RRRAAAYYY2
Bronco Guru
Mark,
Optima's are only more readily available to the public. i.e. You see them more because of Otpima's retail presence. But Deka's AGM's out sell Optima probably in the neighborhood of 10 to 1, at least. But since they are not in big stores under their own name, so you don't realize who they are or how big they are.
As far as them being an upgrade for a standard battery, many of my customers would disagree. An AGM by design is better than a standard wet cell battery for sure. But if it is done cheap and the wet cell is done for quality, then they can become comparable.
Case in point just about every drag racing team I deal with uses Optima red tops. As they started failing last year the guys naturally just replaced them again with redtops. They had gotten 2-3 years out of their old ones, so they were happy (really abusive). But the new ones are giving people so much trouble, I started getting enquiries for the more expensive AGM and even for Gels.
At the same time Deka started laying a bed of epoxy in the bottoms of their 734/78 wet cells (GM dual post like the REd/Yelow Tops). Not as good as a fiberglass mat all the way between the plates, but definitely a great upgrade. I have had about a dozen customers try them out instead of the redtops. At about 2/3 the price, and they are lasting longer, so they are very pleased with them.
Now if they would perform as well in a vehicle that is getting banged around a lot, i.e. you frequently run into trees or have all four wheels off the ground, I don't know. (If my truck was still on the road, I could tell you, LOL) They should though. As the only advantage an AGM would have over the new style Deka's is the plates can't warp in the middle section and touch each other. This is caused more by improperly charging than bangs though.
I will enquire what it would take for me to have the same arrangement with East Penn US as I already have with their Canadian offices. (I can ship for free in Canada to a local distributor) If I can I will do my best to get you their batteries at a very good price (my cost plus 10% or something). Which should encourage you to go the better way. My perspective on things like this is, my main business is starters and alternators. Everything else is in support of those two lines. So we have always reduced our prices on everything from test equipment to wire and cable. The better equipped you and your vehicle are, the better my main products will look.
I don't know that I need to have a buying group or any thing either. I have a few friends down south that need to replace their battery packs in their EV's. (They need like 20-30 at a time) So I was already going to approach Deka about getting them a discount. We can call it introductor specials or something like that. As it would benfit them to have some of the new Intimidators in the hands of some talkitive people, i.e. people on the EV list and here. I might have some more info by late next week.
Optima's are only more readily available to the public. i.e. You see them more because of Otpima's retail presence. But Deka's AGM's out sell Optima probably in the neighborhood of 10 to 1, at least. But since they are not in big stores under their own name, so you don't realize who they are or how big they are.
As far as them being an upgrade for a standard battery, many of my customers would disagree. An AGM by design is better than a standard wet cell battery for sure. But if it is done cheap and the wet cell is done for quality, then they can become comparable.
Case in point just about every drag racing team I deal with uses Optima red tops. As they started failing last year the guys naturally just replaced them again with redtops. They had gotten 2-3 years out of their old ones, so they were happy (really abusive). But the new ones are giving people so much trouble, I started getting enquiries for the more expensive AGM and even for Gels.
At the same time Deka started laying a bed of epoxy in the bottoms of their 734/78 wet cells (GM dual post like the REd/Yelow Tops). Not as good as a fiberglass mat all the way between the plates, but definitely a great upgrade. I have had about a dozen customers try them out instead of the redtops. At about 2/3 the price, and they are lasting longer, so they are very pleased with them.
Now if they would perform as well in a vehicle that is getting banged around a lot, i.e. you frequently run into trees or have all four wheels off the ground, I don't know. (If my truck was still on the road, I could tell you, LOL) They should though. As the only advantage an AGM would have over the new style Deka's is the plates can't warp in the middle section and touch each other. This is caused more by improperly charging than bangs though.
I will enquire what it would take for me to have the same arrangement with East Penn US as I already have with their Canadian offices. (I can ship for free in Canada to a local distributor) If I can I will do my best to get you their batteries at a very good price (my cost plus 10% or something). Which should encourage you to go the better way. My perspective on things like this is, my main business is starters and alternators. Everything else is in support of those two lines. So we have always reduced our prices on everything from test equipment to wire and cable. The better equipped you and your vehicle are, the better my main products will look.
I don't know that I need to have a buying group or any thing either. I have a few friends down south that need to replace their battery packs in their EV's. (They need like 20-30 at a time) So I was already going to approach Deka about getting them a discount. We can call it introductor specials or something like that. As it would benfit them to have some of the new Intimidators in the hands of some talkitive people, i.e. people on the EV list and here. I might have some more info by late next week.
