Re: [T2] Gel Battery

["Vanagon Man" <puzerewski@xxxxxxx>]

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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