13 year old battery???

[Irish_Alley]

want to share something with you guys. i finally broke down and replaced the optima red top battery in the 94 today. no it didnt just die but it was weak. weak as in if you ran the truck with all the accessories (wipers, headlights blower motor) it wouldnt charge fully. if you turned the engine off you would have to wait a few minutes or it will struggle to start.

the kicker is the date stamp on the battery i got this batter used when i worked at autozone 13-12 years ago. some guy brought it in said it was dead and wanted to use it as a core. i put it on a trickle charger and let it sit for a day. the date stamp on when it was sold is Jan 2005. 13 years and it still has some life left in it. the optima red top will cost about $200 but if the new one is like the old one it will be money well spent

[bd]

Just for chagrins, you ought to clean the battery posts and give it another looooonnng trickle charge, then take the surface charge off, let it sit for a week and load check it.

[Irish_Alley]

It's on the charger now but how do you take the surface charge off?

[Rapid Roy]

  That is the same on mine that the PO installed when I purchased it in 2015. Has been great so far and hope it is for a long time.

[bd]

It's on the charger now but how do you take the surface charge off?

Apply a 300-amp load for 15 seconds and then let it rest and recover until the voltage stabilizes w/o charging further.

[fitz]

Are the new Optima batteries as good as the old ones were? 

[Irish_Alley]

It's on the charger now but how do you take the surface charge off?

Apply a 300-amp load for 15 seconds and then let it rest and recover until the voltage stabilizes w/o charging further.

would a battery tester do this?

Are the new Optima batteries as good as the old ones were? 

when i went to napa to get the battery i asked him about how long they last he said kind of boasting "i have some customers that have 6 years on them" i laughed and said "i got 13".

[bd]

A variable carbon pile VAT operated by a knowledgeable technician can be used to remove surface charge and perform a dynamic load test.

[Henry]

Hi All:
I concur about the long term reliability of the Optima batteries...I have 4 that have all lasted over 10 years. The initial cost is hard to swallow but when you consider that they last twice as long as a lead-acid battery and can sit for 6 months+ without losing a charge they are worth it to me for my situation where my vehicles do not run regularly. I am sold on the spiral wound gel cell technology!
Regards,
Henry