Optima battery...which one?

catahoula

catahoula

Caught the Bug
Ok guys Beer Budget is going to grow a bit. My wonderful wife is letting me get some stuff for it. I want to install an Engo E9000 winch and some KC 124 driving lights. Can't decide what Optima red, yellow, or blue. Do I need to worry about replacing my alternator? I am on a Beer Budget, hence the name of my rig. I would like to see pics of your set ups as well. Any help is much appreciated.

winch.jpglights.jpg

Thanks in advance!:thumb:
 
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If u plan on good bit of wincing, I would suggest atleast a yellow top. It's not necessary as many of the guys I ride w simply winch off an off the shelf duralast or diehard, but if ur gonna get a new battery a deep cycle well b more ideal for heavy loads like winches, lights, audio ect...

There has been an instance when my negative terminal popped off one of my batteries, and between a yellow top, and a blue top deep cycle, I had enough juice still left to keep the jeep running and winch a full drum 3 times. It's nice insurance.

I have not seen the need for a bigger alternator yet. I'm still using my stock alternator, and it charges 2 optima batteries, runs my lights, and winches just fine.

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Rollincoal420 said:
If u plan on good bit of wincing, I would suggest atleast a yellow top. It's not necessary as many of the guys I ride w simply winch off an off the shelf duralast or diehard, but if ur gonna get a new battery a deep cycle well b more ideal for heavy loads like winches, lights, audio ect...

There has been an instance when my negative terminal popped off one of my batteries, and between a yellow top, and a blue top deep cycle, I had enough juice still left to keep the jeep running and winch a full drum 3 times. It's nice insurance.

I have not seen the need for a bigger alternator yet. I'm still using my stock alternator, and it charges 2 optima batteries, runs my lights, and winches just fine.

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mcpuck said:
I run (and like) dual Platinum Die Hards.
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I have checked out the Diehards. They would serve its purpose and be less expensive. You guys have any pics of your set ups?
 
I don't think this helps as I got an xj, but here is my lights and winch, and my batteries

uploadfromtaptalk1376849201448.jpg

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I have run the red optima in both of my Rubicons. Left lights on ON many times and no worries. I don't run a winch, just lights.
 
Ok so this never crossed my simple mind before, can I "safely" run a winch off the stock/single battery? Or, should I look into a dual battery setup?

Oh and nice XJ Rollin
 
Yeah, it will b fine on a stock/oe replacement battery. It may shorten the lift alittle, but I imagine it would take a couple batteries to offset the cost of one optima yellow top. Make sense?

Most of the guys I ride w, run a winch off just one oe battery. If ur engine is running, the alt should have no problem keepin up w the winch

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Rollincoal420 said:
Yeah, it will b fine on a stock/oe replacement battery. It may shorten the lift alittle, but I imagine it would take a couple batteries to offset the cost of one optima yellow top. Make sense?

Most of the guys I ride w, run a winch off just one oe battery. If ur engine is running, the alt should have no problem keepin up w the winch

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actually,
alternators don't even come remotely close to keping up with the power draw from a loaded winch. A winch can suck up 800 amps under load and alternators make maybe 160 amps at 4000 engine RPM. factor in that most winching happens at idle and you better go buy a yellow top and don't let the jeep stall. My stock JK battery case got hot and swelled almost round.
side note...
years ago I ran nothing but red tops. they lasted for years under heavy winching and problem free. Then optimas got popular and suddenly we started getting a lot of dead red tops. Now I wouldn't touch a red top but the yellow tops seem to last very well.
 
Elusive said:
actually,
alternators don't even come remotely close to keping up with the power draw from a loaded winch. A winch can suck up 800 amps under load and alternators make maybe 160 amps at 4000 engine RPM. factor in that most winching happens at idle
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I do not see much wincing happening at idle. Unless ur free and letting the winch catch up so u don't run it over. Other than that, you should b in the throttle, atleast some to help the winch out. And unless your really, really stuck, most of the wheeling that most people do here, doesnt really come close to putting a max load on a winch.

Better safe than sorry, yeah. And I agree, a better battery should b used, but buying a winch AND a battery at the same time can really ad up to some coin for your average jeep budget so in an attempt to save a few pennies, if an oe replacement battery is in good shape, it wont b a problem. Ive done and seen this done for years. I'm speaking from experience as well.

There is always more than one side to the story, and all or none can b correct. Just trying to offer up as much info as I can share so the op can make his own educated discussion



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Thanks guys. One way to save some scratch I've found is off the internet. I went to O' Reilly's and they had red and yellow tops going for over $224. I've found them on the net as low as $140.
 
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