Battery, Optimate --- HELP

[Mr K]

2004 model, still on original battery.

Optimated during periods of inactivity... 43k+ ....heated grips, spots, heated vest, sat-nav....OEM alarm..



Watch the fecker be goosed tomorrow...

 

[Wapping]

2004 model, still on original battery.

Optimated during periods of inactivity... 43k+ ....heated grips, spots, heated vest, sat-nav....OEM alarm..

That's impossible

Sorry, Bill

 

[Fanum]

Sorry, Bill

Oh, well if you're going to sink that low

You've lost any trace of dignity you may have once retained, falsifying evidence like that.

You ploppy head


And yes, you may well remember a plea about a battery- that was after the five years and it finally gave up its ghost

PS I bet you can't jump start a diesel Land Rover from a 1200 like wot I can

 

[Womble]

I don't know about the latest Optimates, but when I purchased my Hawker Odyssey battery, the only approved trickle charger was a C-Tek Multi XS3600. This is due to the amount of current/voltage the charger puts out, without the instruction manual to hand I couldn't tell you the exact figures.

Check Hawkers website for approved chargers, if you buy an Odyssey (or similar AGM technology cell) you need to check which charger is compatible otherwise you may damage the battery or void the two year warranty on it.

I did a lot of research when I bought my Odyssey, as I already had an Optimate and I wanted to make sure that I didn't need to buy another charger. If an AGM battery is deeply discharged, it needs a particular trickle mode to kickstart the charge process, and the C-Tek has this capability. I've never let a battery get into that state, and by having the Optimate, it's never likely to happen. A year and a half later, it's still going strong.

 

[Womble]

Batteries are designed to go through cycles- to be discharged and recharged.

If you keep it in a fully charged state all the time, it's not being used as it was designed.

I have no scientific data or theory to back any of this up, but my gut feeling (and hearing about so many batteries failing even though (or because) They've been on charge all the time) tells me a battery should be used as intended....cycled properly.

Muscles cramp, Screens burn in, bows harden and crack, the natural order of things is to work then rest and recover......chemicals settle and drop residues, stressed things crack......It's just not natural I tell you

Lead acid batteries work best if kept fully charged. If you start the bike with the battery only partially charged, you age the battery more than if its fully charged, and the more that you do it, the shorter the life of the battery.

Older trickle chargers weren't sensitive enough and were capable of boiling a battery dry by overcharging - they just took a few weeks to do it. Optimates and similar intelligent chargers are capable of adding just enough charge to the battery to top keep it exactly charged, and then stop. They will not damage the battery, and by keeping the battery fully charged, they should keep the battery in a condition where it's going to last as long as possible.

I've not got servo brakes on my 1150, but I've heard that using them can be a real battery drain, and therefore if you use them a lot just before you park, you're more likely to leave the battery partially drained and shorten its life. Badly installed kit that's not on a switched power feed is another classic battery killer - for instance, don't assume that your boring looking satnav mount doesn't draw any power, because some of them do.

It would be interesting to hear how many of the people whose batteries don't last have servo brakes, or what extra kit that they have, e.g. which alarm, satnav mounts, intercoms etc.

 

[Wapping]

Oh, well if you're going to sink that low

You've lost any trace of dignity you may have once retained, falsifying evidence like that.

You ploppy head


And yes, you may well remember a plea about a battery- that was after the five years and it finally gave up its ghost

PS I bet you can't jump start a diesel Land Rover from a 1200 like wot I can

I'll come quietly, guvnor.

You've won your bet, too!

 

[conncarr]

Cycling batteries

Batteries are designed to go through cycles- to be discharged and recharged.

If you keep it in a fully charged state all the time, it's not being used as it was designed.

I have no scientific data or theory to back any of this up, but my gut feeling (and hearing about so many batteries failing even though (or because) They've been on charge all the time) tells me a battery should be used as intended....cycled properly.

Muscles cramp, Screens burn in, bows harden and crack, the natural order of things is to work then rest and recover......chemicals settle and drop residues, stressed things crack......It's just not natural I tell you

Different types of batteries have different requirements. If you take an old fashioned mobile phone, the battery has to provide a fairly small constant load for a long period of time with no recharge. NiCad batteries have a 'memory' effect, and need to be fully run down before recharge in order to provide the longest time before recharging. If you have noticed, the latest Li-Ion batteries no longer recommend discharging and can be plugged into the charger all the time if required. This is because Li-Ion has no memory effect.

A car or bike battery has a very different requirement. It has to provide several hundred amps of cold cranking current once at the beginning of a journey. After this point the vehicle charging system should provide enough power to run everything on the vehicle AND recharge the battery. A short journey will not be sufficient to fully recharge, especially if lots of aftermarket goodies are using some of the spare capacity of the charging system.

