Featured The Best 12v Battery Option For Toyota Prius

Thanks for sharing the article... Yet more anecdotal evidence that Optima is a totally awful garbage battery manufacturer...

The only thing missing in this article is the realization that because the battery is only powering computers, perhaps they're lower priced way more powerful options than OEM or "reccomended" for Prius Batteries. And the answer is yes!

A battery specifically designed to run as a back-up computer power supply, as well as for wheelchairs, for $140 from a Batteries Plus or equivalent will give you 55amp-hours, which is way more power/lifespan and a way lower price than all the other options mentioned. Sure you ave to get some longer bolts and bushings at the hardware store to make a 55amphour battery fit with the car's terminal, but that's an easy fix.

 

Not an issue for the latest Prius, but important for the past models with the battery in the hatch, is that it has to have the proper hardware to vent to the outside of the car. The odds are low of it happening, but lead acid batteries are capable of releasing hydrogen sulfide if something goes wrong.

 

Whhhhaaaaatttt? Optima is not Optimum?

(I learned that lesson after I dropped one into my one of my old pre-prius cars. According to the sales pitch, I was getting the best battery I could buy. I'll never make that mistake again.)

 

this clown is clueless, and misleading whatever audience is foolish enough to read his drivel

he would do well to spend more time here, and less wherever he does spend it

i have to wonder if he is sponsored by toyota

 

The article is WRONG - "... Absorbed Glass Mat or AGM batteries are in all years of Toyota Prius ..." is incorrect for Gen 4 PRIUS.

 

He got it partially right: "Absorbed Glass Mat or AGM batteries are in all years of Toyota Prius. The only exception to this is Prius Prime."

The Prime and Gen 4 have the same battery in the same location.

The article is mostly his opinion, so take it for what you think it might be worth.

 

zero, but it should sell some batteries for toyota

 

Thank you for your sanity regarding Optima criminality... I took a 6 month break from PriusChat because of all the delusional crazies on here who recommend Optima despite many posts on here were upsetting me so much... I mean when many people post on here wondering why their car won't work after installing an Optima 12v, do we really need people making excuses for the company rather than the person who bought a defective battery?

There's a mountain of evidence as to why Optima's are bad, and even worse is the mind blowing stuff the Optima guy who used to be on here used to say:

 

Just a hint - if someone's posts annoy you, click on their name on the left:


and click the "Ignore" button (I'm not doing it to you - just as an example).

 

Isn't that throwing the baby out with the bathwater? I'm not petty enough to silence the entirety of someone's voice just because there's one belief they have that's super way wrong! But then again, that's how most people do it, which is why social media is destroying democracy...

 

One thing, if you hit ignore on some members, it makes for some disjointed threads.

I got an Optima, closing in on 4 years back. At the time is was cheaper by about $50 compared to dealership battery. It's been fine so far, though I've heard their quality control is slipping. I'm probably going to go for Canadian Tire's offering next time

 

Yep - I realise that - I've only done it with a couple (that I remember), but not for a long time (that I remember) - it's a bit odd, because they can see my posts, and they reply - but I don't see the reply - but I can see someone else comment on their reply - and ignore it.

 

Past forum software inserted an 'ignored poster quoted' line so you didn't need to puzzle out what the post was replying to.

 

The 12v venting need is a legacy issue, no longer a safety issue... This is so much so that the Gen2 High Voltage Battery had a venting system, but the Gen3 eliminated the venting system and just uses the hybrid cooling fan to vent.

Also the very best long lasting 12v battery you can by for a Prius is a 55amp-hour of greater wheelchair battery which had no vents, even though these batteries are certified to be used in hospitals around highly flammable oxygen tanks and other hazards.

 

The concern I'm bringing up isn't about flammable gas, but that of the toxicity with hydrogen sulfide. It is flammable, but the concentration at which that becomes a concern is 45 times greater than the amount needed to knock a person out in a breath or two. Death quickly follows.

The air exchange rate of a room is greater than that of a car cabin. They are also much greater in volume. So the risk there is much lower, and likely only concern when there are banks of batteries.

Sulfur is needed, so hydrogen sulfide is not a concern with NiMH or Li-ion.

The vent tube for my HHR's battery, which is in the back like the Prius, was broken. I thought nothing of it, but a few years after I got rid of it, this happened, Hydrogen sulfide inhalation from car battery killed mother,...

Sealed batteries will vent if internal pressures get too high, and the batteries in the Prius and HHR are maintenance free, sealed types. The risk is slight, yet it is there.

 

Yes, we've had this discussion many times and this link has been posted on here in those discussions and it's important to remember that they couldn't 100% confirm the leaking battery killed them, what they could conclude is there was nothing else other than that to explain it. Also a key quote from that article: " "Talking to the owners and the mechanics we have here, none of them have ever heard of anything like this in regard to a battery," said Ron Telleysh, manager of Auto Express Finance."

Also one thing to keep in mind is most AGM batteries that are vented are designed only to vent when internal pressure builds up high enough to blow through the plastic seal, so it's possible that in the case you linked to above the leaking of the battery would of never pressurized enough to brake the vent seal and their demise would of been the same. Point being It's very difficult to know how well those seals work in real life scenarios because other than your one link, there's no data to analyse.

 

"Over-charging a lead acid battery can produce hydrogen sulfide."
Health Concerns with Batteries - Battery University

Stinky smell is due to a bad battery – Press Enterprise
Evergreen Industrial Batteries
Your UPS battery backup may be killing you – NJN Network
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0378775394800243

"Toxic gas emissions are miniscule, but can include arsine and hydrogen sulfide. These gasses appear only during severe failure events such as thermal runaway, and are not always present during such events."
https://www.apc.com/salestools/SADE-5TNQZQ/SADE-5TNQZQ_R3_EN.pdf

As I said the risk is slight, but when the battery is inside the cabin area, the restricted air space can make what would be a nuisancewith a battery under the hood, deadly.

 

Thanks, some good links to study up on... In the winter I work on battery packs in my small studio apartment instead of the carport and I put balloons on all my vents to make sure my air stays clean. Only time this is a problem and you get inflation is if you have a failing module, or when you charge up from a discharge down to near zero, when the cooling fans can't keep up, so I these days I do a two stage charge to give time for a cool down. I'm big on clean air! My place is a jungle of houseplants and the HEPA filter is always on if I'm home.

 

After installing a brand new Optima ( i got it for free) about a month ago, my car runs just fine.. I just installed a complete sound system with a class D digital amp and capacitor just before the Optima install.. (so i cant say if it performs poorer electronically with the OEM battery that I have).. but good thing is i still have the OEM battery in my garage..