Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Ian Rochester on December 03, 2007, 10:15:48 pm
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Just wondering what sort of life people are getting from their Shurflo batteries between charge, we only seem to be getting about 75 ltrs on setting 2
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I put about 200 ltrs through mine yesterday (on setting 2) and it still has some charge left. YUou may need a new battery or your charger may not be fully charging it.
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You probably know you should regularly let the battery run completely flat and then fully charge it. Shorlens it's life otherwise. And they don't hold their charge for long, as I often discover.
Mine isn't Surflo but same thing, will do about 150 litres full power before tired.
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Lionheart,
I've found that I get a longer lasting charge by using a UK charger (bought from Argos), rather than the one supplied by Shurflo - with the UK adaptor plug on it .....?
Don't know why this should work any better, but it certainly seems to work - can get at least 200+ litres (on setting 2) from a single charge - may be something to do with the charging current ..... then again I'm no electrician...... :-\
Worth a try and a cheap fix ;)
Dave.
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Lionheart,
I've been using the backpack for over three years now; I'm on my second one and have just started using my fourth battery.
I use it every day and it gets quite a hammering.
I think when you get a brand new battery, you need to charge it for an awfully long time; I don't know how long exactly, but it wouldn't hurt to charge it for at least 24 hours. Maybe if you don't charge it fully the first time, your battery won't work as efficiently as it should?
You should be able to get a lot more than 75 litres through it though. Unless the battery was old, and when I say 'old', I mean six or seven months worth of intensive daily work use, I've never ever been able to wear one out from a days work; no matter how much I've used it and how hard I've worked. I reckon I've put at least 200 litres through one on a single charge (this mightn't sound much when the 'big boys' use 1000 litres a day, but I use it mostly on domestic accounts, tops only; with Wor Lass following, tradding the ground floor); maybe more and I believe you can get 400 litres from one, but don't ask me to prove it without you betting money on it.
I'm also not sure how right PJ is when he says it's good to 'run the battery completely flat and then recharge it'. (Sorry PJ; don't flame me :)) I know this is the right thing to do with my electric razor, but I think it's wrong to do it with this type of battery. I don't think back pack batteries are designed to be ran flat; I know my caravan leisure battery (the type of which many guys here use for WFP) wouldn't like it. I think the back pack battery is just a smaller version and I normally charge mine up at the end of each day and have had no problems doing this.
I hope I've been some help.
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Agree with Tosh here. I'd say I get around 400 litres to a charge and I also try not to let it go flat (apart from today :() It's on charge for the night now. As I understand it they are leisure batteries designed to be de- charged and re-charged unlike your car battery that is being charged as you drive.
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Spoke to another local window cleaner and he gets 3 days work out of his - 450 ltrs.
Spoke to Mike at Cleantech and he is going to send me a new charger and cable so we'll see how that goes.
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Agree with Tosh here. I'd say I get around 400 litres to a charge and I also try not to let it go flat (apart from today :() It's on charge for the night now. As I understand it they are leisure batteries designed to be de- charged and re-charged unlike your car battery that is being charged as you drive.
Don't worry too much about it going flat. While it won't work the pump in the backpack there will still be a good charge in it. If you were to attach a small light to it, it would still shine.
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Ian,
My 2 penneth ;)
I would change the charger for a UK charger and buy a spare battery
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=27701&doy=4m12
Ask around for a battery:
Mobility Shop (Electric wheelchairs)
Golf Shop
You should get one for about £20 - £25
David
P.S. You can't flatten the battery too much thats why th Backpack has a low battery cut off ;)
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Fully agree with David, I am sure my original charger killed a few batteries well before their time.
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These type of battery packs take about 17 hours to charge from completely flat. Because they don't actually "hold their charge" they are losing power straight away. It is better to be using them every day all day like the mad jeordie nip on the banks of the Severn and then charging up every night, than to be using them sporadically. So, unless you are using it flat out for 6 hours all day every day and plugging in every night all night, run it flat and put it on full charge for 17 hours.
I've treated mine that way (according to manufacturers instructions) for 27 months now, all parts original still going strong.
;)