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How Optima Batteries Endure in Tough Off-Road Conditions

By Steve Temple We?ve all been there: the top of a mountain, the depth of

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forest or a hidden oasis in the middle of the desert ? the perfect end of a long day on the trail and your weekend adventure. Of course, you use all your auxiliary lights to set up the secluded campsite. And while the stillness is intoxicating, why not also crank up the tunes to get the party started? Next day you?re eager to start exploring. You double check your gear, strap yourself into your seat, turn the ignition and all you?ve got is a clicking solenoid ? the death knell of your big plans for the day. You have a dead battery, an automotive component we rarely think about until it fails. Let?s face it, conventional batteries just don?t hack it in the dirt. They?re great for citified sedans that live in garages, roll on asphalt and generally keep all four wheels on the ground. But your rig does none of the above and requires a non-conventional battery like Optima. It?s more than just Optima batteries? deep-cycle stats that handle off-key accessories without a near-death experience. Just about everything we do with our off-road rigs is deadly to traditional batteries. The difference between ordinary and Optima is in the SpiralCell technology. All batteries generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction. In the case of auto batteries, this reaction results between lead and lead-oxide immersed in a strong acidic electrolyte. Ordinary batteries use lead plates submerged in 10 / ORA MARCH 2010 a vat of acid, literally inviting corrosion both on and around the battery. Ordinary batteries are also finicky in weather extremes and susceptible to vibrations. The Optima battery also uses lead and acid, but that?s about where the similarities stop. The high-purity lead (99.9 percent pure) plates are tightly wound with a glass mat that absorbs the electrolyte like a sponge. What?s the advantage of this design for off-roaders? ?The AGM (absorbent glass mat) material holds the acid in a tightly wound cell to eliminate acid spilling and increase

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