PRI 2011: OPTIMA Puts the Power to Performance

Lead-acid batteries have been around for a long time, taking their place under the hood for as long as there have been cars. Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries haven’t been around quite as long, but they still have a lengthy track record in both performance and severe duty applications. OPTIMA’s yellow, red, and blue top batteries have become almost synonymous with AGM, and over the years they’ve taken a lot of punishment at the hands of their customers.

To show just how much an OPTIMA battery can take and still keep delivering the electrons, at PRI 2011 they displayed their “Wall of Power” showcasing batteries that had been burned, submerged, dragged, dropped, and subjected to every form of abuse you can imagine, and all of them had one thing in common – they still work.

ProTip: Don't let your battery lean against the headers or bake in an engine bay fire, even if it is an OPTIMA

If, unlike those customers, you’d like to actually take care of your AGM battery, OPTIMA had just the thing. Available early next year, the Digital 1200 battery charger/maintainer will handle both high performance and conventional AGM batteries, as well as regular flooded lead acid cells, and is compatible with starter and deep cycle batteries. If features an intuitive “gas gauge” display to convey charge state, as well as advanced electronic controls that analyze the battery’s state of charge, fight sulfate buildup, and automatically switch from charging to maintenance mode.

Digital 1200 Features:

Spark free connection technology
Reverse polarity and over temperature protection
Ambient air temperature compensation during charging
Maximum 12 Amp charge rate (microprocessor controlled)
AC input range of 90 to 135 volts
DC output 13.3-14.9 Volts, digitally and temperature controlled

Charging clamps with built in LED illumination - why didn't we think of that?

The Digital 1200 has a lot of well-thought-out physical design features, too – intuitive controls, separate connections for the included ring-terminal maintenance charge cable, and even a high-output USB charge port, if you happen to need to top up the battery in your iPad while you work on your car.