I run a Optima dry cell , deep cycle battery.
900 CCA & a damn good investment

 

What would that set you back mate?

 

From memory 2 yrs ago around the $200 range

 

bah, too much

 

$200!! That's cheap-as for an Optima! Most good dry cell/AGM cost anywhere $300-$600 but are worthwhile IMHO.

If you're after a cheaper alternative then you'll have to go a conventional wet cell battery. IMHO Exide or Century(/Yussa) are the ones to go for - Aussie made and good quality. Infact I'm uncertain of where Exides are now made as they are owned by GNB now but I think they're still Aussie - Century definatley are and are very good. No others are Aussie made now that I know of. Ford use Exide (GNB) from factory in the Falcons BTW.

Steve.

 

What do you mean by dry cell, no need to fill it up with distilled water?

 

Yeah that's right - dry cell means fully sealed (well, virtually - they still have a pressure release vavle for venting under extreme circumstances) and no liquid inside (unless you call gell/paste a liquid). No physical maintenace is ever required and they don't vent gas under normal operating conditions. They can be used on their side or even upside down for some and they tend to have deep-cycle characteristics (can withstand repeated deep discharge) and aren't real bothered by vibration or heat etc. so much and last longer than wet cells. AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) is a variation on this whereby electrolyte is suspended in glass fibre matts rather than the other common type which are gel cells where electrolyte is simply in gel form between the plates.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Century batteries are made in Brisbane and they also make the Bosch batteries under licence to their specs. Excides are now inported cheapies.

 

Exide batteries are made by GNB in Elizabeth, South Australia.

 

ive got a "supercharge" in my ute, sounds dodgy, buts its actually a good battery,
its got "calsium gel plated cells" or something like that, 575cca, i paid about $90-100, runs my car with no problems, even starts it after 4 months sitting in a shed.

 

You cant go past a century for price and performance
used most others, been let down by most except these

 

I've had disappointing returns from all the main companies over the years - Century, Exide, and 2 or 3 others local brands. Some only lasted 6 months, but I run alot of stereo gear, have a high compression cleveland and high underbonnet temps.

Only lead acid battery that has worked well for me is a Jap brand "Yasua" I think it's called. Listed as an extreme duty battery, costs nearly twice as much as the others but has impressed me.

 

the Century rep must have been pulling the wool over my eyes about Exide being imported now

 

i got told the same thing about exides - i was looking at the exide orbital though.

 

My PANASONIC made in japan, sealed unit, lasted 5 years..

I've now got a YUASSA new generation prestige auto unit.... also made in japan...

 

exide is still aussie owned, for now. Its up for sale again and the koreans are looking at it. Exide also make around 20 brands of battery anyway so chances are you will be buying an exide anyway.

 

i had bad experience with Century, it was supposed to be 1 year maintenance free, after 4 months it stuffed up so Autobarn gave me a replacement that in 4 months stuffed again, i got another replacement and after 6 months it was dead again so I bought some no name one from a battery shop, i got it for 2 years now without touching it. For $120 that was a good fix! Will I buy a century battery again? NO

 

The NRMA batteries are made by Exide and if I remember correctly Exide branded batteries are "rebadged" for the other motoring clubs eg RAASA, RACV etc.

 

I use AC Delco batteries in a couple of my cars, so far so good. They are maintenance free and have a little window on top with an indicator telling you when they need a charge. Popular sizes are around $110-$170.

 

I need a 700+ cca battery to keep Haltec and MSD happy otherwise it will crank but not start..Nothing worse than that !!!
So deep cycle it has to be!!!

 

Forgotten the brand, but a 490cca dry cell has been treating me well for some time. Maintenance free and even has an inbuilt indicator light to show battery condition. Cost about $130 from Repco :hehe:

 

the calcium expanded batteries are good and have higher cca ratings then straight lead acid, they also don't require any modification to your charging system as gel, agm and deep cycle do.
I personally run a calcium battery from Turbo Batteries here in bris and have np probs at all, also use same in boats which are bloody hard on them and have yet to have a fault with them after nearly 5 yrs of use

 

Go the optima for sure. $350 or so from most outlets but they never need topping up, can't spill, don't break lead plates when they run low, more CCA's than you'll ever need, don't have a 'memory' (can run them dead flat and just charge 'em back up like nothing happened) like lead acid batteries and if you have a decent stereo you notice the extra amps available straight away.

There is nothing in the optima instructions that note modifications to the charging system are required.... although you'll need a 240v 'trickle' charger if you plan on charging them out of a car.

 

you