Battery life.

Silver I got 5 years out of my original battery & judging by what others said 5 years was quite good.
Here is the link to the post / thread I put up when it came time for me to replace mine.
I ended up going with an Optima Yellow Top, probably a little bit of over kill, but I'm very happy with it so far.

Battery Died; Whats a good replacement.

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
I also used this in my last battery and will put some in my new one.
https://www.inox-mx3.com/inox.htm
They give you 12 months extra warranty if you put it in a new battery but not sure how they police that. Must have to keep both receipts i guess.
I can't say it did or did not work but i have had no trouble at all over the 5 years and i am not sure it is dead and will get it checked tomorrow.
 
But everything I've seen about the optima is that they dont last as long as a regular battery and are overkill unless you really have a need for extra power.


nipper
 
5 years for me would be excellent. OEM Panasonics lasted no more than 18 months in my Outback and Forester. I now have Exide Optima - this is the first so don't know if I can recommend them as yet but it's put up with a hell of a beating since installed.

In the good old days (before everything electronic) I used to get 7 years out of a Century battery. I'm more comfortable with a gel battery for offroading and the Optima is a cross starter / deep cycle so I can flatten it if I need a backup for the fridge. (then jump pack the car)
 
i have the blue top, they still say that flattening it will damage the battery, more than 50% flat that is. which is still much better than standard batteries. Havn't had trouble with it yet, but i know i'll go off at the wife if she flattens it. Got it for 300 tho, so not tooooo bad
 
has anyone seen those led work lights that narva make, they'r knew, look really good for camping
 
Well....got in the car to go to work and a couple of grunts and it was dead as a dodo. Got picked up and went to Auto One in Taree. The battery had to be ordered and won't be here until Wed because of Aussie Day. He told me he has had no trouble with Supercharge batteries in over 7 years of dealing with them and charged me $143.50 for the Gold series for my car. That seems to be reasonable. I will check it out later.
Supercharge also make these
https://www.supercharge.com.au/products_specs_allrounder.php
but i figured i don't need this sort as my camper trailer will have a BIG deep cycle battery fitted.
So 2 days without a car. Oh well....walking is good for you....apparently!:)
 
i usually get about 8years life. But i've always bought more expensive - so bit heavier, better plate construction, so usually > $200 battery, but always lead acid, with maintainence access.
I'm not convinced about Optima's like yellow top, they may weigh a bit less,
but at double the price of a good wet cell battery ??? ok if you got money to dispose of I guess:monkeydance:

It helps if you get the biggest size that can fit too.
Subaru imports cars with the small battery in them, thats OEM, i think you would be really really lucky to have them last 5years, especially if you use a lot of accessories with the engine off.
 
The battery i have ordered is a maintainence free one. No choice with it so i will see how it goes.
I agree with you re the Optimas etc. The price is bloody outrageous but my main concern is the many comments i have see on different sites about their durability. Plenty of times i have read bad things about them so this suggests to me that although there are people that are happy with them it seems there are too many people, for my liking, that are not impressed. My mate had a yellow one and was mighty unhappy with it. By memory, it just would not hold a charge.
Money wise if this new battery lasts as long as the old one it would mean that i could get 10 years of battery life for the price of 2 batteries which would be $285. That will do me.
The OEM battery was a 48amp one and my new one is 65amp.
On my trips i would set up my tent and run the fridge overnight with it on many occasions and no dramas at all.
 
Well i am not sure what is going on at the moment.
The new battery is in and all seems ALMOST OK. These batteries have a little clear plastic 'viewing hole' and according to the label when you look into the hole and it is RED = flat, CLEAR = low charge GREEN = full charge.
I have only done a couple of short trips plus 2 30min trips but it is still only CLEAR.
As it turns out,the guy next door has used the same battery for his bobcat and he had seen the battery before i put it in and said it was GREEN. The car seems to turnover well and no lights are showing on the dash.
The postive lead is a fraction lose as the terminal is a little bit less in diameter re the OEM battery but it should be tight enough to charge it.
I need to get a 10mm open ended spanner to get it a bit tighter.
Think i will have to call into the Auto Elec guy on monday and have a quick check up.
I will also take the old battery in and see if it was REALLY dead.
Hoping it is not the alternator. I hate to think what Subaru would charge for a new one!!!!
 
My stereo-guy competes (and wins) car stereo "rodeo's" regularly and says that the fancy batteries are a waste of money, he uses the biggest "regular" Battery that fits (physically), his personal competition car is running 2 Sears Die-Hard Batteries (they are cheap and there is ALWAYS a Sears close by).

I discussed Batteries with him when he was installing the stereo in the 2009 Forrie and I was concerned that the stereo, extra Foglights and Driving lights would be too much for the stock charging system, he told me to get the higher-rated Alternator (if I just wanted to spend money) but he thought I would be fine.

Unclviny
 
I'm not sure if you are refering to the battery i bought or some comments re Optimas etc. The battery i have bought is a STD heavy duty battery that fits straight in. It is rated at 65 amp/hrs (the OEM one was 48amp/hrs). I don't need anything else as per my above posts.
I am also not sure what car you are talking about. I often listen to people i feel have a good understanding of the subject they/we are talking about and then will do my own research/questioning. It is always good to keep in mind that we are ALL biased in some way.
Foresters have a fairly good alternator and as far as i am aware have a higher output than the Liberty but maybe not the Outback. I'm happy to be corrected on this.
As far as your stereo guys comment about running spotties/foggies etc i CAN tell you he is incorrect.
I have driven for many,many hours at a time with spotties (Lightforce 170's....100w globes),foggies (55w globes) Cd player going AND have run the air conditioing together(sometimes) with the above AND a car fridge running whilst i am travelling and i have NEVER had a problem. In fact, i have pulled up for a camp for the night and kept the fridge plugged in overnight. This was the OEM battery we are talking about.
Ask your stereo guy what the output of the Forester alternator is. If he doesn't know than he can't really tell you if all is good or bad...can he?
I'm sure people here will tell you they have no problems.
 
I was refering to the Optima's and such, to my way of thinking they are an unnecessary expense.

My car is a 2009 Subaru Forester.

I believe the Alternator is an 85 Amp unit, Subaru offers a higher-output (110 Amp I think) here in the U.S.A.

I think that you might need some Coffee as you and my stereo-guy are saying EXACTLY THE SAME thing.

Unclviny
 
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