Why does Optima say I need a Bluetop Marine battery in My 02 EV?

[piotr.wor]

Hi. New here. Just purchased my second Eurovan weekender tin top and trying to make this thing as reliable as one can be. This car has only 1 battery.

My battery needs to be replaced and I want to find a battery where i feel like I can run the interior light and some music for an hour without worrying. I looked up a Optima battery and it reccomended a Blue Top Battery. No Red tops or Yellow tops.

I dont really understand how batteries work in regards to amps etc but Im reading that these blue top batteries are marine batteries and are not for starting.

Does anybody know anything about this? Any recommendations?

Thanks!

[IdeaNerd]

I don't know anything about Optima batteries, and I'm also not clear on whether you are intending to replace the main engine battery (under the hood), or add a missing auxiliary battery (the one that's under the driver's seat in certain Eurovans).

True Eurovan MV "Weekenders" are pop-tops, so I am thinking you probably have Eurovan MV (not a Weekender) because you say yours is a tin top. I'm not sure if the regular MV's have an auxiliary battery or not. (Anyone...?)

All that said, the auxiliary battery is not typically used for starting, so perhaps that is what you are coming across. (I say "not typically used", because I did jump-start my own van with the auxiliary battery once, in a fairly desperate spot when I found out the engine battery was on its way out. )

If it is the auxiliary battery you are talking about , you might want to take a look at this thread. It will give you some specifics regarding what some of the people here are using for that.

If not, and you're looking for an engine battery, I'll try to reframe your question to see if it helps others chime in: does anyone here have any specific recommendations for a good, reliable engine batter for the 2001-2003 EVs?

[swsl]

Marine batteries are "deep cycle" and optimized to be discharged more deeply and then refilled. They are used for trolling motors.
Marine or Deep cycle is what you want for your house battery under the seat. Any battery used for solar applications, golf carts etc will also be deep cycle.

A starting battery is optiized to deliver most of it's power all at once for the moment of starting. After that moment it's not draining and just acting as a ballast to the alternator while getting recharged for the next starting moment.

It's not a good idea to put a starting or "shallow cycle" battery in place for a house battery to run things when the engines off.

On the other hand, a deep cycle can often work ok as a starting battery IF it's got enough power to crank it under the coldest conditions you encounter. Since I live in warm climes and travel in the summer, I often use deep cycles for my vehicle starter batteries so that they are less likely to be damaged if I leave the lights on or run the stereo too long when engine's off.

The trade-off is that they won't perform well on the coldest mornings.

[swsl]

On another note:
While trendy, there is hardly agreement that Optimas are actually better than your typical lead-acids. Some swear by them, others swear at them.

The only thing for sure is that they look cool and cost more.

Sealed is a good idea though, for under the seat.

[piotr.wor]

So I do only have 1 battery so I'm looking to replace the battery in the engine compartment.

When I look up everywhere which Optima battery fits my car it tells me to use the blue top battery. I understand that if I was to replace my auxiliary battery I would use a blue top, I just dont understand why it wouldnt suggest a red top or yellow top to start the engine.

I live in a cold climate as well so I need a good starter battery and Have always had luck with a Red top.

[swsl]

Apparently there are a couple variations on the Blue tops. A quick look at the optima site gleaned this:

[piotr.wor]

Thanks for seeing this. I dont know how i missed this, I guess the Marine battery threw me off. Thanks again.