Optima Batteries 8052-161 D31M BlueTop Dual Purpose Battery

by Optima

Product Features

• 12-Volt, 900 Cold Cranking Amps, Size: 12 13/16" x 6 1/2" x 9 3/8" tall, Weight: 59.8 pounds, Dual SAE & 5/16" Stainless Steel Stud Posts
• Reserve capacity of 155 minutes for constant performance
• Optimal starting power even in bad weather
• Fifteen times more resistant to vibration for durability
• This item is not for sale in Catalina Island

Product Details

View Limited Consumer Warranty [69kb PDF]

|

View Warranty Outline [23kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 6.5 x 9.4 inches ; 59.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 60.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00099DW6G
• Item model number: 8052-161
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,858 in Automotive (See Top 100 in Automotive)
  • #13 in Automotive > Performance Parts & Accessories > Batteries & Accessories > Batteries
  • #14 in Automotive > Performance Parts & Accessories > Batteries & Accessories > Battery Accessories
  • #19 in Automotive > Replacement Parts > Batteries & Accessories > Batteries

Product Description

Optima D31M BlueTop is designed as a dual purpose battery, both starting and deep cycle for people who need a sure-starting, strong cranking, and maintenance free power source for their boat or RV, even in harsh conditions. The unique SpiralCell design provides a strong and clean power source, ensuring the safety of you, your family and the environment. The higher reserve capacity gives you a longer shelf-life to give you the power when you need it, where you need it. This battery is designed to be used with recreational vehicles or boats with large accessory loads.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best way to get power without hassle, January 7, 2008

By 

HMMWV "God, Country, Corps" (santa clara, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Optima Batteries 8052-161 D31M BlueTop Dual Purpose Battery (Misc.)

The Optima batteries carry a price premium because of their design, however their long life and ability to work in any orientation and in rough environments is what you are buying. Additionally, you do not need to worry about acid spilling out like you would with traidtional deep cycle marine batteries. Cost, however, is substantially higher.

I ordered mine through amazon and it was shipped ground from their fullfulment center in Sacramento nearest to me in the bay area which meant it arrived overnight. I was a little disappointed at first getting ground service as a prime member, but overnight beats 2 days and their fullfillment centers are across the usa so chances are you will get yours in 1-2 days by ground ups.

I have used Optima batteries since I killed my first battery in my H1 humvee offroad in Alaska doing 60 MPH over rock roads from the Yukon territories to Alaska. Ordinary car batteries just don't do well to the vibrations the H1 hummer can produce. Additionally when offroading, the H1 may tip up to 40 degrees on sideslope which will spill the acid out of a normal car battery while the optima does not loose any acid or liquid at all.

You *MUST* match the color code of the optima battery with YOUR intended purpose as follows:

BLUE (this one) - DEEP CYCLE applications - RV's, inverters, UPS systems basically applications where you plan to drain the battery dry every time then recharge it pretty soon afterwards.

YELLOW (what I use in the H1 Hummer engine) - Has both deep cycle ability and engine starting ability. If you drain a NORMAL engine starting battery dead you take between 5-10 percent of its life away right there. The Yellow Optima batteries can take deep discarge running lights and accessories with the engine off and still start the engine then recharge from the alternator provided they are not totally dead. NOTE: if you use the side post for engine starting, ALWAYS connect a winch to the top post. Look closely and you will see that there is a slim bar that makes the side terminal FROM the top post, which is the main terminal. Because a winch will draw 200+ amps for minutes at a time, the top post is advised by optima for this and any heavy, long running loads. Engine starting is brief (4 seconds) so the thin strip inside the battery is fine.

RED - these are just simple replacements for engine statring ONLY - they are NOT meant to be deep discharged and will suffer a shorter lifespan if you do drain them. They still have all the benefits of the Optima design of being sealed, vibration proof, and spill proof.

Hence for cars, I always choose Yellow tops, and for boats or RV's & UPS systems I use blue tops. Honestly I've never bought a Red top because I normally want a battery that can run accessories on a vehicle with the engine off for a long time.

This battery is rated 75AH and I realize you can buy alot more AH in a deep cycle marine cell with liquid acid for less money. I have no concerns anchoring this battery down inside my vehicle because I know it will not spill acid if I accellerate or corner sharply or go off road. I know that the wet cell deep cycle marine battery will spill acid under many conditions - even just climate changes or charging rapidly.

You get what you pay for in the Optima batteries. Considering Amazon does not charge to ship a 69 lb battery to you and does not hit you with a core charge it's not a bad deal to get it on your doorstep overnight or 2 days. All together it proved to be an excellent piece of my inverter system (see Xantrex Technologies Prosine 1,000 to 1,500-Watt Power Inverter #1000 for the inverter I used)

The optima battery can deliver high enough currents for the Xantrex true sinewave inverter to start an air compressor which is a difficult load to deal with. Other batteries I tried refused to provide the inrush current to start the compressor. The reason is simple - inside the "6 pack" of cans are rolled up lead calcium gelled acid sheets with LOTS of surface area, which translates into higher currents possible.

Finally, there is a pamphlet stuck to your new battery on how to care for your Optima cell for charging currents on the D31M model. One of the cons of the Optima design is that they do not take equalization charges like wet cells do so it is best to maintain a constant voltage of about 13.6 VDC on the battery when you are able to to prolong its life. I keep mine on the CTEK Multi US 7002 12V Battery Charger which charges at 6-7 amps and can also supply 6amps for items running off the battery when ac is available.

This is professional gear and will deliver excellent results when used properly.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Quality, August 15, 2007

By 

J. Miller "bajajim" (carson, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Optima Batteries 8052-161 D31M BlueTop Dual Purpose Battery (Misc.)

Optima batteries are one of the best on the market. I am very impressed by their longevity and high power delivery. I have had a yellow top Optima in my 4wd truck for 9 years now and it is as strong as the day I installed it. Other great features of Optima batteries are the facts that you never have to add water, they can be mounted in most any position and the terminals never corrode.

This purchase was a second blue top D31M. I use two of these batteries in parallel to power a 2000 watt inverter. I tested it by placing a 1500 watt load on the inverter which drew 137.5 amps from the two batteries in parallel. They were able to sustain this load for 27 minutes. That is like cranking a 6 cylinder engine for half an hour. I previously used marine deep-cycle flooded-cell batteries for my inverter but they would only last about two years and I constantly had to check and add water as well as clean corrosion from the terminals. The bottom line is even though you pay more initially to buy an Optima battery the long life and power delivery quality actually make it cheaper than other batteries when you divide the cost by the number of years of service.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great battery, September 10, 2009

By 

Gerry G - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Optima Batteries 8052-161 D31M BlueTop Dual Purpose Battery (Misc.)

I really wonder if some reviewers here actually read Optima's FAQ.

Optima clearly states that a deeply discharged battery may appear (even to "techs") as defective and explains how to charge such battery.

Also, ANY lead acid battery is subject to sulfation if stored at low charge. Desulfating chargers work and don't cost that much.