It's Dead

"Quick, grab the scrubber and get these warehouse floors cleaned, Corporate is dropping in for a visit tomorrow!"  And, upon getting to the scrubber you unplug it from the charger, turn on the key........and nothing.  Turn the key off, then back on again.  Still nothing.  No power.  Isn't that just perfect, this thing has been sitting on charge for over a month and when you finally get to using it, it won't run.

                                                               

In the absence of a structured maintenance program, battery powered cleaning equipment may not get used every day....or every week.....and in some cases can go even longer periods without getting turned on.  Did you know that simply because machine is plugged in to the charger, it doesn't necessarily mean that your batteries will be fully charged when it comes time to use it?  There obviously can be a number of reasons for this, and I'm going to touch on one that you can do something about.  Let's take a closer look.

Typically, your 24 or 36 volt battery powered sweeper or scrubber has a charger which will automatically shut off when your batteries become fully charged.  This is a good feature as it protects your batteries against the damage associated with over-charging.  In most cases, once that charger has shut itself off, the only way to turn it back on again is to un-plug it from either the machine or the wall outlet, and then plug it back in again.  (Some of today's newer chargers will reset with an on/off switch, but it still requires someone to physically do it.) 

Deep-cycle industrial batteries, usually the type of battery found in your sweeper or scrubber, will discharge by themselves over time, even when not being used.  Remembering that your machine's charger automatically shuts off after fully charging, this means that when your battery powered equipment is parked for long periods of time it will begin losing its charge.  Sitting long enough could mean losing most or all of it, even though it's still plugged in.

I recommend charging your battery powered sweeper or scrubber at least once a month if it isn't charged more regularly than that.  Remember, that may mean disconnecting and re-connecting power to the charger if it stays plugged in to your machine while not in use.  Better yet, incorporate that regular maintenance schedule you planned to implement when you purchased your machine.  At least then you can take care of that part of the visit from Corporate!

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