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Battery Know How and Management

Benefits of Battery Management

With effective battery management

–Reduce ‘warranty ‘ handling costs•Replacements, call outs, uncharged labour

–Reduce end user downtime–Maximize equipment productivity–Increase customer satisfaction–Longer, more effective battery life– A better environment

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Desired Outcomes

At the end of this session I hope to have shared with you

– How a lead-acid battery works– Different lead-acid battery types– Battery problems and their causes– effective battery charging method– ideas and practical experience on how to improve dealer and consumer battery experience

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CTEK – Battery Charger Specialists.

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‘The Smartest Battery Chargers in the World’

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CTEK Brief History

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Battery Knowledge

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Purpose of the Battery

Despite many developments in Lead Acid batteries the functions remain the same

–Provide starting power–Power accessories when engine off / idling

–To stabilize charging voltage–Smooth voltage spikes–Absorb voltage surges

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Basic Battery Construction Batteries are made of

five basic components:– A resilient plastic

container. (1)– Positive (lead

dioxide)and negative (sponge lead) plates.(2)

– Plate separators.(3) – Electrolyte, a solution

of sulfuric acid and water ‘battery acid’. (4)

– Terminal Posts,the connection point between the battery and whatever it powers. (5)

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The Battery Cycle

Battery Discharge– providing voltage

source for load– electrolyte has high

sulfuric acid content when highly charged

– acid reacts with plate material to create current

– acid content of electrolyte reduces

– If reduced too far results in ‘flat’ or deep discharged battery

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The Battery Cycle

Battery Discharge– providing voltage

source for load– electrolyte has high

sulfuric acid content when highly charged

– acid reacts with plate material to create current

– acid content of electrolyte reduces

– If reduced too far results in ‘flat’ or deep discharged battery

Battery Recharge– external voltage

(pressure) created to push current (amps) in to the battery

– acid forced out of the plates and back in to electrolyte

– If not correctly controlled will lead to undercharge or overcharge

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The 12V Battery Six cells of 2.12V Each Effective battery

operation only at 12.45V+

Readings below 12.4V require immediate corrective action to avoid ‘deep discharge’ and associated recharging problems

Battery Open Circuit Voltage vs. State of Charge

12.72V 100%

12.45V 75%

12.24V 50%

12.06V 25%

11.89V 0%

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Battery Types- Summary

• Robust• High self-discharge• High water consumption

• Low self-discharge• Low water consumption• Should not be discharged more than 50% due to stratification

• Low self-discharge• No water consumption• Deep-cycle – highest # of cycles

• Low self-discharge• No water consumption• Deep-cycle – many cycles

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3

10

30

100

300

Size[Ah]

14-28Ah

Battery Types and Applications

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Battery Problems

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Most warranty returns are just undercharged!

6.8%

4.2%0.1%

3.8%

85.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Root Cause

Damagedseparators

Defect electrodes

Welding

Othermanufacturingdefects

No defects

178 returns evaluated

To

day

’s p

rob

lem

s

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Battery Problems – Seasonal Use Equipment No1 failure reason for Ride

On’s

Often batteries undercharged at point of delivery – resulting in battery failure within a few weeks

Charging equipment unable to recover / restore batteries

Long periods of inactivity

Exposure to temperature extremes in use and in storage

Regulator / alternator unable to charge batteries to full capacity

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Battery Problems and Causes

Sulphation Overcharge / Fluid Loss Stratification

• Undercharge (recovery from deep discharge, charging system)• Overcharge(charging system)• Temperature extremes• Parallel loads• Inactivity (seasonal use)• Lack of battery awareness at all levels

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Effective Charging

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Battery Charger Evolution

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Linear Basic Linear Automatic Intelligent Intelligent multi stage

Battery Problems and SolutionsSulphation Overcharge Stratification

Desulphation Charge control Recondition

SOLUTIONS

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The CTEK Approach – Total Control

Desulphation AnalyzeSoft Start PulseAbsorption FloatBulk Recondition

= Voltage

= Current

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CTEK Technology Promise The safest, most

effective way to – Recover batteries– Charge batteries– Maintain batteries

Maximise battery life Reduce operator costs Ensure vehicle

reliability

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Practical Steps in Battery Management

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Comfort Indicator

Green:

(≥12.7V) Battery fully charged

Yellow: (<12.7V - ≤12.4V)

Charging battery recommended to avoid stratification

Red:

(< 12.4V)

Charging of Battery needed to ensure starting and avoid sulphation

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Usage Tips When connected to the

charger, the Comfort Indicator flashes green regardless of the charge status of the battery

The battery needs 30-60 minutes to ‘settle’ and to be able to show the true state of charge on the Comfort Indicator status lights.

For the Comfort Indicator to give an accurate reading of battery status the battery itself should not be in use. (Ignition off)

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Comfort Indicator Variants

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Case Study – Car Showroom

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Problem

– Battery discharge due to repeated demonstrations of vehicle accessories

Solution– Showroom charging

programme using CTEK charger and Comfort Indicator

Results– Battery warranty

returns on newly supplied cars almost eliminated

Used by VW, Audi, Porsche, Skoda

Audi Promotional Display

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Thank you for your attention

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