OPTIMA Digital 400 or the Digital 1200?

If you have a question, you can always call us on our customer service line at 1-888-8-OPTIMA (867-8462) during normal business hours, send us an e-mail at info@optimabatteries.com, but we try to answer as many of the common questions as we can here.

Today's question comes from Alexander C, who asks: Please help me choose between the OPTIMA Chargers Digital 400 or Digital 1200. I am leaning towards the Digital 400, but am I missing any important features by not getting the Digital 1200 instead? I am going to use it for charging our household's OPTIMA Group D35 YELLOWTOP batteries, plus older flooded battery types.

That's a great question Alexander and one that we know is on the minds of many consumers. The short answer is that both chargers will be able to charge your YELLOWTOPs and other older 12-volt flooded lead-acid batteries. However, the Digital 1200's 12-amp maximum charge rate will allow it to charge batteries faster than the Digital 400, which only has a maximum charge rate of 4 amps.

Some of the additional features on the Digital 1200 include an integrated LED work light on the positive charging clamp, a USB charging port compatible with iPads, iPhones and other cell phones and cameras, as well as an auxiliary battery maintainer port and cable for stored vehicles.

The Digital 400 is significantly smaller, although both units are very portable and the Digital 400 does have more options for mounting and storage. The Digital 1200 is more expensive than the Digital 400, but if you buy an OPTIMA battery from us at the same time you buy a Digital 1200 charger from us, we will add an additional year of warranty coverage to your OPTIMA battery.

Ultimately, the answer probably comes down to your application. If you plan on using the charger on a regular basis to recharge deeply-discharged batteries, the Digital 1200 will probably be the best choice. If you just need a maintainer to keep the battery on your car, boat or motorycle topped off during the winter months, the Digital 400 can handle that without a problem.