American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 226 May 2018 | Page 52
OptiMate 7 Select – 12 V,
10 A ‘Ampmatic’
A lot of people think 10 amps is too much for
motorcycle batteries, but with the average touring
motorcycle engine headed towards 1900cc (115 c.i.)
and increased demand for power from accessories
(such as entertainment, route finding, routing,
heating, seat and screen adjustment etc), battery
sizes have already been creeping up to 20Ah and
over.
Modern AGM lead-acid technology has advanced
rapidly, making it possible to accept high current
charge. The OptiMate 7 Select is the ideal companion
for those larger batteries as well as the entire range
of smaller batteries.
“OptiMate 7 Select has a number of features that
make it one of the smartest chargers out there,” says
TecMate CEO Martin Human. “Starting with the
Ampmatic charge control that adjusts charge current
to match the condition and size of the connected
battery, so a small battery gets less amps than a large
one. It also adjusts output voltage according to
ambient temperature - a lesser known fact is that in
hot weather a battery should be charged at a lower
voltage, otherwise you risk losing that power giving
electrolyte acid that cannot be replaced in modern
AGM batteries.”
There are, of course, high-power AGM batteries now
available that can deliver more than the stock
battery, but they demand a higher charge voltage of
14.7 V to get the most out of them – “so the
PARTS AND ACCESSORIES
OptiMate 7 Select has an additional hi-performance
14.7 V charge mode.
“Then there’s the diagnostic power supply mode that
provides a stable 13.6 V with 8 amps of power
available, ideal for modern motorcycles that cannot
be tuned without special diagnostic tools – and
those tools need a fully charged battery to diagnose
and update without interruption.”
Martin reckons that the battery save mode on the
OptiMate 7 “has the best one out there, as it can
save a ‘dead’ lead-acid battery from as low as ½ a
volt (0.5 volt). One characteristic of many chargers is
that the more powerful and feature-rich they get,
with faster charge rates, the greater becomes their
own power requirement.
“In fact, the OptiMate 7 has efficient conversion
technology not typically found in battery chargers –
technology such as its on-board power factor
correction and synchronous rectifying, reducing
power consumption to less than half than that of
other 10 amp chargers, and also less than many 5
amp chargers.
“Also, always check into the versatility of any charger
you are considering – the OptiMate 7 runs on any
voltage from 100 V to 240 V. Plus, available OptiMate
7 models for modern AGM motorcycle batteries
come with different plugs - TM-250 (EU), TM-251
(NA), TM-252 (UK).”
TECMATE
Tienen, BELGIUM
Tel: +32 (0)16 805440
www.tecmate.com
www.optimate1.com