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I was wondering about charging my optima blue battery between rounds on high charge, so I called Optima directly to get answers. They said, charge it as fast as you want, but don't let the battery exceed 125 degrees. Obviously that must be the point they boil out the liquid? I have been pulling back into the pits and putting the charger on "start" for years, but really can't say how much I have gotten away with. Only that this didn't destroy the battery for the passes I made. Battery life seemed to be good, but again, no records to show just how much I put it through.



In no way I intend to slam Johnson Controls (I work with them closely) but in most cases manufacturers will say many things! The 125 degree statement is true!
Can you apply a 50 amp charge to an Optima? Yes, for a short period of time.
Now, there are several things that will effect how the charge is accepted.
1) what is the state of charge in the battery when the charger is attached?
2) What is the "health" of the battery?
3) What is the beginning temp of the battery when charging begins?
These and a host of other conditions dictate how the battery accepts a charge and how it affects the life of a battery. Your Blue top battery will handle overcharging better than say a Red top. The Blue top is designed as a deep cycle battery. That means the "plates" in the battery are thicker and the amount of water and acid is greater (it takes more heat for a greater time for the pressure to build to critical.
I will make one suggestion to anyone with a Yellow, Blue top Optima or any "flooded" deep cycle battery. To extend the life of the battery, when done for the season or if the battery will not be used for greater than a month, disconnect the battery and attach a sealed beam headlight with alligator clips and leave it until the battery is COMPLETELY dead. Then recharge at 2 amps until it is FULLY charged. I say FULLY charged because any charger that uses electricity (not sound waves) to charge will only charge to 80% state of charge! This will help ensure that the battery will retain full reserve capacity!

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