The Toyota Prius since "day one" has used a small 12 volt motorcycle size battery mounted under the trunk floor (inside car) that has required "venting." These are just to put the computers "on line" which arm the 300 volt batteries for car operation. Toyota gets close to three hundred dollars for these replacements and the capacity is so low that when an owner leaves a "dome" light on he can find a dead battery after a day or so of unuse. (This is just a preamble to the subject.)

Check out this site; http://www.elearnaid.com/12vo1topraub.html

This indicates to me that their are conditions with an "Optima" battery that does require venting and that they are not the perfect solution for Allante battery replacements.

Should have posted this probably under the Allante" thread, but then again, it is an interesting subject.
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i am not trying to be a smart ***, but i read on that link for 20 min and this is what i got out of the reading.
was there a particular/significant par you saw?

based on this, we shoudl get better fuel economy using the GEL ?
i'm sure that was not your intent .. but .. [sm=dontgetit.gif]

 

I haven't even seen any statement other than the one about optima now venting batteries. Anything else is moot. That was the usual stupid type statement and doesn't even warrant posting. The small 12 volts in the prius only operate the starting modules and the typical small items like dome lights and radios ect. Any Prius owner would laugh reading the statement. A little like saying I find operation of my windshield wipers helps me get over steep hills!

People who buy new concepts of cars have the greatest imaginations in the world even after driving them for years. The guy posting this got the information from someone who ect; and was posted by a distributor who also has no concept how a hybrid operates. He should be corrected except he is selling a vented battery for the inside of the Prius installation and is the only person besides Toyota doing so.


The main batteries in a Prius are just "helpers" to the combustion engine driving force and the milage figures are from using the combustion engine from running as little as possible to keep the battery bank charged. I think Chevy has the best idea with a 100% electric car with just a small "a-la motorhome" type of generator to keep the batteries charged.




Only reason for the interest in the Optima is that there is finally a substitute to the $300.00 battery supplied by Toyota for the past seven years. (Motorcycle batteries won't work.)

I posted this as there have been a lot of folks who have put standard Optimas into their Allantes fully believing they do not need to be vented as the standard Allante battery does. This is the first indication from Optima I have seen that indicates this might not be so! No one with a Prius has ever subsituted a non vented battery into their cars that I have heard. The optima had been mentioned but this is the first one I have heard of which is vented. This battery is advertised for operation in the Prius. I wonder if Optima has a battery of any type that is advertised for installation in the Cadillac Allante!

 

ok .. i see what you were referring to. That feature is offered on some DEEP Cycle GELs .. when we did the monster GEL Battery thread, we knew that, for the DEEP Cycle units .. it is or was there. With all the damn flushing at over yonder, by you know who, is hard to say.

The RED Tops are not deep cycle and are said that even in the event of breakage, are not supposed to leak as there is NO liquid to flow .. it is my understanding that they are totally sealed to absorb inner pressures into the glass mat and can be mounted in any position, including upside down.

Should my info be wrong, I'm sure someone will make it a point to shoot me down .. so far, 3 1/2 years and counting, it has not happen.

I have seen reports of some GELs failing prematurely, but to this day, I know of no reports of damage due to fumes, leakage, or spillage and that has been my argument all along in using the GELs ..

Now that I said that, there are other GELs besides the OPTIMA. I only have experience with the RED TOP Optima 75.

BTW, i did do a SEARCH for < optima venting > and got many hits, "deep cycle."

 

What concerned me was something I found in one of your original posts concerning the general make-up of the original Optimas where in the schematic that was posted did mention "over-pressure" plugs. Again, I would have associated those with an unusual over charge cycle. Something that could rarely happen but not impossible and that is probably why you will never see the Allante listed as a car acceptable for an Optima. (untill a vented one is available.) Not enough Allantes made for this to happen but certainly the reason (700,000 of them) for one made for the Prius.

 

Now Optima referrs to the Red Top as a AGM Battery.
I need to go and look at my 4 year old unit and see if it says GEL on the side.

in the mean time ..

http://www.dcbattery.com/optimacatalog.pdf
http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php
http://www.optimabatteries.com/optim...cts/redtop.php
http://www.optimabatteries.com/disco...hp#semaCallout
http://www.dcbattery.com/optima_red.html

 

I can't determine the pros about wound round vs square. My friend said that you would normally get all that lost space for more power between cells, and then get rid of the fumbled cells and their odd shape.

 

after 4+ years, my Optima gave up its ghost.
They have gotten pricey since then, $125 + tax.
Its a $40 battery on the '88 this time.

The RED TOP sits in the garage .. should I cut it open and see what is in it?
As a last note, the battery was absolutely clean (but dusty) when I pulled it out.
Not one drop, not one sign of leakage or seepage anywhere.



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