Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

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BenWA
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Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:44 pm

Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by BenWA »

In just under 3 weeks, I'll be hitting the road living out of my Vibe, with a roof box and big cargo hitch box.

When wiring up the Hopkins circuit-protect powered tail light converter (the hitch box has trailer lights since it covers the car's rear lights) I noticed that the battery is starting to look pretty aged. The manufacture date is over 5 years ago (5/11). Despite it giving no problems yet, I don't want to set out on the road with a 5 year old, lead acid battery with no warranty. It's an Energizer that claims 8 years pro-rated, but it was in the car when I bought it last December. I got no receipt so it's without any warranty. They tend to not transfer, on such batteries. The last thing I want is to be stuck someplace with a dead battery. Sure, I have jumper cables and roadside assistance but it's not at all fun to have to wait until roadside comes in an hour or two...or longer even!

I found the Optima Yellowtop D35 for $168.99 with a "we pay the sales tax!" promo AND free 2 day shipping on 4WheelParts.com. Can't possibly beat that price! They are $200+tax at AutoZone/$240+tax at O'Reilly.

Why a deep cycle in a Vibe you may ask? Well, I have my Android head unit that is nice to watch videos on without having to hold a phone or tablet up. It's just an in-dash tablet after all. Plus, I will want to keep my cell phone and tablet charged up under heavy usage as well. Being able to use the built in inverter for very short amounts of time without cranking the engine will also be super handy.

I thought about a 15W solar panel (instead of a D35) but it's only good in the day and it's something else big (and fragile!) to store. So yeah, I think this was a good investment. It's only about $65 more than a Wal-Mart "gold" 5 year battery with no deep cycle usage and will probably last twice as long. They claim "3x life" (of a lead cell) but even assuming it only lasts 2x as long, that's 10 years. Heck, the D35 will probably outlive the car. It may get transferred to my next vehicle even haha.
2003 Vibe Base A/T
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vibenvy
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Location: Sandwich, IL

Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by vibenvy »

We've had Red Tops in both our Vibes since 2012. Mine crapped out (bad cell) and was still under warranty so was replaced for free, other than that, no issues.
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BenWA
Posts: 360
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Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by BenWA »

I going to run 10 or 12 gauge wire from the battery to the back so I can wire in this thing I ordered:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121746630793?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

I also bought some switches so I can turn on/off each function as needed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/152241963346?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

I will install them in big the passenger side cargo area panel someplace. That way I can have constant USB power without the key inserted and turned. The voltage meter is handy for making sure I don't drain the battery too far.

The tail light converter claims it came with 12 gauge wire to run from the battery to the converter, but it didn't. It's only 14 gauge. So that's why I have to bother to run another cable. If not for the 12v outlet I will also install in the rear, which can potentially pull a lot of power depending on what I plug in, such as a small inverter, I could probably get by with the same 14 gauge wire running to the tail light converter.
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BenWA
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Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by BenWA »

Ugh, Fedex ruined the battery. I missed the FedEx delivery on Friday, so had it held for pickup, which I did today. The box has big red and white stickers all over it saying "FRAGILE please handle with care" but... they didn't. They dropped it. 39lb "fragile" box and they dropped it. Looks like they slide it far on it's side too based on the box. The tape on the bottom is torn some too. The box has brass staples too though so it stayed sealed.

It had NO padding under the battery, only on the top. The battery's casing is so badly broken, you can see the AGM inside! :shock:
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It was ordered from 4WheelParts but the packing slip says it was drop shipped. Doesn't matter since I ordered it through 4WheelParts, I can return it to a local store for exchange. I hope they have them in stock so I don't have to deal with another shipment that may end up damaged too.

