Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/140126
Here a bad battery has been evaluated and it reads 9.8 volts. It's also letting you know this battery is deeply discharged, but the 1200 was able to bring it back to a service-ready condition. the left side. From that point on it's automatic. SMART CHARGER If you are not sure of the battery type, don't worry – the 1200 is smart enough to set itself to the correct charge mode the moment you make a selection. (I tried fooling the charger by hooking it up to rechargeable 12V overhead door opener batteries and alarm backup batteries. It knew better and the digital readout told me to read the owner's manual.) From that point forward you just monitor the center gauge's digital readout that features a full text LCD display for charging, maintaining and fault mode indication. "The charger will determine the best-possible rate of charge, and works completely automatically to charge (and then maintain) the battery," says Optima's Scott Parkhurst when asked about the new digital technology. "The 1200 has a real 'set it and forget it' level of intelligence. But, the gauge design and constant feedback it provides lets the technician 'feel' they're interacting on some level," says Parkhurst. "The way the 1200 automatically checks a battery out, determines what it needs, delivers the best-possible charging algorithm, Readout shows the Optima Digital 1200 is preparing to finish the charge on cranking battery that was reconditioned. The gauge shows 10.4 volts, and the charger is feeding the battery only .2 amps to bring it up to a fully charged condition slowly. and then maintains that charge at the highest level is a great way for contractors to maintain their fleet's 12-volt batteries." I liked the way it shows the battery's state of charge from 0-100 percent and how many amps the 1200 is putting in to it (0-12 amps.) The Optima 1200 will also show fault messages, which it did on two of the six batteries that had internal shorts where the cells had failed. There's no guess work involved. BACK FROM THE DEAD On deeply discharged batteries (several of the ones I played with had pre-charge voltages down in the 2-3V range) it will try to recondition them. (Sometimes it succeeds. Sometimes the battery really is junk.) The Optima 1200 saved two flooded-cell cranking batteries in my test through reconditioning. A third (non-Optima AGM) deepcycle that read 2.5 volts before the charging process began was also brought back to life. Not a bad deal when you A sample of dead batteries we put on the Optima Digital 1200 charger. It brought one back to life. The others had internal faults that prevented them from taking/holding a charge. consider a decent wet-cell cranking pickup battery costs upwards of $125 and a deep-cycle AGM closer to $200. Saving just one battery from the scrap heap a year means the Optima 1200 will pay for itself in short order. Oh, it can also be used to automatically maintain a battery on a piece of seldom-used equipment. It goes through a 30-day, 3-hour check/charge cycle when left attached. Need a quick boost for your iPad or smartphone? No worries. It has plug-ins on it to accommodate those as well! For more information on the Optima Digital 1200: www.optimabatteries.com/us/en/shop/ charger; (888) 867-8462 Optima 1200 digital battery charger takes guesswork out of maintenance; keeps some batteries from going to the scrap heap propickupmag.com PROPICKUP 41 PP0613_Optima 1200 Review.indd 41 5/8/13 8:15 AM