[Shop-talk] Trickle Chargers

[Randall]

> But is it OK to charge an Optima using a regular charger as 
> long as I disconnect it after it as charge?

As I read the info at
http://tinyurl.com/339e3j
I believe the answer is "probably not".  Optima is very specific about using
only a "regulated" charger, which is not what I would call a "regular"
charger.  (Or maybe a better way to put that is that my "regular" charger
has no regulation.)

You could probably put most of a charge in with a regular charger, but you'd
need some way to accurately measure the peak voltage during charging.  Since
the charger output is not filtered,  the voltage will vary between battery
voltage and some peak value 120 times/second.  My voltmeter won't read those
peaks, but maybe yours will.  An oscilloscope would be the only other way,
IMO ... and even then, you'd have to (a) sit and watch it constantly, and
(b) not put in a full charge.

Randall