Exide Technologies has launched a new range of monobloc batteries featuring spiral wound AGM technologies. The drysafe RECUP (short for recuperation) batteries require no maintenance (including topping up) as the electrolyte is suspended in an Absorbed Glass Mat. The main benefit is that they offer superior high power performance (such as large power draws over short durations) and are well suited for fast and/or opportunity charging as they can accept a high charge.

They are ideal for a range of applications including:

·electric pallet trucks

·automated guided vehicles

·hybrid and electric cars (especially those that use regenerative braking)

·electric boats

·go-karts

·cleaning machines.

The spiral-wound design gives a greater surface area of positive and negative plate within the cell and is the most efficient way of liberating the stored energy from a lead acid battery. As well as being maintenance free, they are vibration resistant, can operate effectively in low temperatures and have minimal health & safety implications – due to the electrolyte being suspended in a glass microfibre mat; no electrolyte is spilt even if the battery case is damaged. They can also offer 450 charging cycles.

The drysafe RECUP batteries are best used in conjunction with high efficiency chargers such as Exide’s compact 2100 range of chargers (also available in on-board versions).

The technology has already been used successfully in record-breaking electric cars and boats as well as the ground-breaking Project ULTra personal rapid transit system at London Heathrow.

Public Relations by Freestyle PR - part of Freestyle Marketing Nottingham

Labels: Exide Technologies

Exide Technologies’ supply motive power batteries to customers around the globe and it’s not unusual for satisfied customers to request a replacement battery at the end of its service life. But Exide staff were recently surprised to get a request from a Mauritius engineering company wanting a price for a replacement battery on behalf of a customer’s Toyota forklift truck – whose original battery was 15 years old! Unsurprisingly, the customer was keen to replace the battery with one of the same type from the same manufacturer.

Jean-Marie Nuteau of Ray & Lenferna, Mauritius comments, “The customer has stuck to a regular maintenance schedule and operated the truck, battery and charger within good-practice guidelines which goes to show what can be achieved with the right product. Fifteen years service is a remarkable achievement, especially when you consider the battery has been operated in a tropical climate.”

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Labels: Exide Technologies

It isn’t often that a random customer enquiry results in a whole change of sales strategy for a company, but that is exactly what happened at JTT Equipment Services Ltd of Grantham. JTT is the sole distributor of Bitimec Speedy Wash equipment in the UK and Eire. They have been selling mobile brush wash equipment to bus, coach and haulage companies since 1982 and until recently, the majority of systems were diesel powered, although battery powered versions were available. In 2009, a customer asked how much it actually cost to recharge the 4 onboard batteries over the 9 hour recharge period. Richard Benson, JTT’s Sales Director contacted Andrew Helan, Sales Manager at Exide Technologies and was staggered to find that it was just 49p with a modern high frequency charger – offering a run time of around 4.5 hours. This compares with an equivalent £4.50 for diesel.

“The benefits don’t stop with fuel costs alone” comments Richard. “Diesel has associated implications for storage and safety. Diesel engines require maintenance every 150 hours – involving changes of air, oil and fuel filters costing £70 alone. Some of our bus and coach customers have depots in built up areas and need to clean vehicles overnight. Diesel engines throbbing away overnight doesn’t do much for a company’s local relations. The battery powered units are so quiet that you can actually have a conversation with the operator. It also means that they can be used indoors.”

Richard has chosen Exide Technologies’ maintenance free Sonnenschein monobloc gel batteries and high frequency SP chargers. “The chargers are smaller than a shoebox and can be plugged into a standard single phase socket. They are a truly ‘fit & forget’ power source. The chargers come with a 5 year warranty and although the batteries have a standard 1 year warranty, we have not had one single battery need replacing in the four years we have been using them. In contrast, users of the diesel variety need a service contract in order to meet warranty conditions. The battery versions simply need a quick annual safety inspection. Because of our partnership with Exide, we can provide customers with the peace of mind that no matter where they are situated, Exide’s nationwide coverage means that an engineer is never far away should a problem occur with the battery OR charger. The fact that we’ve not had one call out is testament to the quality of the products. All batteries are certainly not created equal.”

Richard continues,” In 2007, battery powered units accounted for 10% of total sales, in 2010 that figure will have risen to 60%. Some customers have a misguided opinion that battery powered units will not be as powerful or reliable as their diesel counterparts, but nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that these units may actually be more suitable for some fleets than a ‘Drive-Through’ which are quite expensive to run, have more stringent regulations imposed upon them and may be susceptible to Legionnaire’s disease. One of our customers was finding the maintenance cost of his drive-through prohibitive so swapped it for one of our ride on units.”

For further information on Exide’s range of products, contact Elaine McLeod on 01204 661212 or email elaine.mcleod@eu.exide.com.

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Public Relations by Freestyle PR - part of Freestyle Marketing Nottingham

Labels: Exide Technologies

Following the success of Exide Technologies’ 2100.Net battery management system, the battery and charger manufacturer has launched two additional systems, one of which is suitable for smaller fleets – iBOS Basic and iBOS Pro. iBOS stands for Intelligent Battery Organising System. The Basic version is designed for small to medium fleets of up to 31 chargers in the same group. iBOS Pro is ideal for medium to large fleets with over 31 chargers. iBOS maximises the life of a battery fleet by ensuring optimum use.

The beauty of Exide’s iBOS system is that it can be retrofitted to any fleet; there are no limitations on the make of chargers it is suitable for use with. The main function of iBOS is to ensure correct rotation and charging of batteries. It does this by monitoring charging regimes, advising operators of the next battery available and giving warnings if an incorrect battery is taken. It will also highlight faulty equipment.

iBOS Pro can manage an unlimited number of batteries and provides in-depth analysis reports – including remote access from anywhere in the world as long as an internet connection is available. Although the system collects huge amounts of data, it is capable of disseminating it into compact and user-friendly reports.

Jon Wells, Technical Projects Manager of Exide Technologies comments, “Incorrect battery charging and incorrect usage are the two main reasons for a short service life of a traction battery. Previously, the benefits of a battery charging management system were only within the reach of large organisations; now Exide brings these benefits to all users.”

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Public Relations by Freestyle PR - part of Freestyle Marketing Nottingham

Labels: Exide Technologies