Plus I need it within 10 days. If they can't do that, I guess I'll just return it and go get a Walmart (or Sears) battery after all. Ugh. That or go pay $50 more (than 4WP) at O'Reilly or AutoZone.
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BenWA
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Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by BenWA »

Well poopy. They didn't have any in stock in their warehouses (I got the last one, it seems) and they are on backorder. Since I need it within 10 days (I'm hitting the road the 9th) and they couldn't be sure they could deliver within that time, I just returned it to the local store for a refund.

I guess if I really want one now, I'll have to wait until I get down in Oregon (won't take long...) and get one from OReilly or AutoZone for $200 (no sales tax). Probably better anyway, since I'll have nationwide warrant coverage if it goes bad and needs to be exchanged.

Although now I'm wondering if I'm better off with a $100 "gold" battery from Walmart and just being careful about how long I let stuff charge from it, and save the other $100 for whatever.

I ran my Android head unit plus my phone charger quite a long time (a couple hours) when parked when I was camping a couple months ago and it did fine, even as old as it is. As long as I don't go nuts trying to run an inverter a lot, it should be fine with a gold battery, I figure. I carry jumper cables (not something a lot of people do, it seems!) plus I have roadside. Plus I can get a cheap jumpstarter. So.... humm.
Last edited by BenWA on Tue Nov 29, 2016 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Owim
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Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by Owim »

I'm a bit late to the thread but that yellow top battery is awesome. I have my inverter on all the time, a kenwood cb radio, and my handheld device charger plugged in all the time and that Battery is going on strong for about a year now. My last battery would struggle to start if I had my flashers on while I was making a delivery, but It was only about 18 months old at the time it started to struggle. Bummer that yours got broken :/
2009 2.4 AWD
BenWA
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Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by BenWA »

Owim wrote:I'm a bit late to the thread but that yellow top battery is awesome. I have my inverter on all the time, a kenwood cb radio, and my handheld device charger plugged in all the time and that Battery is going on strong for about a year now. My last battery would struggle to start if I had my flashers on while I was making a delivery, but It was only about 18 months old at the time it started to struggle. Bummer that yours got broken :/
Well, I have time to think about it. I just think I need to replace my old battery as preventative maintenance due to it's age and what I am about to do, go on the road living out of the car full time. It isn't failing yet as far as I know, so I can put it off for a few weeks until I get down to Oregon to save on sales tax, compared to 9.5% here. On a $200 battery, that's almost a $20 savings vs buying from OReilly or AutoZone here. I'm heading that direction anyway.

I tried to get AutoZone to price match PepBoy's online price but the older lady got fussy about how they don't match "online" prices (the printout showed in store pickup pricing) so I said "Nevermind, you lost a $200 sale. I'm not going to beg for you to price match. I'll go buy from your competitor instead." And I will, I'll probably get one from O'Reilly instead since I generally like that chain over AutoZone.
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BenWA
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Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by BenWA »

Well, since there is metal behind the big panel where I wanted to put my outlets and voltage meter, I decided to use one of the cargo compartment doors. It's easier to replace later if I ever sell the car and want to pull this back out before hand.

This is why I want a deep cycle/starting hybrid Yellowtop battery.

The top is two USB ports, one is 1.0A and the other is 2.1A. The middle is a 12V outlet. The bottom is a digital voltage meter, which shows 12.3 on a AC/DC adapter I used to test it. And of course, a switch for each function so when not in use, they can be shut off to save on power. (Negative is switched)

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2003 Vibe Base A/T
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BenWA
Posts: 360
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:44 pm

Re: Ordered an Optima Yellowtop D35

Post by BenWA »

The heck with it. I went ahead and bought one here from O'Reilly for ~$220 with tax. I didn't want to have to deal with it in a few weeks. Just as well, I had to deal with the factory battery holder's front bolt breaking from being rusted in place. So I had to get a (poorly fitting) universal battery hold down. It's not as secure as I'd like, it rocks a little, but it's not going anywhere. If I can ever find a better fitting one, I'll get it. The Optima battery is less wide than normal group 35s it seems, since even the original hold down is a bit too wide.
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