Saving your bike's battery...Optimate 4 It Works!!!
I am a fairly sceptical of marketing claims and dislike it intensely when encountering bull....such as ..."I rode that pass at 200 kmh, or I had no falls on that section usually meaning, no one saw me but I had quite a few, etc.
So when seeing the latest fashion item for those who ride less and the bumff about it, I was both interested but VERY sceptical of the claims.
I had a battery ( the middle-sized one in the pics) which I charged on my regular battery charger. On charging it, it was getting warm, and did not seem to hold it's charge as before, I tried another "intelligent charger" on it ...no joy...still getting warm, and it no longer lasted for as long as I remembered it. ( some of your wives may recognise the problem???)
I bought the Optimate 4 from Biketique...one last gamble with my money, BUT if it does not do as they say I'm going to get money back or post the hell out of it on this forum until I do!!!
Well I put the Willard battery on charge to test the charger, and sat with a cup of tea and read the manual....
Not only do I wear pink shirts, ride dirt and tar, but read instructions!!
In the instructions I found a grammatical inconsistency causing some doubt, so gave Kevin Lewis at Techmate a call...he was willing to talk and it was useful.
Now I also wanted to know the internal state of the battery which I had bought at Vonde batteries in Maitland, sooo after charging for a few days...it ought to be in peak condition...took it along....shock, x1 bad cell when checked with a Hydrometer, the cell at the + terminal...DAMN a 2year old battery...I bought a Hydrometer from them(Vonde) +- R 120.00...a German made...I had bought a Chinese R19.95 one at a local spares shop but it gave no reading whatsoever, hence my visit to Vonde.
NOW I had a real test for this charger a battery with a poor cell and a Hydrometer to check for improvement.
I ran the battery on the Optimate....+- 6 hours then disconnect the charger and switch off for +- 10 seconds, then re-connect and let it charge for about 6 hrs. then off, and re-start...I cycled this 3 or 4 times, then checked the cell with the Hydrometer....it had moved from the upper red section to upper yellow!!!! OKAY!!!
I the started on the mid sized battery, it is a sealed battery so no chance of checking, ( the small one is fine).After a 1/2 day or a day it came up as faulty(red light), so same treatment....on the 2nd attempt at charge same....red light, okay try a 2-3 hr charge and do the re-start thing... as I did with the Willard.... currently still busy BUT no more red light seems as if it is coming right!!
I really believe their claims and going by my experience this is IT, well worth getting !!!!!
Gents if you buy one you owe me a few drinks, this post and pics has taken a fair while.
The batteries and the charger.: The Willard has a poor cell, and the one on charge is problematic, but coming around, it seems.
The med. size batt on charge/recovery.: It is an alarm battery.
The hydrometer
The Dead cell resurrecting!: looking closely the level is upper yellow, not perfect but a real improvement.
Note: Reading the manual and the chat with Kevin Lewis helped, as the trick is to use the charger's de-sulphating mode repeatedly...ie running it for +- 3-4 hrs then restarting the charge cycle; this applies only after finding the battery has a problem.
If this had been used on the battery from early on perhaps this de-sulphating would never have been necessary,it had been run very flat a few times....not good.
I will be taking my bike battery and doing the same, and doing this once every 2 months and see the result, as the 1200 GS batteries are prone to early exits.
Also this is not a fast charger....it needs time, a good battery.....allow about hr per A/hr.
When the battery is ill.....quite a fair bit more. It may take a few days of working on the battery to recover it, how much it may be recovered I don't know. I am waiting to see the results on the medium one.
As a 'fix dud batteries tool' it is a waste of time, as it takes days, and then it won't be a new battery, ...BUT with careful use it can prolong the life of the battery considerably.
A worthwhile buy.
Thanks Neil ....Good Post
Ride Like the Wind
Thanks for the info - This is now on my buying list.
Regards
I had similar success with the OPTIMATE 3+ which I got from Biketique last year. I was not as scientific as Neil but I got the same result. One was a battery on my 650CS. The bike stood unused in the porch for 6 months (I was traveling lots) and despite my wife cranking the engine and leaving the bike running for 15 mins every week, the battery died a slow death. The Optimate revived it. Same thing with the 70Ah Willard battery in my Landrover. The trick seems to be cycling the de-sulphating mode several times.
