Cheap Optima 8012-021-FFP YellowTop Group 34 Deep Cycle Battery

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I decided to order this battery through Amazon since it was about $50 cheaper than local retailers. Since I've never purchased a car battery online, I called Amazon and Optima to ask how a warranty claim would work when the battery was purchased through Amazon. The people I spoke with gave me some very surprising information, which I thought I'd share with you:

1. Amazon only accepts returns for up to 30 days after the item was purchased. After 30 days, the customer will be referred to the manufacturer of the item.

2. Optima refers all online purchases back to the original retailer. The full warranty cannot be honored through Optima unless the battery was purchased from one of Optima's authorized online retailers. The authorized retailers are shown on Optima's site; Amazon is not one of them.

3. Optima is unable to honor any warranty for batteries purchased through Amazon because Optima is unaware of the condition of the batteries, the shipping procedures, how long the batteries have been in a warehouse, etc.

The Optima Yellow Top series are arguably some of the best auto batteries currently on the market, but the money saved by buying from Amazon clearly isn't worth the almost nonexistent warranty.

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Optima specifies in their data sheet for this battery a "reserve capacity test". Basically, you take a fully-charged battery at 80F and put a 25A load on it. In 120 minutes the voltage of the battery should still be above 10.5V. I've received three of these batteries from Amazon that tested around 83-85 minutes. The batteries varied in age from between 3 and 6 months, and sitting that long without being charged likely damaged them. I purchased two from a local retailer that were only 2 months old, and they were a lot better, lasting nearly 100 minutes, but still failing the reserve capacity test. Optima has yet to respond to my complaints, but it is clear that these batteries do not meet the specifications in their own data sheet for their capacity.

This probably isn't an issue if you're using them to start a gasoline engine, but I'm using them in an Electric Car, where

capacity really matters.

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I was hesitant to buy this because of all the reviews saying the battery was poorly packaged and would arrive damaged. Knowing Amazon has a good returns policy, I took the chance and ordered it.

I'm in NY and the battery was shipped by truck cross country (I watched the tracking updates). It took about a week for it to arrive.

When I finally received it, I realized I was lucky. The battery was in good condition with no breaks or scratches on it. At the same time, it came in a simple cardboard box with some cushioning on top, but nothing on the bottom. This is a very heavy item and it's very easy to visualize the bottom of the battery getting damaged during a long truck ride as there is no protection whatsoever between the bottom of the battery and the 1/4 inch cardboard box it comes in.

I don't get it, sometimes they go overboard & package the most trivial of items in styrofoam and bubble wrap, and with this 50lb. item it's basically just covered in 1/4 inch of cardboard.

The battery itself seems fine ...started my car up fine (although I can't comment on it over the long term just yet).

Honest reviews on Optima 8012-021-FFP YellowTop Group 34 Deep Cycle Battery

I bought eight of the Optima yellow top batteries for house batteries in a sailboat for the convenience of AGM, no fill, no spill, etc. These batteries are charged by a state of the art 4 stage regulator, plus solar panels on a microprocessor charge controller. The batteries are all in one bank and charged/discharged equally and never below 85%. In other words they are pampered. Now the bad, one battery failed within a week of installation. It started gassing and heating up even under a light charge. After about a year another one developed an internal short and its voltage dropped to around 8V. It was easy to detect by just touching the top. It was warmer than the rest. Six months after that, two more developed internal shorts with the same symptoms. These batteries are over rated. It appears that the build quality from battery varies widely. I will never buy another one.

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I just love these batteries. Over the years I've always bought other lead acid batteries and have always been disappointed with the life and cold weather performance . I decided to go ahead and spend the extra money on the Optima. I have had an Optimal Red Top in my Camry for 3 years with perfect performance and decided to go ahead and upgrade my other car.