Scary, I just smoked a redtop trying to bring it back to life, no fault of the Optima, it had been sitting too long and fully drained.There may be hope for the yellow that was in with it tho, haden't heard of the leaching trick off another battery maybe I'll give that a shot on the yellow.
I still swear by the Optimas, but just like any other battery, you have to keep them charged.