Show CartThe importance of exercising and reconditioning your batteries is emphasized by a study carried out for the U.S. Navy by GTE Government Systems. To determine the percentage of batteries needing replacement in the first year of use, one group of batteries received charge only (no maintenance); another group was periodically exercised; and, a third group received recondition. The batteries studied were used for two-way radios on U.S. aircraft carriers.
With charge only (charge-and-use), the annual percentage of battery failure was 45%. With exercise, the failure rate was reduced to 15%. By far the best results were achieved with recondition, where failure rate dropped to 5%.
The GTE report concluded that a battery analyzer featuring exercise and recondition functions costing $2,500 would return its investment in less than one month on battery savings alone.
So, to wrap up our segment on battery memory, exercise and reconditioning, here are a few simple guidelines:
- Do not leave a nickel-based battery in a charger for more than a few days, even on trickle charge.
- Exercise nickel-cadmium batteries every 1 to 2 months and nickel-metal-hydride batteries every 3 months. Running the battery down in the equipment may do this also.
- Do not discharge the battery before each recharge. This puts undue stress on the battery.
- Avoid getting the battery too hot during charge. The temperature should only rise for a short moment at full charge, then cool off.
For additional information, visit www.batterygiant.com