5/12/2017 TheBatteryCapacityDischargeTest

TheBatteryCapacityDischargeTest
WrittenbyWilliamC.ShumayJr.forArconEquipmentInc.,publishedintheMaterialHandlingWholesaler
copyrightWilliamC.ShumayJr.
Formorearticles,pleasevisithttp://www.arconequipment.com

Uncertaintyaboutthecapacityofanelectriclifttruckbatteryisbadforbusinessbothyours(ifyouareamaterialhandling
equipmentdealer)andyourcustomers.Newbatteriesareclearlymarkedwithanamperehourrating,butthatvalue
cannotbeusedasmuchofaguidelineasthebatteryagesandisexposedtoyearsofonthejobabuseandneglect.

Eventhebestindustrialbatteriesloserunningcapacitywithage,thoughitisclearthatsomeholdupbetterthanothers.
Assomeonewhodependsonknowingenoughaboutyourequipmenttocertifyitssuitabilityforagivenjob,youhavea
bigstakeinknowingjustwhereyourelectriclifttruckbatteriesstand.Thekeytothisisanindividualbatteryevaluation
thatincludesan"industrystandard"6hourdischargetest.

Theresultsofatestwilltellyouthepercentageofcapacityremaininginthebattery(ascomparedtothe
"nominal"ornewrating)aswellasseveralotherimportantthings:

1.Thetestreadingswillshowhowabatterybehavesoncharge:whetheritwilltendtoheatup(anduseexcessive
amountsofwater),orcausechargercontrolstoterminatethechargecycletoolate,forexample.

2.Anevaluationbyanexperiencedbatteryservicemanwillgiveindicationsabouttheadvisabilityofinvestinginrepairs
thatmayberequired.Althoughrawtestdatamayshowthatreplacementofseveralcellsisneeded,itisthejudgmentof
theevaluator(whoconsidersbatteryage,evidenceofabuse,andotherfactors)thathelpsyoumakethecriticaldecision
toundertaketheexpenseofamajorrepair.

3.Thebatteryevaluationcangivecluesaboutthehistoryofthebatteryinservicechronicoverwatering,overcharging,
improperstorage,orroughhandling,forexample,thatcanhelpyouinfuturetransactionswiththesupplierofthe
battery(oroperatorofthefleet).

4.Acapacitydischargetestandevaluationcanprovideyouwiththeinformationyouneedtomakeanywarrantyclaims
forwhichyoumayqualify.

5.Evenifyoudonotundertakemajorrepairs,abatterythathasbeenprofessionallytestedwillcomebacktoyou"tuned
up"andinimprovedconditionbecause,amongotherthings,ithashadextended"equalize"chargingandelectrolyte
(acid)strengthadjustment.

6.Abatteryevaluatorwillalsodiscussproperbatterychargingwithyou,andmakecertainthatyouareusingacharger
withthecorrectrating.Batterytestresultsmaypointbacktobatterychargerproblemsthatcansubsequentlybe
remedied.

Whathappensduringabatterytest?

Asabatteryownerorlifttruckservicemanager,youhavejustmadethedecisiontosendabatteryoutforanevaluation.
Youmayneedtoknowthevalue(orperformancecapabilities)ofabatteryrecentlypurchasedforresale,oryoumay
havehadreportsofunusualbatterybehavior.Poorbatteryvoltagemayhavebeenthesourceofhighcurrentdamageto
yourrentalunits(burnedmotorsandcontrols).Perhapsthetruckersjobassignmenthaschanged,andnowyouneedto
knowifitcan"gothedistance".Theseareallimportantreasonsforsendingabatteryoutforatest.

Onceinthebatteryshop,yourbatteryischeckedforelectrolytelevelandanydeadorshortedcells.Allconnectionsare
checked,andthebatterysabilitytoacceptanormalchargerateisverified.

Ifanormalchargingbehaviorisindicated,thebatteryisgivenafullequalizingcharge(1112hours)tobringallcellsupto
fullcharge.Ifthebatterydoesnottakefullchargingcurrent,sulfationofthecellplates(causedbylonguncharged
storageorotherfactors)isinvestigatedasapossiblecause.Inordertoreversesulfation,aspecialchargingprotocolcan
beused,whichmaytakedaysofconstantcurrent(athigherthannormalvoltage)beforethebatteryisreadyfortesting.

Afterthebatteryhasreceivedafullequalizingcharge,thespecificgravity(anindicatorofacidconcentration)ofeach
cellselectrolyteismeasured.Measuredamountsofconcentratedacidareadded(inacarefullycontrolledmanner)to
cellsthathavelostacidduetooverfloworleakage.(Undernormalconditions,acidadditionsarenotneededbyabattery
becauseonlywaterislostintheevaporationprocess).

Itisonlyaftertheabovestepshavebeentakenthatameaningfulcapacitytestcantakeplace.Afteronefinal
measurementthereadingandrecordingofeachcellsfinishratevoltagethebatteryispluggedintoaconstant
currentloadbanktobeginthesixhourcapacitytest.Theloaduseddependsonthebatterycapacity:theloadbankmust
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5/12/2017 TheBatteryCapacityDischargeTest
maintainacurrentequalto1/6thebatterysamperehourratingforthedurationofthetest.Individualcellvoltage
readingsarerecordedathourlyintervalswithmorefrequentreadingstowardtheendofthetest.

Anindepthevaluationanddiscussionoftheresultswrapsuptheprocedure.Expecttoendupwithabatterycapacity
figure(expressedasapercentageofanewbatteryscapacity),andsolidadviceabouttheadvisabilityofinvestingmoney
inanyindicatedrepairs.Remembernoshorttermtestthatinvolveslessthanseveralmonitoredhoursofhighcurrent
loadcangivethebatteryownerasreliableasourceofinformationastheaboveprocedure.Whenoneconsiderstata
batterytesthelpsdeterminethefutureofanexpensivepieceofequipment,itisclearthatagoodtestisgoodbusiness.

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copyright20052010ArconEquipmentInc.

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