A proactive approach to battery maintenance can extend battery life, improve battery performance, reduce maintenance costs and drastically reduce the money spent on new batteries and old battery disposal. In addition to regular, routine maintenance, it’s important to find charging systems that combine scientifically validated desulfation technologies, notes Zena Johnson of PulseTech Products Corp.
Battery sulfation is a wasting disease that claims the life of 80% of batteries in use worldwide. A comparison would be your home computer when infected with a virus or spyware and overloaded with temporary and junk files, loses speed and efficiency. A utilities tune up to clear up the operating hard drive is necessary to bring systems back to normal operations.
Batteries routinely maintained with chargers incorporating desulfation technology have gained many years of extended life—in some cases up to five times the normal life cycle.
The three main components of a battery maintenance program are:
- Diagnostic testing to enable users to take proactive steps to improve the life of the battery and eliminate unnecessary failure.
- Preventative maintenance to prevent or mitigate premature battery failure.
- Corrective maintenance to reverse or correct a problem that has occurred.
What to look for in a 12-volt battery charger
Safety, “plug and play” functionality and an ability to combine maintenance charging with desulfation to keep battery plates clean and capable of holding a full charge are key elements in selecting a 12-volt battery charger.
It’s also recommended to find a desulfation maintenance charger that can also evaluate and test all types of 12-volt lead-acid batteries regardless of size of CCA rating, including AGM, gel-cell and VRLA. This battery charger makes maintenance and bulk charging simple with proprietary algorithms and microprocessor controlled technology that measures voltage and current to determine the proper operating charge. The variable float charge, of this battery charger, improves battery condition by increasing the charge rate safely to optimal levels and protecting it from being overcharged.
Battery maintenance chargers completely shut off the charge current output to allow the battery to settle, and when the battery’s voltage drops to a certain point, the charger will automatically turn back on and top off the battery. This is safer than a trickle charger, which if left unattended for too long might lead to overheating, causing the battery to boil the electrolyte.
Don’t fall victim to premature battery failure
A validated battery maintenance management program followed faithfully by personnel trained at every echelon, can reduce a fleet’s annual battery consumption by 70% or more.
Preventative maintenance consists of scheduled servicing, inspections and vehicle repairs to prevent potential problems and maximize vehicle availability. Schedules are typically based on time, mileage, engine hours or gallons of fuel used.
Without a maintenance management program in place, fleet and equipment managers can be assured of spending more downtime and more budget dollars on replacing batteries unnecessarily.