In addition, all batteries have a charge decay period and WILL lose charge if they are left for longer periods of time without being recharged (either by vehicle or external charger). Whether this will be enough to prevent starting of the vehicle will depend on the quality and age of the battery, the state of charge in the first place and how long it is left for.

In conclusion, a bike or car battery needs to remain fully charged in order to supply its cold starting amps. Either ride regular long distances (10 miles +) or keep your battery topped up with a specifically designed maintenance/trickle charger. Optimates or that other one mentioned are fine connected directly to the battery, the BMW one will work through the can-bus system (i.e. the standard BM auxilliary socket).

Brian

 

[Palerider]

Some interesting posts there. I use an Optimate and always have done for all bikes I've have ever owned.

For simplicity I have fitted a separate DIN socket on my GS directly fitted to the battery - that way when I arrive home I just plug in my optimate (instead of going to the bother of taking the seat off!) and switch it on.....

P

 

[Mezza]

I've never used an Optimate before, so if I bought an Optimate 4, can I use this lead to plug the Optimate into the accessory socket of my 1150GS ?

TIA,
Rich

edit: ooops, just noticed this is in the 1200 section, but hopefully someone knows, thanks.

another edit: found the answer here: http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164557&highlight=optimate


Thanks

 

[drifter]

Odyssey battery on my 1150, never use an Optimate and it'll always start first time after being left for 2 months.

05 1200GS, changed after similar problems. I invested in an Odyssey battery and have not looked back, never had need of charger and mine until last week lay outside in freezing conditions and rain for maybe a few weeks between starts as I have been quite busy in other ways.

 

[Fluffy Bridges]

By far and away the best way to get the most out of a battery is to use it hard and often, but charged.

I have a Guzzi 1100 SPT (95 on an N) with two Yuasa YTX 9BS, 12v/8ah batteries that were original fitment, truly. They died this year in May which made them 11+ years old. They resided on a CR Developments Battery Master charger not dissimilar to an Optimate in it's function if not it's visage.

The '07 GSA's original battery failed CW's discharge test after 5 months use 'cos I mentioned it was a bit sluggish of a morning in comparison to the Guzz. "Have a new one" they said, "but for chrissakes put it on an Optimate and give it a run in the evenings if you're only using it for the 6 mile run to work" (you plonker, - they didn't say that, but I felt it.) So I did. No further probs.

By a strange coincidence, prior to the GSA I had a K12RS from new for 10 years that also had it's battery die within 6 months which was subsequently put on an Optimate (the one the GSA is on now) with no further probs.

CW did say that for whatever reason the R12's need a bit of a run to replenish the battery after the effort of start up, for whatever reason, a situation I am happy to abide by! About 400 miles each time should do it!

Moral: Ride 'em often, ride 'em hard, but put 'em to bed with a hottie bottie and all will be well.

 

[LiquidLAN]

Batteries are designed to go through cycles- to be discharged and recharged.

If you keep it in a fully charged state all the time, it's not being used as it was designed.

I have no scientific data or theory to back any of this up, but my gut feeling (and hearing about so many batteries failing even though (or because) They've been on charge all the time) tells me a battery should be used as intended....cycled properly.

Muscles cramp, Screens burn in, bows harden and crack, the natural order of things is to work then rest and recover......chemicals settle and drop residues, stressed things crack......It's just not natural I tell you

ah... now I see... we are talking about humble opinion...


Like Wapping, my experience over a number of years has been that Optimate (the same unit) has kept batteries charged and in condition on both my previous bikes. I fine the BM does loose charge over time, I don't religious keep it in the Optimate, but if its standing for long periods it gets put on charge.

two and a half years later the original battery is still going (when I last checked) the only time its failed me was having been left off charge for a number of weeks when I had to jump start it off the LC, been ok since.

oh and blah blah blah, I've bypassed the canbus and run a couple of extra dins direct to the battery, I charge it that way...

 

[Greg Masters]

Gosh, there's some strong views on this. Here's mine:

• The more discharged a battery is, the faster it will sulphate
• The warmer it is the faster it will sulphate
• Desulphation cannot be completely achieved
• The above points can form a process loop
• A sulphated battery is shagged
• Colder weather requires more battery oomph to start the bike

So my golden rules:

• Never discharge the battery* more than I need to (ie don't leave it stopped with lights one etc)
• Always recharge an unavoidably partially discharged battery asap
• Always use an Optimate (or similar) when parked up

Result: My OE BMW battery is now 8 years old and works just fine!



Greg

*NiCad, NiMH etc batteries use different chemistry and different rules apply.