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IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE and RELIABILITY
of LEAD-ACID BATTERIES
- The fundamental question to ask is:
"What's the cost of battery failure in my application?"
Some factors to consider:- Loss of productivity: (disrupted deliveries, delayed contract schedules)
- Cost of further equipment failure: (premature alternator failure)
- Cost of damage: (battery compartment corrosion due to excess gassing)
- Cost of the inconvenience and time wasted: (breakdown far from service and support organizations)
- Safety and security considerations: (consequences of alarm and UPS failures)
- Loss and wastage of perishable goods: (as a consequence of refrigeration failure)
- Cost of ad-hoc battery maintenance: (at remote communications sites)
- The total cost of battery failure is often much greater than the one-time cost of Megapulse
Financial:- Longer battery life = lower battery replacement costs
- Reduced maintenance costs = alternators last longer
- Longer time between recharging electric vehicles = better utilization of golf carts and fork-lifts
- Shorter time to recharge electric vehicles = better utilization of golf carts and fork-lifts
- Lower down-time = better utilization of trucks and construction vehicles
- Cost savings much greater than the one-time cost of Megapulse
Performance:- Full power for the life of the battery
- Reliability of electrical systems in marine, communications and security applications
- No loss of cranking power in starter motors, even on cold mornings
- Electric vehicles work properly with full torque - no degradation of performance
- Electric vehicle shorter charging time, longer useful time between recharges
- Lights, electronic components work properly - not starved of power by failing battery
- Long-term battery reliability - how much is that worth?
Compatible with all lead-acid batteries
- Megapulse is compatible with all types and sizes of lead-acid battery, including:
- Standard flooded (lead antimony)
- Hybrid flooded (lead antimony, lead calcium)
- Silver calcium flooded
- Gel
- AGM
- VRLA
- Starter
- Deep cycle
- Maintenance-free batteries
More information about these different battery types here
The sulphation problem explained
- During its life, a lead-acid battery such as the one in your vehicle, yacht, golf cart, airplane or back-up power supply accumulates a deposit of lead sulphate crystals that is not reversed during recharging. This process is known as battery sulphation.
- Sulphation reduces the battery's ability to store charge, so it runs down more quickly.
- Sulphation reduces the maximum current that the battery can produce, so high-current loads like starter motors turn more slowly, lights become dim, electric pumps fail, etc.
Sulphation gradually builds up to the point where the battery becomes unusable. Performance deteriorates to such an extent that starter motors fail to turn over an engine, golf carts run slowly and cannot go as far as usual without needing a recharge, emergency back-up systems fail just when they are needed.
At this point, conventional wisdom declares the battery 'dead' and it is replaced. 84% of batteries so discarded are not dead but simply paralyzed by sulphation (Battery Council International statistic).
If it were not for sulphation, the battery would be quite serviceable and reliably produce power for many more years. There is, however, a simple and effective solution to sulphation ...
Megapulse is an electronic battery desulphator. By eliminating sulphation, the performance of the battery does not degrade significantly over its useful life, and for 84% of batteries a considerably longer life with better performance can be expected. The graph below illustrates this.
Full power & performance for the life of the battery
This chart is not to any particular scale and is designed only to illustrate the general principle
- Blue curve:
- A conventional battery's performance deteriorates from day 1 and lasts to the point where it is declared dead (red dashed line). (It is quite possible that the battery has already suffered some sulphation while in storage prior to purchase.)
After a period of marginal performance lasting some months (orange segment), the battery reaches the point where it is unable to deliver the minimum required performance e.g. start a petrol/diesel engine, go the distance in an electric vehicle. At this point the battery is replaced, and the cycle then repeats with the next battery.
In 84% of the cases, the battery that is replaced would be still serviceable, if it were not for the build-up of sulphation that has killed the battery performance.
- A conventional battery's performance deteriorates from day 1 and lasts to the point where it is declared dead (red dashed line). (It is quite possible that the battery has already suffered some sulphation while in storage prior to purchase.)
- Green curve:
- With Megapulse fitted from new, the battery maintains almost full performance for its entire life. Any sulphation that has developed prior to purchase will be reversed after a few weeks.
