Hello, I noticed your conversation about our batteries and wanted to offer some assistance. Thank you FUNFER2 for posting the link to the Hot Rod article and Xavier for posting the link to the other thread. For everyone’s convenience, I will post a link to our YouTube video, which explains how to recharge a deeply-discharged battery-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIoaL3DWWEg
Many chargers will not charge any battery that has been discharged below 10.5 volts. This is not unique to Optima, in fact, some other manufacturers have decided to void the warranty of their batteries, if they have been discharged below 10 volts. We would rather encourage folks to maintain their batteries properly and watch our video on parallel charging, but you can view our warranty information here if you’d like-
http://optimabatteries.com/optima_products/warranty/
Since someone mentioned the “g” word, I should clarify that Optima batteries are not gel batteries, they are lead-acid, AGM batteries. “Gel” or “Gel/AGM” charger settings will not fully-charge and Optima and could damage it over time. Even though our batteries have a “sealed” design, all lead-acid batteries can vent gas. Under normal operating conditions, an AGM battery will not vent gas. Since alternators or chargers can fail, the safest and correct mounting method for trunks and passenger compartments is to make sure that any possible gas venting will escape to the outside of the vehicle. All vehicles with original equipment battery locations in trunks or passenger compartments will have a vent provision that should be used.
Our group 27, 51, 78, 34C, and 31 batteries all have ports for connecting a vent hose. Although people do it anyway, we would never recommend installing an unvented battery in any enclosed space, because there’s a legitimate, albeit unlikely, safety risk involved.
For example, IF there is a voltage regulator failure, and IF the battery is severely overcharged, and IF this goes unnoticed, and IF the battery vents because the internal pressure exceeds the release pressure of the vents, the gasses are both flammable and toxic. This may sound like a lot of “ifs,” but attorneys and engineers get paid to plan for every worst-case scenario.
I know many of you have watched this video before, but I do like to point out the battery tenders in use on the vehicles in this collection-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQMgwouKlU Even someone who can afford to buy new batteries every weekend would rather keep them properly-maintained and that is really the key to long battery life, regardless of brand. Excaliber is absolutely correct about sulphation diminishing battery capacity and lifespan and this occurs when batteries are allowed to discharge below 12.4 volts and sit that way for extended periods of time. That makes a quality battery tender or maintainer an excellent investment for any vehicle that is not driven daily.
Most alternators are designed to maintain batteries, not recharge deeply-discharged batteries. If your battery needs to be charged, it’s better to do it with a battery charger. Asking an alternator to recharge a deeply-discharged battery can lead to a series of dead batteries and jump-starts, until either the battery or alternator fails. If anyone has any questions about our batteries, I’ll do my best to answer them.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
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