Tips for Fleet Managers: Extend battery life & reduce TCO
Trojan Battery Company and Flow-Rite collaborate to create solution that simplifies watering, saves time, improves performance, and extends battery life.
Lead-acid batteries continue to be the power technology of choice for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and dealers in many motive applications because of their proven durability and reliability. There’s always been one catch – the importance and need for regular routine maintenance, specifically proper watering.
Trojan Battery Company and Flow-Rite have collaborated to create the HydroLink™ Watering System that simplifies the watering process. By doing so, the two market leaders are improving performance, extending battery life, and reducing the time to properly maintain deep-cycle batteries.
Proper Watering Protects Lead Plates
Proper lead-acid battery maintenance can minimize performance and longevity issues. As batteries are used, water evaporates, dropping the electrolyte solution level, potentially exposing the lead plates. If this occurs, the plates can be damaged, ultimately affecting the battery’s ability to hold a charge and causing it to degrade over time.
Conversely, overfilling flooded batteries can lead to loss of acid. This also reduces the electrolyte level, which can inhibit battery performance. Frequent charging in this state can cause irreparable damage to the lead plates, leading to further losses in battery capacity and shorter overall life.
Small Up-front Cost for Long-term Savings
HydroLink™ has been developed to prevent these issues. It requires a small upfront investment and little training, making it a practical, user-friendly accessory for Trojan flooded lead acid batteries.
When considering the overall financial benefit of keeping a full fleet of golf carts or floor cleaning machines powered up regularly, the cost of the HydroLink™ system is negligible. The overall investment is smaller than switching to other battery technologies with potentially longer lifetimes, further establishing lead-acid as a top choice.
"One of the reasons people choose lead-acid is the low up-front price compared to other technologies," said Thomas Weiss, Trojan Battery Director of National Accounts for North America. "Making maintenance easier ensures their batteries stay in use for as long as possible."
Properly watering deep cycle batteries helps save on repairs and replacements. In fact, the most common reason manufacturers deny warranty claims is improper maintenance, so having a tool that makes this process easy will lead to greater return on investment (ROI) for dealers.
Simple, Safe, and Effective
Staff at OEMs and dealers responsible for battery maintenance have a long list of other responsibilities, which can make watering an afterthought. Whether it’s a fleet of golf carts that see multiple rounds a day or floor scrubbers that clean warehouses weekly, maintenance should not be rushed or ignored. To that end, HydroLink™ streamlines the watering process because it is simple to use. In fact, minimal training is necessary.
“Making the watering process easier does more than just save time,” says Flow-Rite Business Development Manager Todd Cowan. “Improper watering can expose workers to hazardous chemicals, creating serious safety risks if not handled properly.”
Recognizing the need for simplicity, Trojan and Flow-Rite developed the HydroLink™ with easy-to-read water level indicators – white on the indicator display means the battery needs water and black means it is full. The result is the proper water level every time. HydroLink™ also has internal and external flame arrestors, further enabling safer operation and maintenance.
Reducing Downtime
While use and temperature can affect flooded lead-acid battery watering frequency, the general consensus is it should be done every 1-2 weeks. From checking each cell level to adding the proper amount of water, the time lost from essential maintenance procedure can add up when being performed on entire fleets of electric motive vehicles.
One reason improper watering occurs is the time it takes in this rushed environment. The HydroLink™ Watering System turns a typical 10-minute process into a 30-second one because its unique snake tubing allows it to connect to multiple batteries without removing them from golf carts and floor cleaners. Reducing the watering time so dramatically also limits equipment downtime, further improving overall efficiency.
The collaboration between Trojan Battery and Flow-Rite adds benefits that further make flooded lead-acid batteries an even wiser choice for motive applications. It creates a solution that simplifies the watering process, helping to preserve battery life and improve performance, resulting in lower total cost of ownership (TCO) better ROI.