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Re: [T2] Gel Battery



All points true, if price were the only factor, but,

The Gel type Optima batteries do not ruin your sheet metal if they leak.
This is the main reason a person will choose an Optima (or other gel-type
battery) IMHO.  If I have just repaired a floor pan in my beetle, or a
battery shelf in one of my busses, the last thing I want to do is do it
again.  With a gel-type battery, my battery shelf will not rust out from
battery acid ever again!!  I would rather spend $80 extra now, and have the
peace of mind that another rustoration will not have to be repeated.



Adam P
81 westy (3 of them)
74 beetle
73 Transporter (at paint shop!)
70 Single Cab  "Whitey"
Vanagon Partsmobiles
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Lyle" <glyle@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <type2@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2001 7:54 PM
Subject: Re: [T2] Gel Battery


>
>
> On Fri, 28 Sep 2001, Jim Hood wrote:
>
> > John:
> >
> > Optima's are great.  More expensive, but worth the money.  You'll need
> to get a starter battery (red top) and a deep cycle battery (yellow top).
> They're about the same size as any other battery, so they'll fit fine.
> If your charging system is working for the 2 batteries you have now,
> it'll work with the 2 Optima's.  By the way, don't pay retail.  I just
> bought a yellow top from a place in New Mexico called TNT Distributing.
> $127, plus $16 shipping, $143 to my doorstep.  I can get you a phone
> number if you can't find them on the web.
>
> Let's see.  I pay about $40 for a Pep boys "72-month" Exide battery, which
> lasts about 5 years and which can be refilled with water if needed.  Pep
Boys
> gives no hassles if I do a warranty return.
>
> To get the same value, the Optima would have to last for 15 years.  A
> listee (forget if it was the VB or T2 list) recently had an optima fail.
> He had to wait while the battery was shipped back to Optima to be
> "evaluated" and then had to pay a "restocking fee" to get a replacement
> battery under the Optima warranty!  What a hassle!  Read the fine print!
>
> Also, if your voltage regulator goes out and boils the electrolyte away,
> you are out of luck with a sealed battery.  With the normal battery, you
> pop the caps and put a little water in.
>
> Think before you spend big bucks on an Optima.  They are a trick item,
> good for high-vibration, unusual attitude applications, but a bus is
> really neither of these.
>
> George Lyle
>
>
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