gr1275

Count me in as well! I had one split after stopped for gas, got back in and bang! What a mess... even though it was in the engine compartment. Turned out it had several dry cells. My fault for never checking it.
Not having the vent tube in-place doesn't necessarily imply the battery was not "vented". It was probably just venting to the frunk interior. My guess is the trickle charger finally caught up to you. I believe those things just continue to present current to the battery regardless of its charge. Buy a new battery and a proper maintainer and you should not see this issue again.

Gary

LexVan

Are you sure? What model? If a MTP-91 is has a vent. You need to pull the tiny plug out and hookup the vent connection and tube.

jstyer

My experience as well... I'll never buy another optima.

Richard Kent

A few corrections on my last post. I have had the battery connected to the Schumacher maintainer (not a trickle charger) which has the red and green lights. Red charge and green when the battery reaches full charge and then shuts off. I regularly check the battery water levels as the car ( I am embarrassed to say ) sits for 7-8 months out of the year in the rainy Seattle months. Lately I have noticed the red light never going out. Obviously the battery needed to be replaced as this should have been my warning that it never reaches a full charge. I assumed it was ok as I always put it back on the maintainer. Bad assumption. I should have replaced the battery. As I posted before, it was in the car when I purchased the car in 2000 and it was not the factory battery so it is at least 16 years old. Lesson learned.
Thanks for all of the replies and opinions on the Optima battery. I am leaning towards going back to the Interstate battery but being more aware and attentive of the battery condition.

Vorsicht

Does anyone know where to get the vent tube kit. I've been to the tire store where I bought the battery twice and they never have any. Also, called Interstate - they said they'd send me one but never did! MTP-91.

Or even better, how to make one?

PS OP, sorry this happened.

LexVan

I'd email Interstate or try a big box store like Costco.

The tubing should be present in your car. You just need the part that plugs into the top of the battery. Connect your vent tube to that.

justin993

This is the battery...

http://www.interstatebatteries.com/c...nths+-+770+CCA

Richard Kent

I ended up replacing my battery with another Interstate, They ordered the vent tube kit for me. It was 15.00. I purchased the battery from an Interstate battery store. Battery is back in, vent kit will be available for pickup tomorrow.

Allen

So there was at least some "warning signs" that a problem was present...good to know. I have used a Deltran Maintainer on my Sears Diehard for like 12 years....never a problem. Just replaced it with another Diehard. I really never check my watere levels......until I read one of these "my battery blew up" threads...then I check it.

IXLR8

Any battery in an enclosed area or case needs to be vented for safety reasons.

It is why I would never use a battery that cannot be vented via a hose. That applies to most flooded lead acid batteries as well as an Odyssey or Optima.

For some reason, some users think AGM and GEL batteries do not vent. They can.

You're the first that has come close to my 15 and 16+ years that I got out of my last two batteries. Damn good!

My thoughts on always leaving a battery on a maintainer are this. If I am going to not use the vehicle for a couple of weeks or if there are electrical drains on it to drop the voltage below 12.5V in a week, I'll put a maintainer on the battery.

Otherwise, a maintainer just helps a weak battery start your car at home and makes it look good. Then when you are parked somewhere for a day (work), the battery is too weak to start the vehicle. I have seen that happen, specially with the motorcycle crowd. The maintainer fools you by making an end-of-life battery appear OK.

Nope, it is vented through the driver's side inner fender. See that clear vinyl tube next to the red wire. The battery end connects under the black trim cover. In the case of an Interstate 91 battery, it connects to the center of the battery.

IXLR8

Richard, forget lights and such. They even have some in-vehicle battery voltage monitors that use colored LEDs...useless!

Get yourself a digital voltmeter, one that is mounted in the car and another handheld unit so that you can really see what is going on. The latter from Walmart for about $15.

H.H.Chinn

I just replaced a +7 year old Optima in my car with the same 75/35 red top. My experience with them has been fine!!

Ed Hughes

I've also had great luck with Optimas.

The Brewmeister

Add me to the list of those who have had a battery blast. What a freakin' mess. Did the baking soda and hose out cleanup routine. I spread the baking soda on the puddled acid and then liberally rinsed away the mess. I then thoroughly dried the area and allowed it to air out for a few hours before installing the new battery. The Interstate that was in the car was nine years old and I planned on replacing it after my car got inspected, so much for that strategy. Hope the 70 mile round trip drive to the IMSA event at Lime Rock was enough to reset the ready code minimum. The Interstate Battery distributor said there's only two things that would cause the blast, overcharging and low fluid levels. I use a maintainer but I'm guessing the latter. I never checked the fluid level, thought the dam thing was maintenance free.

Richard Kent

Not just a mess but I bet a stressful moment. I wanted to neutralize the acid as quickly as possible in the trunk area! I feel the pain.