How long are optima batteries good for

And when you think your battery is acting funny, it can be a real problem to figure out the cause. Optima batteries are different from a traditional battery because of their construction, but you can still figure them out with a couple of tools.

In this article, we'll take a look at how to determine whether your Optima is bad, whether it's salvageable, and why you might need a special charger or traditional battery to recharge it. Optima batteries work a lot like regular batteries with some added features. Starting batteries are designed to be discharged a little , then be charged up fairly quickly by your charging system. Basically, the starter skims off some electricity from the battery for starting, and it's rapidly refilled once you start up.

Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged a lot , then charged up. In this case, a winch, a stereo, or an on-board 12V fridge scoops a lot of electricity from the battery, and then it's refilled by your charging system. Make sure you choose the right Optima battery for what you need. First, you need a multimeter or voltmeter. It needs to measure battery voltage, so you'll want to set it correctly. Most multimeters have a "20 VDC" position, and that's where you want to be.

You need to take fairly accurate readings of your Optima's voltage. We've found that some of the cheaper multimeters out there aren't always very accurate like that free one from Harbor Freight so keep that in mind if your readings are right on the edge of a zone.

Lastly, you should have a charger that charges AGM batteries. Many people don't know this, but a conventional battery charger won't work with an Optima battery that's discharged below You can also use a regular battery charger with a regular battery to charge an Optima. Read more on that below.

For some reason, many of us overcomplicate our solutions and diagnosis of problems We do it here at Roundforge too! Before assuming your Optima has gone bad, check your battery connections for corrosion and tightness. This is probably one of the most common problem people have with batteries, but it's often not checked. This means:. Clean corrosion with sandpaper so that you connect to clean, bare metal.

Use a wrench to make clamps and other connections reasonably tight but not so tight that you damage a battery post! Bad connections and particularly bad grounds are one of the easiest problems to fix but often one of the last things that we check! Always check your connections first! Before you start, make sure your Optima is "charged". What we mean by this is that it should be in whatever state you think is charged, whether that means that it's been on a charger for a bit or that you just drove around for a while.

The point here is that you didn't just pull the Optima out of your shed where it's been sitting for the last 6 months, or that you're not testing it after using it to power the disco ball at your neighbor's midnight rave party. We want the battery in a normal state.

To begin, switch your multimeter to 20VDC or whatever will get your multimeter reading somewhere in the range of 12 volts DC.

Put the red probe on the positive Optima terminal and the black probe on the negative Optima terminal. Anything in this range means that you have normal charge and you're in the right range for an Optima.

If your Optima is in this range and you think it should be charged, it's not taking or not holding a charge. This usually means that your battery is sulfated, which happens when it sits for a long time not charging or is deeply discharged when it shouldn't be.

Or it's just old. When you come to a complete stop, the engine shuts off. When you press on the accelerator, the engine starts up again. A vehicle that gets driven on a mile commute at 45 mph every day of the year won't be as hard on a battery as a vehicle that sits most of the year and only sees occasional use. When battery voltage is properly-maintained, batteries tend to last longer. When batteries sit in a partially-discharged state for extended periods of time, batteries tend not to last as long and that's true for both flooded and AGM batteries With those factors in mind, we typically can't offer a specific number of years as an answer to the question of how long an AGM battery might last, because every application is different.

This way we can better understand why we are spending this amount of money on an Optima battery. All batteries are different in their own way, but most automotive batteries are either flooded batteries or AGM batteries. AGM batteries mean absorbed glass mat, this means unlike and their flooded counterparts. The AGM battery does not run the risk of leaking battery acid out into your engine bay, or interior of your vehicle.

By being an AGM instead of a flooded battery, Optima batteries are more resistant to vibration and movement. Optima is one company that can say that they use With newer vehicles being very particular on how much voltage they receive for their electronics, having a reliable battery is vital to the operation of your car. Knowing your battery will last longer should give you peace of mind. With the battery location in most newer vehicles becoming more difficult to access.

Optima batteries are known for their rare design, using the AGM technology with a cylindrical shape. The design is what everyone in the automotive world knows this battery. You can forget the name of the battery, but as soon as you say, you know the circle battery thing, people know precisely the battery you are describing.

Talk about amazing marketing! Optima batteries Spiralcell Technology and the So this is why Optima batteries cost more than their competitors, but how does an AGM battery work?

Prevent yourself from being stranded on the highway with an overheated vehicle. AGM batteries or Absorbent Glass Mat batteries keep their battery sealed and enclosed to make it a maintenance-free battery atmosphere inside itself. With the negative plates compressed tighter, these batteries can charge quicker than its competitors.

By doing so, it can keep a charge longer and answer all of those higher power demands newer vehicles need. Whether it is an extensive audio system or multiple onboarding electronic features like DVD systems, heated seats, and GPS systems. This battery is the answer to our high power needs. The battery is built by using stronger cases, and the negative paste can accept a charge faster.

All of this, while the positive paste in the battery improves cycling performance for the higher accessory applications that were previously named. The separators are made our of glass microfibers so it can soak up the battery acid. This way, you do not have to worry about a spill. It also gives the battery the capability to be installed anywhere in the vehicle.

By doing this, less waste is created when making this type of battery with manufacturers. Keeping the plates inside the battery will increase the reliability of the battery, increasing its lifespan, and increasing its resistance against vibration as well. Here is the link to Amazon to see the present-day pricing on an Optima Battery. Yes, an AGM battery is going to be better for your vehicle due to how it is made. As stated before newer vehicles need a high power supply to deliver the power requirements their systems require.

Gone are the days that your vehicle will still start with a lower battery charge. Each function in a new car requires a different amount of voltage to be able to operate correctly.

It used to be that your vehicle would start if your battery were at 11 volts instead of the factory With newer vehicles, your car might power on, but it will not start due to the fuel system requiring a higher amount of power needed. This is a great example and shows that newer vehicles would operate much better on an AGM battery instead of a flooded battery, as shown in this article by Battery University.

Also, if your flooded battery dies, the first thing someone thinks is to jumpstart the battery back to life. Jumpstarting can be fatal to a newer vehicle due to the increased amount of sensitive electronics that are in the car, so be careful to jumpstart your vehicle correctly. It is always vital to keep your vehicle running strong for you for years to come. Check out my article highlighting the 12 Crucial Maintenance Things to Check on your car to keep your vehicle running strong for you!

Optima batteries are known for their long lifespan and high price tag. But the lifespan of Optima batteries used to be around ten years. The lifespan can range between six and eight years.

How many years the battery lasts all depends on the amount of use and how they are stored.