End of life is typically due to the deterioration and collapse of the battery plates due to genuine old age.
Thus Megapulse makes batteries last longer - life can be twice as long or even much more, depending on the circumstances of its use. Perhaps more importantly, the battery does not deteriorate during its lifetime. This means: no period of marginal performance has to be tolerated, no concerns about reliability during its active life.
As well as making batteries last longer, there are many knock-on benefits resulting from using Megapulse, such as reducing alternator failures, batteries boiling and drying out, etc.
- With Megapulse fitted from new, the battery maintains almost full performance for its entire life. Any sulphation that has developed prior to purchase will be reversed after a few weeks.
What Megapulse does
- Megapulse is an electronic device that prevents and reverses sulphation in lead-acid batteries. It is primarily designed to preserve new batteries in peak condition, but can also be used to revive sulphated batteries with substandard performance.
Sulphation is the leading cause of battery failure.
Removing sulphation:- Extends the life of a battery until it fails for some other reason
- Maintains the full performance of the battery over its lifetime
- Prevents reduction of voltage, reduction of cranking amps, loss of charge capacity
- Helps prevent shedding of sludge due to vibration
- Helps prevent overheating and electrolyte boiling off
Simple to fit
- Megapulse is connected directly across the battery (or battery bank) terminals.
Once installed, it needs no further attention. Fit and forget! Simple and effective!
Megapulse is environmentally friendly: Lead is known for its damaging effects on human health. By significantly extending battery life, Megapulse reduces the need - and thus the energy required - to recycle batteries. Where recycling is not available, Megapulse helps reduce toxic waste and pollution in the environment.
Megapulse details and specifications
-
Megapulse is a microprocessor controlled device that can be permanently connected across the battery terminals of any lead-acid battery of any type including sealed, gel and AGM, starter and deep-cycle.
Megapulse has two modes of operation: (HI) starter (LO) deep cycle battery applications.
Voltage specification:
Megapulse model options:
6v 12v 24v 36v 48v
Maximum battery capacity per unit:
Reviving ageing batteries: 750Ah
Maintaining new batteries: 1500Ah
(Use multiple units in parallel for larger batteries)
Warranty against manufacturing defects:
5 years from date of purchase
Certification:
Megapulse Products:- ISO 9000 / 9001
- C tick
Megapulse First Aid for Batteries:- CE
- ISO 9000 / 1
- EMC
- C tick
Click here for more information ...
- Megapulse specification
- Megapulse Mk.5 data sheet
- Megapulse Mk.4 data sheet
- The two battery killers: sulphation and electrolyte stratification
- Pictures of a sulphated battery, and how Megapulse fixes the problem
- Technical information about Megapulse and battery sulphation
- Choosing the right Megapulse for your application
- Working out the capacity of a battery bank (e.g. as in a golf cart)
- How to install the Megapulse battery conditioner
- Megapulse & filter unit dimensions
- How to charge lead-acid batteries
- Comparison of Megapulse to other desulphation methods
- PowerPoint presentation for trucks, buses, construction vehicles
- PowerPoint presentation for electric vehicles (golf carts, fork-lifts)
- Test reports from CSIRO, IEMW, Technische Universität, Vienna and Unitech Energy
So if you are tired of ...
... batteries that only just manage to start an engine
... golf carts that barely make it round 18 holes before slowing down to a snail's pace
... vehicles, trucks, earthmovers whose batteries fail to power all instrumentation properly
... replacing alternators/generators worn out by charging failing batteries
And if you want to maintain your battery's peak performance throughout its entire life, then call or email us
Click here for product-specific brochures
Some applications for Megapulse battery technology
-
- Cars, lorries, buses
- Mining and earthmoving vehicles
- Electric vehicles such as
- Ships and boats
- Light aircraft
- Caravans, motor homes
- Solar- and wind-powered systems
- Emergency lighting systems
- Borehole pumps
- UPS (uninterruptible power supplies)
- Battery-powered gate motors
- Alarm system power supplies
- High-powered torches
In other words, any application that uses lead-acid batteries!