I usually leave it home when shore power is available and use a 120/12V convertor,,

A lot will depend on the access to power you are gonna have when in da woods,,

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Postby GeorgeTelford » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:43 pm

Hi Chris

I you are going to spend that kind of money, outright the best deep cycle battery is a traction battery.

Optima's are pretty decent batteries, traction will beat em hands down for the money though.
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Postby Chris C » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:01 pm

I'm afraid I've never read any literature describing a traction battery. What is it? Is it an AGM?
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Postby GeorgeTelford » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:41 pm

Hi Chris

No its the type of lead acid battery used for forklifts and golf carts.
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Postby Chris C » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:20 pm

Oh, okay. I'll do a Google search and see what I can find. Do you think it's better than an AGM? :thinking:
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Postby Chris C » Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:26 pm

Chip wrote:Chris,, If I am reading ya right you are seldom gonna be hooked up to shore power and are gonna rely on battery for everything,,, in that case I would want the most battery I could find,,, but in my case I very seldom go without 120V power so anything larger than a small battery is wasted money,,, I usually leave it home when shore power is available and use a 120/12V convertor,,

A lot will depend on the access to power you are gonna have when in da woods,,

chipper


Yes, Chip, you're right, I'll be using battery as primary. I really don't care for organized camping, so AC won't normally be available. I'll try to pop into an organized campground every 3 or 4 days unless I invest in a Honda generator. Even then, I'll only use the generator to recharge the battery. My girlfriend's C-PAP machine uses 40 amps a night, and there will be the normal interior lights, ground lights, galley lights, and eventually a DVD player and flat-screen. :lol: So I agree, get the biggest dang battery I can afford money/weight wise. :thumbsup:
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Postby Italia » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:03 am

Hi Guys,

I also expect to be mainly camping in the sticks. I plan to use 2 -6volt
golf cart batteries wired together to get 12 volts and then wired to a 1200 watt inverter. The tow vehicle uses a 7 prong plug so that the trailer batteries can be recharged when the tow vehicle is running and an isolator installed on the trailer to keep the trailer from discharging the tow vehicle battery when the tow vehicle isn't running. I plan to use my electric chainsaw and other 120 electric tools for short periods of time. Down side is the weight, and both batteries and inverter should probably be mounted in the kitchen area to keep from adversely affecting the tongue weight. It is a bit of space sacrifice and certainly not for everyone so I guess you just got to want it.
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