6v Optima how to charge ?

[d.]

I have a 6v Optima and it works great...how do I keep it charged?
> I have a Sears 6v 4 amp charger
> I have a Schumaker 6v 1.5 amp trickle charger

will either of these work OK to keep the Optima charged or do I have to buy the Optima brand charger?
thanks,
Doug

[Kurt in NJ]

I just drove the car, it kept it charged for the 16 year life of the battery, one time i left the key on for 3 months, the battery was totally dead, then i used the old 6V only charger I have for 10 min, then hand cranked the car ---20 min of driving later the battery would start the car ----even if the car sat for 6 months I did nothing but start the car and drive

[jm29henry]

Good question I believe that this question has been asked before I am not sure but I believe that you have to charge it in series with another 6 volt battery . I hope that some one with a definitive answer can help ,but it's a good thing you are checking before you mess up your optima battery.

[petew]

I use a battery tender on mine , seems to keep the battery fully charged .

[KenCoupe]

I have an Optima red top 6v that has been in the car for several years. The car has sat for a couple of months a few times, but I had no problem starting it. I have never had to use a charger on the battery.

However, use the link below to go to the Optima site. Scroll down to the Red Top 6v Charging section. It appears you can charge an Optima the same as other batteries.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us...care/charging/

[Tom Wesenberg]

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Originally Posted by jm29henry

Good question I believe that this question has been asked before I am not sure but I believe that you have to charge it in series with another 6 volt battery . I hope that some one with a definitive answer can help ,but it's a good thing you are checking before you mess up your optima battery.

I've never owned an Optima, but have heard of having to charge them in parallel with another 6 volt battery.

My lead/acid battery can set untouched for 6 months of winter and start the car fine in the spring.
Man.........who in their right mind would live where there's 6 months of winter?

[Mike V. Florida]

There are several types of chargers, pulse, constant current, constant voltage, taper current are the top ones.

The instructions from the site KenCoupe shows states, "Always use a voltage-regulated charger,..."

By placing another battery in parallel with the one you are charging, the "extra" battery acts like a regulator similar to how our batteries act like a regulator for our generators when an inexpensive charger (cheep) is used.

[J Witt]

Do not use a charger that has an "equalizing" charge cycle. Any of the small float type chargers that are available will work just fine. Equalizing is useful for conventional flooded batteries, but AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries don't have free liquid acid in them to equalize. If you try to equalize an AGM battery you run the risk of popping the pressure relief.

Optima and other AGM batteries have very low internal resistance and can accept very high charge rates as long as the voltage stays below their 15.6 voltage limit.

Lead acid batteries in general like to stay fully charged, so letting them stay discharged for long periods is not good. When the battery is fully charged, the lead in the plates is kept stable as chemical lead and doesn't form crystal phase lead sulphate which is what kills them.

Flooded batteries will self-discharge at about 5% a month, depending on temperature, so in 6 months at room temperature, you lose about 30% of the available power.

John

[katy]

I have a bunch of household chores and checks that I do once a month, Usually on the 1st.
One of the chores is putting a trickle charger or battery tender on all the batteries (except the daily drivers) for 24 hours. Don't see the need to leave them on continually and waste power.

YMMV

[fiddlybits]

The only time I've needed a charger was when I had an generator problem.

Drive the car and the battery stays charged. ;-)

[Gold Digger]

I have 2 Optima 6-volt batteries in A's and one is several years old with no problems. The oldest one got discharged last year when someone left the key on by mistake and was left on for over a week. I was worried about charging it up and wondered if it would take charge as it didn't show to be charging for several hours. Came by the charger the next day and it showed charging 3 amps. Left it on a few more hours and it has been as good as new. Maybe it was dumb luck but it charged up for me OK.

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I've never owned an Optima, but have heard of having to charge them in parallel with another 6 volt battery.

My lead/acid battery can set untouched for 6 months of winter and start the car fine in the spring.
Man.........who in their right mind would live where there's 6 months of winter?

'who in RIGHT mind' ?
Left handed people !!

[Aok]

Ive had one for about 6 yrs originally had it in a 47 plymouth I would just charge it with a old ( about 40 yrs) sears 6 volt charger and it charged fine.
I use a 6v wet cell in the A as it in the holds a charge well but I do take the optima as a back up when straying far from home , as it there is nothing to spill it is safe to keep on the floor by the rumble seat.