Re: Thinking of going with the 2, 6 volt Optimas in Series...advice ?

Posted by su8overdrive On 2012/6/1 16:58:52

The above gents, as usual, are right as rain. I've been using an Optima in my '47 Super since the mid '90s and it's never let me down. Holds a charge like no one's business,
tho' i trickle charge it with a 1940 Montgomery-Ward six-volt battery charger at the low (one or two amp) setting
every four or five weeks simply because i'm too tight to buy a battery tender, and 2, the closer you keep any battery to 100% full charge, the longer it'll last. I'll
charge it on the low setting for a few hours even tho' it's
only "fallen" to 6.36.5 volts from the fully charged 6.4+
after sitting for nearly a month, and i've got eight (8) years on it now, a year longer than Optima's already long seven-year warranty, the first two years 100% pro-rated. What's not to like?

Optimas have a little less reserve capacity than big, heavy wet batteries, yet still put out 800/850 cold cranking amps, but that's the only way that remotely pale.
Optimas are more reliable in the bargain, and their reserve capacity still gives you a coupla hours to make it back to
civilization.

Six-volt Optimas only weigh 18 or so lbs., and weight's the enemy in any serious road car, especially in the front end of our already nose-heavy locomotives.

I went to an over-the-road Diesel truck (Kenworth, Peterbilt) supply house, picked up some 00 cable, had the battery and ground terminals both crimped and soldered on.

If you have a battery disconnect switch, make sure it's rated for more amps than your starter draws.

BTW, i know of fellows in the Sun Belt using a lone six-volt Optima to start their Cadillac V-16 and Packard Twelve,
so, as t'others mention above, all the double battery and
other jazz is for the birds, as with 12-volt conversions, 6-8 volt, all that crap. I realize some folks put in 12-volt conversions so they can have CD players and all that
nonsense. But that negates the charm of a vintage car,
doesn't it?

I enjoy my Packard to escape all that malarkey.

If our cars didn't start easily on the showroom floor or
the dealer's lot back in the day, they'd never have sold.

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