There should be some protective caps or covers for the posts if you should need them.

 

It is a sealed batt. what if you lay it on its side?

 

I sell batteries for a living. I used to sell the Orbital, it's a great battery. One of the few good things that Exide actually turns out. I stopped selling them because Cdn. Tire undercut everyone else.

10 years ago, I was the #1 Optima retailer in Canada. We sold more Optimas than anyone else... 100's of them. Great batteries. Awful company to try to get warranties or anything out of. I now sell Optimas again, yellows and reds and blues.

Before you go cutting off the top terminals of an Optima or Orbital, I'd call them and find out if that's okay. On some batteries, this would be fine, but I remember the early Optimas had an inner post that was sealed with the outer post, so if you cut it off, you'd be exposing the guts of the battery. If you just want to remove top "stud" (the type you screw a nut down on), then go for it, it won't hurt a thing.

Yes, gel batteries like Optimas can lie on their side. Expect a shorter life though (like 3 or 4 years instead of 5).

Yes, pretty much ANY gel battery would be suitable for your uses. Myself, I use two 80lb. 6 volt gel batteries wired in series (they were orignally from a downtown building's standby power for their phone system), for my stereo. These are isolated from the front by a switch that opens when the vehicle is shut off. So I can rock the cabin for a long weekend and drive away afterwards...

Here's a pic of them:



[ April 22, 2004, 07:10 PM: Message edited by: GrizZz ]

 

What kind of car is this supposed to go in ? I have one in my Honda and it is great...........

 

It's for a newer model Mustang...it looks like the Orbital won't fit (too tall). I have been told that the Optima Yellow top just barely fits, and it is taller than the Optima. I am going to go with the Optima...

FB