HELP! What Optima battery?

[skidooxman]

So my brand new toy hauler ( Fuzion 345, 2016) came with a die hard battery, same one the dealer puts in every trailer is dead again. After one month, the battery boiled over. The dealer said the water level was too high and it was not covered, blah blah. I was not about to fight with them. I am putting a blue top Optima battery, can anyone guide me in which one I need? I have a 5500 Onan generator on board with 50 amp service. Thanks

[tech740]

I would stay away from AGM(absorbed glass matt) batteries. When I used to sell auto parts the battery manufacturer said that most vehicles charge at 14.2 volts or higher which turns them to sand. So just know your battery and what kind of voltage you are putting to it. Might be worth checking and only charging with a charger.

[WaltBennett]

You've got a problem that's NOT the battery. No way a battery should boil over when that new. I'd think your converter (AC to DC) that charges the battery is faulty. Newer ones are self-regulating and won't do this. Last time I had this problem was about eight years ago. Resorted to putting a disconnect switch at the battery to cut it off whenever it got charged and we were plugged in to shore power. Lame, but cheaper than replacing the converter.

[JRTJH]

You address "a die hard battery" in your question. You didn't give any size, but following "most dealerships" agenda of not giving anything away, I'd guess it's either a group 24 or a group 27 battery. That being said, occasionally any battery company will produce a defective battery. That's a possibility, and your dealership may (or may not) be addressing the faulty battery possibility.

On the other hand, as WaltBennett indicated, your converter/charger may not be operating properly. If you want to troubleshoot it yourself, the WFCO website has some excellent troubleshooting guides available, or you can return to your dealership. Something is definitely wrong with your system. First batteries don't "boil over" for no reason and chargers don't allow that to happen if operating properly. So replacing the battery with the "best known to mankind" won't solve the problem.

Now, looking realistically at your expectations, a single 12 volt battery probably won't be "charged and ready to go" after sitting for a week or two in storage without being "hooked up and charged". Why do I say that? First, the trailer has 3 slides and a 6 point leveling system. When you park your RV at the storage lot, unhitch, level, extend the slides to unpack, retract the slides to secure the trailer for storage, you've very likely depleted the charge on the battery below the 75% level. Then, even with the battery cutoff switch in the OFF position, there are parasitic drains on the system that would deplete a "fully charged trailer" in a week or two. Since you've started with "less battery charge" than that, it's no surprise that the battery is "dead" when you return 2 weeks later, expecting to "hit the switch, connect and drag it camping"...

You would be "well served" to do some "forum searching" for issues other members have posted about single battery problems with large toyhaulers and especially with trailers that have a "built in generator" that depends on the "single battery" for starting power. Most have found, through trial and error, that "it ain't happening" on a single battery system, that a dual/triple/quad battery system, if depleted, also won't get the generator running. They have resorted to modifications that include a separate battery for the generator and multiple batteries for the coach power.

Good luck with finding your problem. As WaltBennett stated, you've got a problem somewhere in your charging system or battery.

[dcg9381]

Agree - that's likely a charge problem other than "overfilling" the battery... Did you even fill it after a month?

It's worth noting - in addition to checking the charge system that every RV I've owned does not turn OFF battery load unless a hard-disconnect has been installed. That is, after about a month, turned off, the two deep-cycle batteries on my Carbon would be completely dead.

A few cycles of dead-charge-dead and your battery is worthless - lost one cell or more, and might boil under a charger.

Install a battery disconnect unless you can keep it on float all the time.

[sourdough]

I'm doubting that a brand new trailer has a converter problem; a defective one might have been installed but it seems the battery would be more suspect. As far as the converter is concerned, since it's a new trailer I would have the dealer check it out under warranty.

As far as the battery, how long has it been in the trailer? It may be a new purchase but the battery may have been on there for a long time....mine was. As far as boiling over due to overfilling; who overfilled it (if it was)? I doubt the OP filled it having just owned it for a month - or did the dealer just pop out something to "be done" with the issue? I would suspect the battery. If it boiled over what did each cell look like? Were any lower than the others by a significant amount? Any bulging? I imagine I'm zeroing in on the battery due to recent experiences.

The original battery on my RV was a year old when they installed the 2nd battery upon my purchase (new RV). The original had two defective cells that caused the converter to work overtime to charge thus boiling it over and overcharging the newer one. During that time the overworked converter not only boiled out the old battery (2 cells) but it ruined over 30 new 12v only LEDs. Pulled the defective battery and hooked up the newer one by itself and things are hunky dory (will be installing 2 new ones before departing on a trip to FL in April). Just something to think about.

Note: a battery will "boil" over if it is overfilled. The electrolyte has to have room to expand. That's why you are supposed to fill it to the bottom of the little rings inside the cells instead of filling it. That may be what happened but doesn't explain it going dead.

[skidooxman]

Thanks everyone, I am having the dealer check out the converter. The original dealer said that when I brought it in for the first issue, they filled up the battery to the top so it was over flowing. I also purchased a true disconnect to add on.

[SUnderwood]

I am using a blue top optima and it is 10 years old and still working fine

[Desert185]

Years ago, Optima batteries used to be the one to get. I still have a red top that was purchased in late 1998. These days, the best batteries are Odyssey's. I live near the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center (brutally cold during the winter). I'm told they only buy Odyssey batteries. FWIW...

[jje1960]

Originally Posted by SUnderwood

I am using a blue top optima and it is 10 years old and still working fine

Really good to hear, I've recently bought 4 of them for my new battery bank. Here is pic of before I finished install yesterday, all four of them working great now.