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Re: Yes, this. Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email] ![]() ![]() In Reply to: Re: Yes, this., Simon S, Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:04:13 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Back in the day, the "Exide Orbital" and the Optima were the same thing. Exide invented the spiral cell technology and licensed it to Optima. Shortly thereafter, Exide dumped spiral cells in their AGM batteries, and went to something else. Somewhere I read (long time ago) that Exide couldn't reliably produce a "better battery" using the spiral cell technology, so the end result was a battery that just cost more but didn't reliably offer any real improvement. I suspect the modern Optima has fallen to pressure from competing technologies - there are lots of AGM batteries on the market now. My bet is that making a good spiral cell battery costs more than a traditional cell battery, and in order to stay price-competitive with other options, quality has slipped. Classic case of one trick pony not knowing when to call it quits. :)
That said, back in the day I would get 3-4 years from a Red Top. I kept buying them because there weren't a lot of options in terms of sealed batteries. The last one I bought (9/2010) just died a few months ago. That's pathetic in the face of conventional Duralast batteries - they may not last much longer, but at least they have an 84 month warranty. :) We'll see how long the Braille I got lasts... maybe it will also be only 2-3 years, but at least I'm saving 20lbs. :D
posted by 69.62.18...
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