Thanks for the comments, it was co-incidental that I had all this happen....the medium battery starting to die, and I really thought the Willard was ok and just a top-up charge.
I put my bike's battery on....fortunately fine charged in a few hours...but then it had had plenty time to charge,and may have been overcharged...it was on Geoff's short beginners off-road ride!!
Hi All,
This is Kevin Lewis from TecMate SA. Glad to see that our OptiMate's are helping you out and I can assure you that if used correctly it will make your battery last a lot longer. I can also assure you that if a battery can be recovered our's will do it. If you do a search internationally you will find many such postings from around the Glob. If anyone is looking for a charger for any application please feel free to contact me and I will advise as best I can. In 2010 we have the OptiMate 5, 6, 7 and 8 on it's way and these products have all the inteligence of the OptiMate 3 & 4 but are now getting bigger and stronger for the Auto market and bigger batteries. The best advise I can offer upfront is to always keep your battery maintained and this needs a true intelligent maintainer charger. Many brands say their product can do it all, the facts show this is not true. I am very happy to answer any questions and offer what advise I can. As some of you might know I bought the F800 recently, been on one trip, what a ride. I have however returned with a damaged ( flat spot) back rim. Also a bit of a buckle!!!! Jumping the bumps on gravel at quiet a speed and hit a big hole!!!!!! not so smart but then I do come from Enduro! Flat out was the way to go!! Has any one got any advise as to the option of getting the rim fixed or is it a no no.
Thank you Kevin Lewis - 083 7779783 or 021-5316087
Kevin, I have/had a 12 volt battery with a dead cell, turned it upside down and drained the "muck" from the battery, flushed it out several times and then filled it to the operating level with pharmacy quality battery acid, placed it on Optimate 3 charge and WHALLAH it's "like new". I think the product is excellent.
Is it possible to connect two batteries up in parallel and still achive the same result? And a 6 volt battery on it's own?
As some of you might know I bought the F800 recently, been on one trip, what a ride. I have however returned with a damaged ( flat spot) back rim. Also a bit of a buckle!!!! Jumping the bumps on gravel at quiet a speed and hit a big hole!!!!!! not so smart but then I do come from Enduro! Flat out was the way to go!! Has any one got any advise as to the option of getting the rim fixed or is it a no no.
Thank you Kevin Lewis - 083 7779783 or 021-5316087
I think that the long spurb threw folk somewhat - his post and question has nowt to do with batteries actually, except a small sales pitch :)
read, re-read, and answer the man's question..
Hi
Maybe I missed your reference to it, but how much does one approx. cost? And availble from Battery Centre?
Glad the product helped. Connecting two in parrallel can work in practise but not the correct option. The reason been that a charger must get it's information from one point to insure the intelligence works correctly. If two batteries are connected the charger will normally take the information it needs from the closest battery so no gaurantee that the charging program is correct for the state of the second battery. Can cause big problems. In the perfect world if both batteries are in the exact same state then sure it can. So not a good idea. Buy a extra lead and alternate every week or two. We have a product called the AccuMate 6/12V which will work on a 6V battery. It is also a smart charger designed for long term storage.
Cheers,
Kevin.
Hey Mr. Stripes. Guilty as charged but when something can help a friend I just cannot help to pass the info on. If our product fails anyone, let me know and I will make contact and sort it out.
Ride till you drop.
Do you know of anyone who can advise on my bikes buckled back rim. While driving you cannot even feel it but it certainly has a flat spot and when cleanning the bike and spinning the back wheel it has a slight wobble.
Thanks,
kevin.
Hi Kevin, I had a small buckle in a rim because of loose spokes of a chinese (Conti) 200cc, I took the rim to Boats and Bikes in Killarney Gardens, they sorted it out perfectly for me, and he was really cheap. Give them a call - 021 557 1320.
Hey Mr. Stripes. Guilty as charged but when something can help a friend I just cannot help to pass the info on. If our product fails anyone, let me know and I will make contact and sort it out.
Ride till you drop.
Hey, don't get me wrong, wasn't pointing out your sales glitch - was actually trying to show the folk that it was really a question disguised, so I stripped out the question and suggested someone in the know could answer it..
sorry about the misunderstanding!
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