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SpicyBlimp
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PostPosted: 23:04 - 10 Jul 2009    Post subject: Optimate Reply with quote
I'm off to sea for 5 months on tuesday, could i leave this plugged in for the whole time, or just for a couple of days a month?

Thanks, Iain
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SpicyBlimp
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PostPosted: 23:43 - 10 Jul 2009    Post subject: Re: Optimate Reply with quote
Vincent wrote:
Iain 007 wrote:
I'm off to sea for 5 months on tuesday, could i leave this plugged in for the whole time, or just for a couple of days a month?

Thanks, Iain


Yup, you can leave it plugged in, it'll top the battery up as and when needed.


Thankyou Thumbs Up Very Happy
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Clanger
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Joined: 27 May 2004
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PostPosted: 11:32 - 12 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mine is plugged in constantly. The alarm unfortunately takes a lot off the battery when it's stood still, so the trickle is the best thing to keep the battery alive. Smile
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 12:38 - 12 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
As others have said, optimate is designed to be capable of being left on 24/7! Thumbs Up

With 5 months away, you might want to consider some fuel stableizer too though?? Thinking

e.g. https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=MCYCLE&pcode=PUTFUELSTAB

To be fair, 5 months you can probably get away with, but if you wanna be safe/sure, go for some stabilizer too! Cool
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SpicyBlimp
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PostPosted: 02:15 - 13 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've brimmed the tank so should get away with it, the bike will be getting wheeled around a bit too to stop anything happening to the tyres, should be alright fuel wise, just need to screw the optimate thingy to the battery tomorrow Thumbs Up
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iooi
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PostPosted: 08:56 - 13 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Unless your bike has a alarm, why bother....

If no alarm, then simply disconnecting the battery will stop any drain, and save the risk of fire, should something fail.

TBH 5 months with it connected should not harm it in any way.
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SpicyBlimp
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PostPosted: 10:01 - 13 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
iooi wrote:
Unless your bike has a alarm, why bother....

If no alarm, then simply disconnecting the battery will stop any drain, and save the risk of fire, should something fail.

TBH 5 months with it connected should not harm it in any way.


It has a Datatool S4 Thumbs Up
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 15:35 - 13 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
iooi wrote:
...
TBH 5 months with it connected should not harm it in any way.


Shocked

I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement!!
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iooi
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PostPosted: 17:18 - 13 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Blue_SV650S wrote:
iooi wrote:
...
TBH 5 months with it connected should not harm it in any way.


Shocked

I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement!!



If there is no alarm connected then why will it harm the battery ? Sure there will be some drain, but not enough to do any harm to a good battery. A recharge before use will have it fully charged in no time.


The Op, has stated he does have a alarm, so if its left for 5 months without being started. Then there could well be a issue of a flat battery.
Personally if someone is going to be moving the bike from time to time i would ask them to connect it up for a while, rather than leave it connected all the time.
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 17:43 - 13 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
iooi wrote:

If there is no alarm connected then why will it harm the battery ? Sure there will be some drain, but not enough to do any harm to a good battery. A recharge before use will have it fully charged in no time.


The Op, has stated he does have a alarm, so if its left for 5 months without being started. Then there could well be a issue of a flat battery.
Personally if someone is going to be moving the bike from time to time i would ask them to connect it up for a while, rather than leave it connected all the time.


Batteries self-discharge (at a shocking rate), you need to keep on top of them ... they get to a certain stage and they desulfate and its game over for that battery!! ...

{looks for yuasa 'official' numbers/info }clicky

"Self Discharge

One not-so-nice feature of lead acid batteries is that they discharge all by themselves even if not used. A general rule of thumb is a one percent per day rate of self-discharge. ..."

So even left out of the bike and on a shelf ... 100 days (~3.3 months) and it'll be flat as a pancake!! .. worse than that, it'll be so dead you have little chance of it recovering even if charged as it will have desulfated by then Wink

Even after half his time away (2.5 months) that is ~75% discharged all by itself!! Shocked
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iooi
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PostPosted: 20:35 - 13 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Great bit of info.. Thumbs Up

Quote:
So, I can just set it and forget it, right? Well, not exactly. For one thing, you need to monitor the battery occasionally for correct fluid level (unless you own a sealed battery). Another problem is that of exercising the battery. Even if held at 13 volts, the unwavering voltage will allow the battery to eventually begin to sulfate. With most of these units, I recommend that you unplug the charger at least once every 60 days during seasonal storage. Allow the battery to rest for a couple of days, and then plug the charger in again. One charger that I’m aware of, the 1.5 amp Yuasa unit, has a feature found mainly on the aforementioned high priced RV chargers. It drops off the float charge and sends the battery through a complete new charge cycle every 28 days, thus eliminating the need to do that manually . There may be other motorcycle units that do that, but I’m not aware of any.



So even leaving on a Optimate is not recomended by them...

Love the bit in italic's.... Nice push of their own product.
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 22:29 - 14 Jul 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
iooi wrote:
Great bit of info.. Thumbs Up

Quote:
So, I can just set it and forget it, right? Well, not exactly. For one thing, you need to monitor the battery occasionally for correct fluid level (unless you own a sealed battery). Another problem is that of exercising the battery. Even if held at 13 volts, the unwavering voltage will allow the battery to eventually begin to sulfate. With most of these units, I recommend that you unplug the charger at least once every 60 days during seasonal storage. Allow the battery to rest for a couple of days, and then plug the charger in again. One charger that I’m aware of, the 1.5 amp Yuasa unit, has a feature found mainly on the aforementioned high priced RV chargers. It drops off the float charge and sends the battery through a complete new charge cycle every 28 days, thus eliminating the need to do that manually . There may be other motorcycle units that do that, but I’m not aware of any.



So even leaving on a Optimate is not recomended by them...

Love the bit in italic's.... Nice push of their own product.


Interesting ... Optimate say summin different clicky

"All major battery manufacturers recommend maintaining starter batteries FULLY CHARGED during periods of non-use. OptiMate 4 is totally safe for months-long connection and maintenance of irregularly or seasonally used batteries even while still connected to the vehicle. The sophisticated charging algorithm ensures no risk of over-charging."

Who to believe?!!? Thinking Laughing

Clearly if the OP can get a someone to stick it on charge overnight every coupla weeks, then it's the best of both worlds and will have a perfectly happy battery on his return!! Thumbs Up
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Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 17 years, 56 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
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