VARTA discusses the effects of the warmer months of the year on CV batteries and what this means for its customers when winter comes around.
The warmer summer months are long gone. For trucks transporting goods, this is traditionally a time that places great demand on their batteries. In response to this, Clarios, a global market leader for advanced energy storage solutions, developed the VARTA ProMotive AGM for operation under extreme conditions.
Its special technology makes this commercial vehicle battery more reliable and more durable than conventional batteries so that they continue to deliver their full performance in the winter after the rigours of some record-high temperatures in August this year.
This is crucial for someone like Enrico Russo. His logistics company, Russo SRL, has been transporting food products the length and breadth of Italy for many years. “If the cooler system breaks down, I have to throw everything away,” he explains.
What Russo and his drivers need is a reliable power supply that keeps the refrigeration system and all the other electrical consumers working night and day. He continues: “We work to tight schedules. If the engine doesn’t start or the cooler system fails, that has far-reaching consequences.”
Concerns for a flat battery have major impacts for drivers too, and this is a fact Fabio Bilibio, owner of trucking company Autotransporti Bilibio, is very well aware of. He comments: “To recruit new drivers, we have to offer them the best possible new trucks, because the truck is their second home.”
Bilibio has, therefore, had his fleet equipped with numerous comfort and entertainment features that make life more pleasant: a TV, refrigerator, Wi-Fi, and, of course, in-cab air conditioning and heating. He concludes: “With conventional batteries installed, it was not at all uncommon to find that trucks would not restart after a statutory rest period.”
The solution
For Bilibio, that’s all in the past since his company began using the VARTA ProMotive AGM (which stands for Absorbent Glass Mat). The glass mat absorbs the electrolyte and increases its cycle stability. That prevents the drop-off in capacity caused by electrolyte stratification.
Furthermore, the energy management system plus battery sensor installed in the truck registered the fact that the battery – unlike conventional ones – does not see a decline in performance capability but rather an initial increase and then maintains this higher level for some time.
Nevertheless, the increasing complexity of modern trucks represents a major challenge for trucking companies. To ensure that fleets are best equipped to cope with these, VARTA has not just developed a reliable, future-ready product in the form of the AGM battery, but also offers the corresponding service with its VARTA Fleet Program. This program’s main feature is that it offers fleet managers direct contact to the manufacturer.
By registering free of charge on its website, members will receive custom advice relating to their fleet, strategic purchase recommendations, a newsletter covering the latest technologies and trends, support on battery management related questions, analysis and optimisation options for battery performance, and a great deal more.
First choice parking cooler
The challenge: Standard batteries did not start the truck after an extended break. This led to costly downtimes.
The solution: Since installing AGM, problems like this are a thing of the past. Without AGM:
- Charge every three weeks
- Life expectancy of around six months
- Can run up to four hours
With AGM:
- No recharge needed
- Life expectancy of two years or longer
- Can run up to 12 hours
