Optima Battery Charging

Yes....but they can be damaged if the charging voltage is too high. The batteries are designed to vent during exceeded charging voltage levels and will be compromised if it occurs. The Optima website has some important info concerning charging their batteries.
 
Doublepumper said:
Yes....but they can be damaged if the charging voltage is too high. The batteries are designed to vent during exceeded charging voltage levels and will be compromised if it occurs. The Optima website has some important info concerning charging their batteries.
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Really? I'll bet I have at least a dozen different chargers and maintainers and I am sure that all of them have been on an Optima a time or two and I have never had a problem in thirty years. My Optima's last at least 10 years. (I replace them then because, well, I get nervous when any auto "consumable" gets that old.). However, I have all of them plugged into mechanical timers so they only run 15 minutes twice a day. I think that's what does it.
 
Yes, a standard 6V automatic charger will generally work if it is AGM-compatible.
Best option? Use the charger's AGM setting.
Avoid: Old-style manual chargers that don't regulate voltage, especially if left unattended.
 
The one I've had 11 years, can't remember it ever having anything but my Battery Tender Junior hooked to it. I don't leave it on, just charge it now and then.
 
FYI...

be aware that many modern chargers have software built into them that will prevent them from charging a battery that has been completely depleted, optima or not....

i recently left my ignition switch on over night and did just that. i completely drained my brand new 6v optima. so i put my battery charger on it expecting it to be charged the next morning. nope... still dead. a litte fiddling didn't help so i slapped a backup 6v on the car went about my business working on the turn signal system. but when i went home, i did some research and found that modern chargers often times have "safety" features that will turn off the charger if it deems the battery completely dead or exhibiting voltage below some minimum.

i won't go into my opinions on that now, but further research led me to a technique that will get around that safety "feature". if a second 6v battery with a decent charge on it is connected to the dead one IN PARALLEL! the charger will deem it to be worthy of charging. after a couple of minutes the second 6v battery can be removed and the charger will continue to charge the here-to-fore un-chargeable as it should.
 
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