A warm battery can expand inside and things that should touch don't touch anymore. Similarly, terminal contacts can break or crack internally.
When cold, they may touch and flow current, but when they warm up they break contact. Normal chargers won't always work with an Optima battery. It depends a lot on how deeply it's been discharged. The low internal resistance allows them to put out a lot of electricity and be discharged more than a regular battery. Although repeated discharging a dark-cased RedTop or BlueTop is not good for longevity.
When a regular battery charger is hooked up to an Optima, it often won't even turn on - while the Optima could be charged, the charger thinks it's totally kaput like a regular battery would be and doesn't even come on. This usually happens when the Optima measures around You hook it up and go. There are some additional benefits:. If you don't want to buy an AGM charger, no problem. You can DIY a charging setup in a pinch. Here's what you need:. The general concept here is that you charge the discharged "regular" battery with the battery charger, but you also hook up the Optima to piggyback on the regular battery.
The charger sees the voltage in the Optima as too low to charge. The regular battery has a higher voltage, but still needs to be charged - the charger will want it to be at least This is not too low to charge, so the charger will turn on and flow current.
By attaching the Optima to the regular battery, we can draw off some current to charge the Optima. The goal here is to get the Optima up to Tyler came out of the womb with a Birfield in one hand and a stick of in the other, ready to weld any piece of trail-busted steel back together.
He has wheeled, broken, and modified a variety of rigs, from Toyotas to Jeeps to Fords to Chevies. He likes doing long distance overland travel and would happily spend every night in the bed of a pickup under the stars.
Toggle navigation. Home Winch Database Articles Contact. Table of Contents. A Quick Word on Battery Expectations Optima batteries work a lot like regular batteries with some added features.
You're going to need a couple of things to check your Optima. It's helpful to have a vehicle so you can load test the battery, plus a helper. An alternative to an Optima-specific charger: You can also use a regular battery charger with a regular battery to charge an Optima.
This means: Jiggling your positive battery clamp lightly! Sometimes they are bare wire. This is your first reading - here's how to interpret it: The voltage on your Optima should read 9. This is usually one of two things: Excess sulfation An open cell The reason an open cell looks okay in no-load testing your Optima is heat: A warm battery can expand inside and things that should touch don't touch anymore.
How do you fix this? When you press on the accelerator, the engine starts up again. A vehicle that gets driven on a mile commute at 45 mph every day of the year won't be as hard on a battery as a vehicle that sits most of the year and only sees occasional use.
When battery voltage is properly-maintained, batteries tend to last longer. When batteries sit in a partially-discharged state for extended periods of time, batteries tend not to last as long and that's true for both flooded and AGM batteries With those factors in mind, we typically can't offer a specific number of years as an answer to the question of how long an AGM battery might last, because every application is different. We can generally say an AGM battery can last two to three times as long as a flooded battery.
It has less internal resistance and is suitable for high-performance trucks, muscle cars, sport sedans, hot rods, and streetcars. YellowTop Optima batteries are excellent for tractors, and other vehicles with many inverters, winches, LED floodlights, and other electrical accessories.
It provides up to CCA. The Optima BlueTop batteries come in two versions, one with a dark gray casing for RVs and the other for marine applications. It not only recharges quickly but also offers to CCA.
It is an inevitable option, especially if you enjoy boat racing or taking your RV out. The primary concern of people interested in Optima batteries is how long they last. Depending on driving habits, battery size, and weather, you can use it for around five years.
Like other Optima batteries, a YellowTop can last two to three times the lifespan of a flooded battery. If a flooded battery lasts two years, this one can last years , depending on the driving habits and the weather.
For instance, I know of three BlueTop Optima, one 13 years and two others at 10 and 6 years. However, most BlueTop lasts six years in optimal working conditions. Optima batteries last long, thanks to the quality of materials that make them. Instead of using recycled lead used in ordinary batteries, manufacturers use pure lead, which lasts longer.
Pure lead offers a stronger inter-cell weld linkage than recycled lead. Extreme climatic conditions can be detrimental to Optima batteries. For instance, freezing or hot temperatures destroy AGM batteries compared to Optimal temperatures, i. In addition, leaving your battery in partially discharged condition for long reduces its life span. This habit affects both AGM Optima batteries and flooded batteries. Optima batteries have no lifetime warranty ; therefore, if you replace your battery under a warranty policy, its warranty period will still expire based on the initial purchase date.
There is no new warranty. Regular or OE chargers that come with brand new vehicles are designed for lead batteries. However, you can still use them to charge Optima batteries.
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