Optimate 4 Question

[aadams1278]

I've seen multiple people on this forum sing the praises of the optimate 4 charger. because of this i've been planning to get one for several months now but haven't gotten around to it because "i have a charger that is working fine for now."

Well I have a Jeep that has been sitting for about 1 month. 2 weeks ago i went to drive it to the store and it goes "click click click". Battery is low but I don't have time to mess with it so I just drive another vehicle. Today I go out to put my battery tender on it to charge it up and it won't do anything. Battery tender indicates "no battery connected". This sounds like what everyone said the optimate was good for. So i did a little reading and found that Sulfation is common when a vehicle has been sitting and the Optimate says it can save a battery from as low as 0.5 volts. Well my battery is reading 1.2v which sounds BAD to me but I have hopes that the optimate can save it. But I also found this...

http://www.motorcycle.com/products/tecmate-optimate-4-battery-charger-review-89785.html

...which says in the "some key functions briefly explained" section that if the battery voltage is less than 2v the charger won't even try to charge it. and in the "conclusion" section the chart says if the voltage is less than 2v there will be no output and "see www.optimate4.com" I looked there and didn't see anything relating to what you should do in that case.

So what i'm getting at is I don't own the optimate 4 yet, and i plan to buy one at some point to replace my battery tender and to just have one for situations in the future. but right now it is christmas time and if i could avoid spending $70 for a charger that MIGHT not work and STILL have to buy a $50+ battery anyway, that would be best. So if it's not gonna work, then i'll just go buy another battery and get the optimate later.

For all of the people out there that have experience with the optimate 4 "saving" batteries, how bad have they been before you were able to save them? Do you think in this case that the optimate 4 really won't help at all, or is it just me reading this wrong and it won't "charge" , but it will go into repair mode or whatever? This "it can save batteries as low as 0.5v" is conflicting with the less than 2v part if you ask me.

Any advice?

 

[seadoosnipe]

There is no such thing as "saving a battery". When a load completes the circuit between the two terminals, the battery produces electricity through a series of electromagnetic reactions between the anode, cathode and electrolyte. The anode experiences an oxidation reaction in which two or more ions (electrically charged atoms or molecules) from the electrolyte combine with the anode, producing a compound and releasing one or more electrons. At the same time, the cathode goes through a reduction reaction in which the cathode substance, ions and free electrons also combine to form compounds. While this action may sound complicated, it's actually very simple: The reaction in the anode creates electrons, and the reaction in the cathode absorbs them. The net product is electricity. The battery will continue to produce electricity until one or both of the electrodes run out of the substance necessary for the reactions to occur.

If you've ever heard the term "dead cell"... This is in reference to a cell that has lost level of sulfuric acid to a point the electromagnetic charge can no longer take place.

A battery can be repaired and re-used if done properly. But, this usually means you have to remove the top cover and replace the lead cathodes.

As for a battery charger? I think mine cost about $20 bucks and is a 2 amp trickle charger. I keep my jetski battery on it through the winter months. I"ve done this for over 20 years. My current battery charger is about 10 years old.

It's like buying car tires. You can spend big bucks on the Michelin, or get Walmart specials. They both make the car go, just one cost a lot more and will normally last a little while longer.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

I fully recommend an optimate...most other chargers do not have a microprocessor to determine what the battery needs.

Some chargers will not even try to charge a battery with low voltage...

I had been using a tender jr. and many batteries out of parts skis had too low voltage for the tender to even recognize. The Optimate? It analyzed the battery and went into desulfate mode. Then after a day or two of that, it will go into a charging mode.

At the time I bought it I had about 15 batteries that the tender would not even try to charge. Of course some were froze, etc. but I think there was 5 that it revived and I used in my personal skis.

I think its well worth the investment...it just may bring that battery back. and if it doesnt? Well, you will be using the best charger to make those $100 batteries last more than a year or two.

 

[aadams1278]

do you have any idea at all what the voltage of those batteries were that you had?

 

[Minnetonka4me]

I didnt check.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

this makes me a little angry, my pops asked for a battery charger for xmas, and i bought him a nice duracell 15a, for about 65, i should have bought him the opimate and then I could borrow it from him. , and or just given him my 2 yr old duracell and used the opimate myself