Short life batteries

I hope all posters realize that a disconnected battery still discharges.

First review the charging system and upgrade as needed. Post the converter model for suggestions.

Optima is fine for what it is however I recommend Lifeline deep cycle over Optima.
I have used both.

I bought two Optimas in 2010, one yellow for the van and one blue for the Trailer. Used them like that for 3yrs. The difference was the van needed the side posts.

In 2012 I put a Sears Platinum P-4 AGM in the van. The yellow went into the trailer in parallel with the blue.

In 2014 I bought a Johnson Controls (Energerzer) 31C AGM for the trailer and moved the two Optimas to auxillary use in the rear of the van.

In 2015 I bought two Eaton telco used AGMs for the rear of the van. The two Optimas then sat in the garage until this summer when I gave the Optimas to my son for his trailer.

So to answer your question, yes, the Optimas are a fine battery.

However, as you can see, I don't buy them any more because I find them expensive by comparison.

HTH;
John

I have used Optima's Blue tops for years, I even transferred 2 of them 17 months ago over to our new toy Hauler. I run 6 Blue tops with a 480 solar system and 5500 watt Onan.
I took all 6 out this spring and had them checked by Optima dealer. All were performing as advertised.
No worry, no boil over or electrolyte loss. We boondock 90% of the time so having reliable AGM's is a must for us.
You will see many here bad mouthing Optima's or AGM technology, I would never go back to lead acid batteries. Been there done that.............

royb has your answer. fix the problem.

gmg wrote:
Several have suggested installing a battery disconnect switch. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing by simply not plugging in to shore power when storing the rig. Is there another reason to plug it in other than keeping the battery charged?

The problem is, the parasitic drains like the radio, co detector, propane detector, etc. will drain your battery in about 2 weeks; which is just as bad for your battery as overcharging.

As above, it's not your batteries it's your dumb charger. Either replace with three stage smart charger or disconnect batteries and put a trickle charger on them.

I also suspect your older model trailer does not have a smart mode converter/charger. The older converter/chargers only use a single mode charging voltage which is usually 13.6VDC. This DC voltage will boil out your battery fluids over time which very much shortens the life of your battery. If you are able to do regular battery maintenance this type of charger is ok but one should inspect their fluids on a bi weekly basis or so.

Changing out your older Converter/charger for a newer one that supports multi-mode charging DC Voltages will help your situation big time...

Units to look at are Progressive Dynamics and IOTA Converter Chargers models.

I too support disconnecting your negative battery terminal or install a Battery Disconnect switch. A fully charged battery will last the winter months or your long storage time... I have the compete battery disconnect Switches installed on my setup and my fully charged batteries will drop down from 12.6-7VDC to around 12.4-5VDC over the winter months here still sitting outside in the battery boxes.

This is what works for me at any rate. I suppose everyone's situation is somewhat unique.

In my case I started out in 2008 with 4ea 12V Interstate 85AH batteries connected in parallel (340AHs Battery capacity) and right away I lost one 12V battery due to the boiling out of fluids which made the one 12V battery to be shorted out internally. I changed out my older single mode converter/charger unit for a multi-mode smart mode charger type in 2009. I still check my remaining three each 12V batteries out of habit but have not seen any boiling out fluids since then. Last couple of seasons I have started to see my batteries performance start falling back and am currently in the process of changing out my existing three 12V 85AH interstate batteries. Two of my existing three 12V Batteries are really in poor performance shape now with only one that holds a good charge. I got a good six years out of the Interstate GP24 batteries...

I will end up with two groups of two 6VDC GC2 batteries in series giving me around 440AHs of battery capacity.

My last two seasons I have not been out all that much doing my OFF-ROAD camping style for various reasons so this is the perfect time to make my Battery Bank change-out... New batteries, New Battery box along with new battery cables, and cleaning up of all my Blue Sea battery electrical components... Drilling new holes as we speak haha... Everything needs a little of new fresh paint every now and then I suppose...

Your batteries should last you a long time but you do have to work at it alittle bit...

Just some of my thoughts here...
Roy Ken

gmg wrote:
Several have suggested installing a battery disconnect switch. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing by simply not plugging in to shore power when storing the rig. Is there another reason to plug it in other than keeping the battery charged?

All trailers have some parasitic draw on the battery, even when everything is turned off. On mine it is about .35 amps. That means in about 2 weeks my batteries are dead, unless I have a disconnect switch.

Right now my 5er is parked in my driveway, plugged in to shore power and the batteries are in disconnect mode. Once the batteries get cheap volt meter tested and are fully charged, I will turn them off and they hold that full (or close to full) charge for months.