Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I have Optima Red Tops in all 3 of my 6 volt Packards. Got tired of hunting for E3H batteries and having them only last 2 years or so. The first one I bought went in the '47 and it was installed 1/7/11. It has apparently failed following a night time cruise over the weekend. I have heard some say they have gotten nearly 10 years and since this one is just a few months short of 7 years. I guess I should be happy. Is this about average?

Can't say about Optimas, but 7 years is typical of what I get from 6-volt lead/acid batteries. The Group 4 Delco in my '34 just began to fade, it was 7 years old in March of this year. A very different story on 12-volt lead/acid, for me they usually just about make 4 years.

If someone is only getting 2 years from a quality 6-volt lead acid battery, it deserves some investigation to understand why.

The 47 and 48 both take the 3 eh long rectangular battery. They are manufactured today primarily for industrial applications and often used in sequence. I was told by a dealer that 2 to 3 years is all I could expect. Much better service with these batteries and they have 1000cca which is higher than the original 3 eh.

This has been suggested before in this forum, but it may bear repeating. Tractor Supply Corp stores, if you have one near you, sells a long 6 volt Exide brand battery for around a hundred bucks. After a year's experience in my 1950 Eight, I am well satisfied. Previously, I had two 6 volt parallel wired Optimas. One of them went bad after a short time. I'm keeping the good Optima as a charged spare, just in case.

One of the keys of long battery life is to never put a car away with a partially discharged battery. Batteries in a low state of charge sulfate much more quickly. Where I live, there is almost no such thing as a short drive so I get very good battery life.

Conversely I never use battery tenders and merely let the vehicles sit in a cold garage for months on end. This has worked remarkably well for the last oh, 40 years or so.

I agree with Owen about the 5-7 years battery life. The only exception to that was a 63 Lark with 12v I bought off ebay. Someone had put a marine battery in it and that lasted an astonishing 13 years.

I use Optimas in my International Harvester Tractor and My Mercedes lorry, red 12 Volt type. They are both Diesel powered and need the extra oomph that Optima gives in the Swedish winter. The Lorry battery is about 25 years old but I had to replace the tractor battery about 7 years ago because i forgot to turn off the key and totally drained it. They are more or less immidiately destroyed if they get totally empty.

I have optima batteries in my 39 and my 53. Both are nearly 8 years old and are still working great. I previously had an an optima in the 39 that lasted 12 years. I don't do anything special with them. My garages are cool but never get below freezing. They can sit for 2-3 months over the winter and crank the cars right over. They have the added advantage of having no liquid acid to spill or corrode the terminals. Worth the money.