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©2019 JBT LEKTRO, INC. All rights reserved.
October 2019
LEKTRO 88/89 SERIES - OPERATION MANUAL
5.7
CHARGING THE BATTERIES
LEKTRO tractors are equipped with lead-acid deep discharge batteries. These batteries are
designed to be substantially discharged during long periods of use and then fully charged with
one continuous charge. Ideally, the tractor should not be operated when the battery charge falls
below 20%. Always charge the batteries before they are depleted to this level.
Note
By contrast, regular automotive batteries are designed to be only partially discharged
(e.g. when starting the engine) and then continuously charged while the engine is
running.
A battery will sustain a finite number of charging cycles. A cycle is a single period of continuous
or intermittent discharging followed by recharging. This is true whether the battery is drained to
75% or 30% before recharging; however, the depth of each cycle affects the remaining cycle
life. For example, discharging a battery below 20% and then recharging that battery counts as
far more than one cycle. In general, a deeper discharge requires more equivalent cycles to
recharge the battery to 100%. A single discharge can equal three (3) equivalent cycles, which
can significantly reduce battery life.
Maximizing the battery life span therefore requires striking a balance between the longest
discharges to get more cycles per period of operational use and avoiding excessively deep
discharges. Actual tractor operational needs will sometimes involve trading off a shorter cycle to
allow opportunity charging if extended tractor or GPU use beyond the normal operating
frequency or demand is forecast.
Note
Opportunity charging is acceptable, provided that the batteries are on charge for no
less than 60 minutes (one hour).
Always connect the charger to an AC power outlet that will supply uninterrupted power
overnight. A charger that shuts off when the facility closes for the night may not fully charge the
battery and may also waste cycles.
AUTHORED BY ANTHONY HERNANDEZ - (415)786-2081 - [email protected]
