Charging an Optima Battery?

[TexasQuest]

Well turns out my old alternator was the culprit to draining my Optima Red Top battery so I've since replaced the alternator and battery. I still have the Optima and was wondering if there is a special way to recharge it since it's a dry cell battery or can I recharge it like any other?

[LEPORE]

http://www.optimabatteries.com/product_support/faqs.php#charging

[craig87]

i personaly use a ctek charger for all agm batts. but that link is spot on as far as getting a dead optima to take a charge with a cheap charger.

[starquestJOE]

battery tender period. $32 best way i have found to do the work for you.

[MoltoMario]

Im pretty sure you have to charge Optima's at a low amp. 2-3amps if I remember correctly

[TexasQuest]

Ok am I reading this right? If it's not less than 10.5 volts it can be charged with a regular charger?

[OptimaJim]

Hi TexasQuest,

 

Many battery chargers have a minimum voltage threshold. This threshold can often be as high as 10.5 volts. If batteries are discharged below 10.5 volts, these chargers will not recognize or charge a battery. Using another fully-charged battery, wired in parallel, will allow these chargers to recognize and charge your deeply-discharged battery.

 

Generally speaking, for float charging, we recommend 1 amp max, 13.2-13.8 volts. Traditional "float" chargers provide a constant voltage with tapering amperage to the battery, even when it is fully-charged. These are OK, but not preferred. For regular charging, we recommend 10 amps max, 13.8-15 volts. Fully-automatic "multi-stage or multi-step" chargers, which monitor the battery and charge it as necessary, are the preferred option. Multi-stage maintainers will charge at varying voltages and varying amperage (rarely exceeding 2 amps) and some of these multi-step chargers are also capable of being regular battery chargers (7 amps or more).

 

If anyone has any other questions about our batteries, I'll do my best to answer them.

 

Jim McIlvaine

eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

[TexasQuest]

Ok I understand now. Thanks alot Jim.

[Indiana]

Use an old battery charger if you have one not one of those "automatic" newer types as mentioned and use the low amp setting and it will take you a day or more to recharge a completely dead battery. They may seem like they are bad but are so dead you aren't able to charge them up again "quickly" and you can't load test a dead one either so they say they are "bad" and sell you a new one.

[Guest]

I just took a dead Optima and charged it using a plain jane old dinosaur style charger. Took me like half a day on low setting and 4 hours more on 40 amps.

[TexasQuest]

Well in that case..... I need to charge my battery on the car now and I might as well hook it up to the optima aswell.

[TexasQuest]

Would this get the job done sufficiently?

 

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200331933_200331933