Failing pump, or controller?

[Ian Sheppard]

I would agree with Ched on battery voltages and a Multimeter which can be a very useful tool to have.

Regarding the controller volt meter accuracy it is +/- 100milli volt. The controller reads the battery voltage every few seconds. Cable length and quality can have an affect on the reading but with the V16 this is minimal.

Cheers

 

[steve garwood]

9 out of 10 times, the battery or a poor connection are the culprits. In so many cases though, the battery is what many window cleaners fail to maintain correctly.

This is so true.
I recently thought my battery was mullered. I iron brushed the terminals and all connectors, sprayed them with terminal protection spray and now my battery is lasting a full day without falling under 50% charge ???‍?

 

[Scots lad]

Not thinking about work other things to enjoy

 

[spruce]

This is so true.
I recently thought my battery was mullered. I iron brushed the terminals and all connectors, sprayed them with terminal protection spray and now my battery is lasting a full day without falling under 50% charge ???‍?

In the 17 years we have done wfp I have only had one failure that wasn't battery related. My Eberspacher Airtronic D2 diesel heater failed to start one cold morning, which I identified as a corroded fuse holder.

Every battery failure has caught me by surprise. A battery that lasted all day giving the impression it was fine, out of the blue didn't last the morning one day. The first thing I know from experience is the battery, but you can question whether it's something else as the battery recovers charge very quickly after the load has been removed.

It's also pointless getting a leisure battery load tested, as doing that could well destroy a perfectly usable battery that just needs recharging. It can't be tested in the same way as a starter battery can be.

 

[Iron Giant]

Another reason why more and more battery manufacturers refuse warranty claims on window cleaner's batteries. As an industry, we are classed as battery abusers.

It takes a long time to fully recharge a leisure battery. In my opinion, the only way to do this is by regularly bench charging it. Even sophisticated battery 2 battery chargers won't fully recharge most of our leisure batteries, as we don't do the mileage.

Even with a battery 2 battery charger, I now 'bench charge' my leisure battery every evening when I get home.

It was once said that possibly an SCR isn't the best option for charging a leisure battery as it charges at a much higher and faster rate were as a good battery charger for bench charging charges at a lower rate I think it was so, therefore, could be better longterm

 

[Iron Giant]

I do quite a lot of mileage as I live out in the sticks and travel into nearby towns for work, I'm definitely guilty of what you mentioned above - my battery and SCR is brand new so I'm unlikely to encounter any issues yet, if you're doing high mileage is it still worth bench charging? The guys at PureFreedom actually told me I wouldn't need to but I think that's because they wanted me to pay extra for the SCR in the first place

I'm clueless about SCRs as I do low mileage around 3k a year as all my work is very local and the furthest I drive is around 3 miles from our house

 

[spruce]

It was once said that possibly an SCR isn't the best option for charging a leisure battery as it charges at a much higher and faster rate were as a good battery charger for bench charging charges at a lower rate I think it was so, therefore, could be better longterm

So many experts have so many differing opinions regarding battery maintenance that it's confusing to know what's right and what isn't tbh.

Numax tells us that a leisure battery shouldn't be charged at more than 10% of its capacity. So my 105amp battery should only be charged at a maximum of 10 amps.

After a full day without moving my van, my 60 amp battery 2 battery charger will kick off with a 'pulse' charge of around 48 amps. But within a few moments that charge rate will drop very quickly to around a steady 8 amps. A 140 amp SCR will be the same. At that moment my leisure battery will accept a charge of 48 amps, but then 8 amps is all that the battery will absorb. Yes, we could get a little more than 8 amps into the battery by increasing the charge voltage, but that has too many risks.

I have never let my leisure battery go low on charge, but I assume that the battery will absorb a much higher charging amperage when in this state. This won't be good for a sealed, maintenance free battery as gassing can occur.

A starter battery is the same. It may be able to provide high amps for a few moments to start the engine, but it again will only accept limited charge to replenish that.

 

[Daftoldgit]

Re the original post - a few days after i posted the thread I did a conservatory roof, on full pump power
Afterwards I turned the flow back down andit was much better than it had been, Ithink I blew something out by having it on full pressure for a half hour, either an airlock or maybe some debris?