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I decided to get the Nova out for the 1st time the other day. I decided to trickle charge the battery since it had been sitting so long. I have a red top Optima. I set my charger to 2 amp trickle and let it go overnight. the charger is supposed to shut off when done. I came out in the morning and decided not to take it to work because severe storms were forcasted. I went in the garage to unplug the charger and I hear this hissing sound. Turns out Optima batteries have specific charging instructions IE: <1 amp trickle.
The hissing was the water boiling inside the battery and venting. I ruined a $130 battery because I didn't read the instructions. It's just charging a battery how hard is that??
I decided to try and have it warrantied and it turns out I bought it 3 years ago today, last day for full replacement. I left the lights and radio on all morning to drain it down. I took it in and they tested it. It failed. I got a new one no charge. This isn't the most ethical thing I know but I have been having problems with it since last fall.
Since I saved the money from the battery I will now be buying the right charger for the Optimas. I have a few to choose from ranging from $50 to $130.
Read the instructions even if you have done it 100 times before. I got lucky nothing got damaged besides the battery.
Lewis
The hissing was the water boiling inside the battery and venting. I ruined a $130 battery because I didn't read the instructions. It's just charging a battery how hard is that??

I decided to try and have it warrantied and it turns out I bought it 3 years ago today, last day for full replacement. I left the lights and radio on all morning to drain it down. I took it in and they tested it. It failed. I got a new one no charge. This isn't the most ethical thing I know but I have been having problems with it since last fall.
Since I saved the money from the battery I will now be buying the right charger for the Optimas. I have a few to choose from ranging from $50 to $130.
Read the instructions even if you have done it 100 times before. I got lucky nothing got damaged besides the battery.
Lewis