OK to use trickle charger on Optima battery?
 

Like the title of the thread says...

My friend's Optima was run down over the last couple days by his radar detector. Vehicle won't start now, since it's cold here and being a diesel he has to glow it for a few seconds.

Anyway, I lent him my jumper cables and my jumpstarter/trickle charger. If his battery won't take a quick jump then I told him to pull it and bring it into the house to charge it (he lives in an apartment and the parking garage does not have outlets).

Anyway, is this OK to do on an Optima? Also, since it is a gel or dry cell, does that mean there won't be any explosive hydrogen cloud?

TIA

Those batteries are just like the standard lead acid car battery with two major differences:

1. The acid electrolyte is gelled - regular battery electrolyte is liquid.
2. They cost too much.

Any charging method that applies to a car battery of the equivalent cold cranking amps rating is applicable to them.

Here's a little tutorial on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickle_charging

Gel battery charger
 

I have been told that a Gel battery requires a special charger, I can't validate that personally but please check it out before you commit.

I know a few of the faster chargers have a different setting for AGM (absorbed glass mat - gell cell) batteries, but on trickle chargers, most specify that they work on nearly everything.
If I remember correctly, the only real difference is that the AGM type batteries can't take as high a peak charge rate, because the acid can't boil in them, without doing damage to the cells, where in a liquid acid battery, it can bubble and still function.

The few trickle chargers that I've seen and used all have claimed AGM on their packaging, and have worked fine on the vehicles that I've had them attached to.

I have a charger on my Optima in the Corvette right now. It sits for 2 weeks sometimes, so I top it off occasionally. My charger hits at about 6 amps, then reduces to 1-2 amps over about 3-4 hours, as the charge builds. No problems doing it this way so far, the Optima is about 5 years old and taking the abuse well so far. I have to run a gel type cause GM put the main computer directly under the battery. An acid leak fries the whole system - ask me how I know!

For the MB, I find it a lot cheaper to run a big huge AutoZone battery with lids for adding water occasionally. Water level is the key to battery life in
Texas. I'm on my 3rd battery on an 18 year-old car; no complaints.

DG