OPTIMA battery charger... purchase advice?

Kube

Kube

Super Moderator
Guys, anyone with fairly recent firsthand knowledge as to what brand, model, etc. maintenance charger works well?
Thanks!
 
Mike, I think any maintenance charger that is 1.5 amps or less will work well. The ones I have are switchable between 6 and 12 volts and never have had any problems with standard or optima batteries. I have several brands. I have 1 12 v optima and 4 6 volt optimas. My understanding is that since the optimas have the lead "plates" wrapped tightly around like a roll of toilet paper and charging too fast will heat and warp and short them out. ( I know, it is some kind of mat not a plate.) That is my meager understanding and experience.
 
I just went through this buying my first Optima batteries. A 12V red-top for my dad's '32 roadster, and a 6V red-top for an original 1929 roadster. I had a hard time finding the 6V, they were on backorder everywhere. Yesterday, I cancelled my back ordered Jegs 6V battery because I saw Speedway finally had them. They shipped it today. They always have excellent service.

I chose the high-end charger Optima sells, I bought it directly from Optima (not cheap). The only problem is it's only a 12V charger. I figured they would know best how to charge their batteries. You just hook it up and leave it and it will maintain the battery. As far as I could find Optima does not make a 6V charger which I thought was a little strange. Every good battery charger I've ever had, had the 6V or 12V setting. From what I read the main thing is to charge the AGM batteries with low amperage, too fast of a charge causes it to gas and you lose the liquid which cannot be replaced but tha is the same with any sealed battery. The AGM chargers have programs built in to revive an AGM dead battery that regular chargers do not. So, I will be using use my new Optima charger on the 12V red-top to keep it maintained and charge the 6V every once in a while, with a low amp motorcycle battery charger.

I chose the 78-34 dual post red-top. The reason why is the battery is in the truck of dad's 32 roadster. The side -mounted terminals will allow the starters' positive and negative cables to go straight down through the floor for a cleaner installation (the holes are already there so I'm using them. The entire starting system will run off of those side posts terminals. But I will still have the top posts which I can use to power up the rest of the car. I thought it was neat way to wire it all up neatly. I'm just now starting on that project along with cleaning out the gas tank. I have had pneumonia for two-weeks which has kicked my butt! I keep going out there to work on it, but my chest hurts too bad, and I can't get any air. Its slowly getting better but I think I need to swap out the intake to my lungs to a three-carb? They checked my heart out, no burned valves and no plugged fuel lines.
 
Mike, I like the NOCO Genius 5. It handles both 6 and 12 volt Optima and traditional lead acid batteries. It's compact and the display tells you what's going on.
 
Best price on an Optima charger is from Amazon. I have two of their chargers. They were around $80 each a couple of years ago.
I wouldn't charge any gel battery with a regular charger or tender.
The battery is just to expensive to risk damaging it with other chargers.
 
I have one of th small Optima chargers that's capable of bring an Optima back to life but also works on my lawn mower and Ranger batteries. I have also used it on a common acid battery. My charger is a Optima model number 150-40000 available at Auto Zone.
 
Last edited:
I don’t think that Optima batteries are that fragile. I have them in all six of my old Fords, five 6-volt and one 12-volt. I use a large charger on them in maintenance mode and they have been lasting for years. This charger shuts down when they are fully charged.
About 4 years ago I bought three 12-volt Optima batteries from Amazon for engine batteries in the 8.3-liter Cummins engine in my motorhome. When they arrived one was dead, it measured 0.2 volts. I called Amazon and they said they would replace it and that I did not need to return the old one. To my surprise I got 3 new ones about 3 days later. Several months later I was reading about how to revive a dead battery. I charged up 1 of the good batteries and then connected it in parallel with the dead one. After about 30 minutes I hooked up the charger to the revived one and let it charge until it was completely charged. This battery now resides in the rumble compartment of my ’34 roadster which I converted to 12-volts in 1996.
 
This is what I have used, for over 15 years, to charge my Optima's, with no issues. It is on 24/7 when the car is in the garage.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0014.jpg
    DSCN0014.jpg
    26.3 KB · Views: 41
Mike,
I went with a NOCO Genius 10 and I would again in a heartbeat. It will charge both 6 and 12 volt, but it doesn't have a De-sulfate option for 6 volt.
 
I have used an regular old Shumaker maintainer for the last 30 years on the Optima's in my '51. The first battery lasted 15 years and the current on is going on 14 years and still going strong.
 
I have used the HF digital charger ($24 on sale) for 10 years now. It will work on 6v and 12v batteries...Optima or the common acid batteries.
I use it on my 12v riding mower, and Optima 6v on 2 Model A's.
It has a digital readout so you can tell how it is doing. Works great.
 
rufus39 said:
Mike,
I went with a NOCO Genius 10 and I would again in a heartbeat. It will charge both 6 and 12 volt, but it doesn't have a De-sulfate option for 6 volt.
Click to expand...

Noco says although there is not an option to force the 6v battery into desulfation like there is for the 12v, the charger will desulfate at its own will on the regular charge selection.
 
I'm not sure if you are talking only about the charger from optima from your post or a charger for the optima for optima batteries. My old schumacher is still kicking, no matter the dents. But.... I'll assume...



Mike, I charge mine with an old schumacher with a 6 volt setting. Once in the spring and maybe another time in the summer. 2 - 6 volt red tops going on 12 and 14 years.

As long as you don't have a short or a battery drain and your generator works. It'll be fine.

There has been discussion on here about the glass matt/agm batteries. Constantly cycling them with a leave on trickle charger is not suggested.

I'll look for the thread that was answered by a rep from optima also that said just charge it time to time. Great battery.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top