Jan 1998

OptiMate Pro-8

Some Background Information

· Sealed maintenance-free batteries as used on motorcycles are very different from similarly described batteries as used in automobiles, because their cell construction employs separators of glass-wool which reduce the amount of space available for battery acid. The acid therefore has to compensate for it’s lesser volume by an increase in density and concentration, resulting in a set of electrochemical parameters rather different from those of conventional or automobile type sealed batteries. Because the acid these “MF” motorcycle batteries require is “special” & not standard battery acid, & so as to avoid errors, the special acid is always delivered together with each battery in a specially configured sealed pack which has to be fitted to the entry ports on top of the battery so as to slowly fill the battery at a controlled rate in order to avoid air bubble entrapment. Entry of the acid into the battery is normally done only when the battery is required for installation on the motorcycle, as the stockist cannot be sure when the next demand for a particular battery may occur. Having allowed the acid to trickle from the special pack into the battery (about twenty minutes), the agent must then allow the battery to stand for at least thirty minutes to allow the electrochemical reactions (that create the charge within the battery) to take place. It is then advisable to give the battery a preliminary charge for thirty minutes. The delay implicit in this procedure each time a battery is delivered to an end user is very frustrating for both seller & customer, & inevitably results in parts of the correct commissioning procedure being shortened or even omitted completely. This then inevitably results in a warranty claim on the battery, or at best, a much shorter service life.

· The OptiMate PRO-8 resolves these difficulties by allowing the battery dealer or distributor to keep a selection of the fastest selling batteries always perfectly prepared & fully charged for immediate delivery without any time pressure on seller or buyer. Because 8 batteries, (each one may be quite different from the others), can be connected simultaneously to the one charger, each battery to it’s own independent automatic charging programme, the battery dealer needs only to check each evening which batteries were sold off the PRO-8 that day, and to fill with acid & connect to the charger new replacements for those sold. They will in turn then be ready for delivery to possible customers by the next morning & may be left connected for days, weeks, even months, until a customer requires that particular battery. Meantime the circuit will automatically maintain the battery in perfect status. The seller must only check that the green LED indicates the battery is “O.K.” once initially charged. Batteries receive the green LED “O.K.” only once the circuit has conducted three automatic checks:

· That the battery has no internal short-circuit.

· That the battery is truly fully charged.

· That the battery is able to retain adequate charge after the maintenance mode charging input has been interrupted for 45 minutes.

· The genius of the OptiMate PRO-8 is that it performs these diagnostic feats without involving the user in any decisions or requiring the user to possess any technical know-how. A quick glance at the series of four different-coloured status-indicating LEDs, traffic light style, is all that’s required.

· Of course the OptiMate PRO-8 is also perfect for conventional motorcycle and other types of lead acid batteries including starter & deep-cycle type batteries. And the batteries don’t have to be new thanks to a special automatic diagnostic circuit independently administered on each of the 8 charging output circuits, the OptiMate PRO-8 determines whether the battery is already deep discharged or sulphated and automatically raises it’s charging voltage on that circuit to as high as 20 Volts in order to overcome the battery’s abnormal resistance to accepting the charge. In this way many batteries which would otherwise become irrecoverable through winter-long neglect are easily recoverable and recharged automatically by the OptiMate PRO-8, which is therefore ideal for overnight or prolonged maintenance of used batteries in vehicle showrooms & workshops, for the over-winter maintenance of customers’ batteries, “old-timers” & special collectors’ vehicles.

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