Battery Care & Maintenance

Taking good care of your battery will help to extend its service life. For tips on how to keep your battery in top condition, please follow the links below.

Regular testing and inspection will help to maximize battery life. A routine inspection at least once a month is recommended to maintain optimum performance.

Use the following as a guide when examining your battery:

• Take care of the cleanliness of the battery, observe for corrosion and rust.
• The battery should be kept inadequate space.
• Check for the level of the electrolyte and maintain the level of the electrolyte as specified by the manufacturer
• Check for any leakage in the battery.
• Always pour distilled water if the level of water goes down and fill 75% only. If the water
• filled fully and when we kept the battery on the charge it spills over the battery and floor.
• Check the battery voltage between terminals and terminal to earth.
• Do not keep the battery in an ideal state for a long time. Keep continuing charge and discharge regularly.
• Do not discharge the battery more than 80% of their rated capacity.
• Check the connections on the terminal it should be tight and apply some grease over it for protection against corrosion.

 

 

Safety & Handling

The following symbols are generally used on most if not all batteries and mean the following:

 

 

Battery Maintenance Safety Tips

Performing maintenance on flooded lead-acid batteries is simple, but one should always think about safety first. According to a variety of occupational safety and hazard organizations, several people in India are injured each year while working with or around lead-acid batteries.

To prevent accidents or injuries when working on or around batteries, it is important to implement these 10 safety procedures:

1. Always wear protective eyewear and gloves. The electrolyte in flooded lead-acid batteries contains sulfuric acid. The electrolyte can not only damage clothes, but it will burn skin if left untreated. If you come into contact with the battery’s electrolyte, wash and flush the area with water immediately. If it comes into contact with your eyes, flush immediately with water for 15 minutes and promptly seek medical attention.
2. Eliminate sources of sparks or flames. Charging lead-acid batteries produce hydrogen and oxygen gases from the electrolyte. When performing maintenance on lead-acid batteries, a spark or flame can ignite these gases and could cause the battery to explode.
3. Keep metal tools and jewelry away from batteries. Non-insulated tools or jewelry can run the risk of arcing if accidental contact is made between a battery terminal and grounded frame or another terminal. Also, gold or silver jewelry can become extremely hot if contact is made. Always wear gloves and use insulated tools to remove terminals and battery hold-downs.
4. Use caution when removing a lead-acid battery. Lead acid batteries are heavy and many accidental injuries occur when lifting or moving batteries by hand. Use a battery carrier or make sure you have a good grip on the battery and have the strength to hold it safely.
5. Keep a neutralizing solution close by. A baking soda and water solution neutralizes the sulfuric acid in the battery’s electrolyte. Create a small solution in a jar or container and keep it close by. If some electrolyte is accidentally spilled, you can immediately use the solution to clean the area, then rinse with water.
6. Use the correct type of charger. Not all battery chargers are the same or work properly on a flooded lead-acid battery. Refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations on how to properly charge the battery and make sure your charger provides the best algorithm that maximizes battery life and power output. Battery charging should always be done in a well-ventilated area.
7. Maintain electrolyte at proper levels. Never use a garden hose to fill batteries. Use only distilled or deionized water in a watering pitcher, water caddy or an automated watering system to properly fill batteries. Never fill battery cells above the level indicator. If the electrolyte level is below the tops of the battery plates prior to charging, add just enough water to cover them. Once the battery has been fully recharged, bring the water level up to approximately 1⁄4 inch from the bottom of the fill well indicator. Never fill a low cell all the way to the fill well indicator before charging.
8. Store batteries in a cool, dry and ventilated area. If you store large quantities of batteries, be sure the area is clear of any heat sources, flames, and sparks. Clearly post “No Smoking” and “Flammable” signs in the area.
9. Make sure battery vent caps are fully seated in place. Loose or improperly seated vent caps can spill electrolyte and expose the gases inside the battery to conditions that could cause an explosion.
10. Dedicate an area for battery maintenance. Prevent accidents by dedicating an area for battery maintenance that has properly insulated tools, protective wear, a wash station, ventilation, and plenty of workspaces.

 

Battery Recycling

These days, many types of equipment we use run on either battery or gas. The common thing about these two elements is that you can use them until they get exhausted. When they do, it is the usual practice to refill gas or throw old batteries away and get a new one.

However, disposing of batteries could create a large portion of waste in the environment. Besides, batteries are widely-used and come with lots of harmful material. So, disposing of them may not be a great idea. A substitute for throwing your battery away is recycling them.

What is Battery Recycling?

Just before getting to what is battery recycling, just what are batteries. Well, a battery is a material that contains electro-chemicals and can convert chemicals to electric usage.

Battery recycling is the reuse and reprocessing practice of batteries aimed at reducing the number of batteries being disposed of as material waste. Batteries contain several poisonous chemicals and heavy metals and their dumping has attracted environmental concerns due to contamination of water and soil. As such, batteries need recycling to comply with environmental and health benefits.

Typically, you can use a battery to supply power to different devices. These devices include phones, cars, and lamps. You can also power a house with batteries as another source of electricity supply.

Now, batteries cannot be in use forever. At some point, they get either spoilt or non-functional. And that is where battery recycling comes in.

Battery recycling involves processing waste batteries. The goal is to ensure you can re-use them rather than disposing of them. And this is very important because this reduces the number of batteries disposed of improperly.

You should know that batteries contain poisonous substances and metals. And when you regularly dispose of batteries, their components may lead to water and soil pollution.

So, it would be best if you guarded the environment against these harmful effects. Even more, with recycling, there is less need for new battery production, which contributes to the world’s material waste.