Battery Extra EX01 User manual

User manual for all Battery Extra EX01 lead acid battery
models 12, 12/24, and 12/24/36/48 Volt
BATTERY EXTRA USER MANUAL
PLEASE READ THIS MANUAL BEFORE USING YOUR BATTERY EXTRA
The Battery Extra (BE) is an electronic accessory, it is designed to be attached to lead acid
batteries or battery packs. It uses the power from the battery to extend the life of new batteries. It
will also revive many weak or old batteries that are thought to be dead or need replacing.
The BE is not a battery charger, it works in conjunction with your existing charger. It is fully tested
and complies with EU safety regulations for EMC emissions, so it cannot affect the operation of
any other electronic device fitted to you battery system.
The BE creates wide range of frequency signals, that are designed to dissolve the sulphate
crystals that builds up on both the negative and the positive plates of a lead acid battery, and
reduce its capacity. Dissolving the sulphate crystals back into the electrolyte decreases the
internal resistance of the battery, and raises the specific gravity. This ensures that you will keep or
return your batteries to their maximum capacity. It works during both charge and discharge cycles.
The BE will work on all types and brands of lead acid battery, including GEL, AGM, Maintenance
Free, Deep Cycle, Sealed and Leisure.
The BE will not recover bad batteries with shorted cells, open circuit cells or sealed batteries that
have dried out. It can sometimes be possible to add water to sealed batteries and then recover
them using the BE. Some examples of how to add water to dried out batteries can be found on
youtube.com search "add water to SLA batteries".
We recommend that you test for a bad battery before using the BE to recover your batteries.
It is also worthwhile to consider why batteries sulphate and then see what you can do about
stopping it in your batteries. The main causes of sulphate build up are; sitting too long between
charges, long storage without some type of energy input, undercharging, low electrolyte level,
incorrect charging levels and settings. Also, when connecting a number of batteries in parallel
using simple daisy chain connections can often cause the end batteries in the chain to be
undercharged, sulphate and fail. Email us for a better way of wiring your batteries.

TESTING YOUR BATTERIES
It is always best to test your batteries before using the Battery Extra. This will confirm if a battery
can be saved or improved. Even new batteries can suffer from being sulphated if they were badly
stored before you bought them.
Always be aware that when handling batteries you should wear goggles and gloves. First do a
visible inspection. Replace any battery that has a cracked or broken case. Clean or replace any
dirty damaged or rusty connections. On wet batteries check the water level, make sure the water
just covers the plates. Fill only with distilled water. Be aware that the battery solution is corrosive.
You will need a voltmeter to test your batteries.
First, switch off, or preferably, disconnect any accessories or items that your battery powers. Next
charge the battery or battery pack until it is fully charged.
If your battery system is made up of more than one battery, you should disconnect them from
each other. Now let the batteries rest for 4 to 8 hours to allow any surface charge to dissipate, this
is most important to get an accurate voltage reading.
With a voltmeter check the voltage of each battery. If your batteries have been in recent use i.e.
not been in storage for a long time period of time, then any 12 volt battery recording less than 10.5
volts, or if you are using 6 volt batteries less than 5.3 volts, it is most likely that the battery has a
shorted or open cell and is not recoverable. Replace that battery with one of the same make and
capacity.
If you do not have a voltmeter you can just fit your Battery Extra to each battery in turn and check
the voltage reading shown on the LED display.
INSTALLING YOUR BATTERIES
If you are installing the Battery Extra (BE) to a used or older set of batteries, we would ask you to
please read the section in this guide on testing your batteries.
The BE comes with 2 types of connector
(EX01 12-150 only supplied with ring
connectors), ring connectors for
permanent fitting and crocodile
connectors if you do not wish to make
your connection permanent. Please
make sure when you are attaching your
preferred connectors to the BE, you fit
the red wire to the red wire and the
black to black. Fitting the wrong way
round will not damage the unit, but it will
not work. If wish to disconnect the
connectors from the BE, please do not
pull on the wires this could easily
damage the connections.

On a single battery just connect the red to positive and the black to negative. If you are fitting to a
battery set you will need to identify the first and last battery in the pack. In most cases this is a
simple matter of identifying the terminals that the battery charger is connected to, then attaching
the BE red to positive, black to negative.
The BE can be permanently mounted using screws and nuts, self tapping screws or tie wraps. We
recommend that you mount the BE to a metal surface to help dissipate heat from the unit.
Now all you have to do is leave the connected at all times, during charging and discharging, just
use your battery pack as normal.
RECOVERING SULPHATED BATTERIES
Recovering sulphated batteries is a gradual process. You have to cycle (charge, discharge) the
batteries, with the BE connected, and make sure you never leave the batteries in a discharged or
part discharge state. Depending on how badly sulphated the batteries are, and the size of the
battery pack, this could take anything from a few cycles to more than 20.
If your batteries have not been used for some time, or are very heavily sulphated the battery
voltage may have dropped so low that your modern smart battery charger just thinks the battery is
no good, and will not charge them. These batteries can often still be recovered. One method, for
12 volt batteries, is to use an old type manual charger or regulated low voltage (14 or 15 volts)
power supply that can trickle charge the battery with the BE connected, and with the low voltage
cut off set to the off position, this will enable you to monitor the battery voltage until it reaches at
least 12 volts. Depending on the size of the battery this could take from one day to several days.
Repeat this process if you have more than one battery in the pack, Once you have recovered all of
the batteries in the pack, connect the pack to your regular charger, switch the BE to the, "low
voltage on" position, and cycle the pack. Another method is to connect the sulphated battery in
parallel with a known good battery, this will often be enough to kick start the bad battery. If any of
the batteries in pack fail to respond and still show low voltage discard those batteries and replace
with batteries of the same make and size.
Lead acid batteries are made up of 2 volt cells, so a 6 volt battery has 3 cells and a 12 volt battery
has 6 cells, in most cases of battery failure only one cell needs go dead for a battery to fail.
THE MAIN REASONS FOR FAILURE
(1) A sulphated cell, a build up of lead sulphate on the plates which weakens the acid and
increases the internal resistance of the cell until it can no longer produce energy. The Battery
Extra dissolves the lead sulphate back into the acid solution and stops further sulphate build up.
This significantly extends the life of the battery.
(2) A shorted cell, generally due to shedding of lead particles from the plates building up at the
bottom of the cell, which makes a circuit between the positive and negative plates causing a short
circuit. The Battery Extra slows down the shedding by eliminating the sulphate build up, but it
cannot repair a shorted cell
(3) An open circuit, caused by a connection point in the cell burning out, this is normally the result
of overcharging the battery. The Battery Extra can do nothing to stop this. If you batteries are
getting very hot when charging, this can be an indication of overcharging. Modern battery chargers
will normally revert to a trickle charge when the battery is fully charged. If you have a BE fitted this
will be indicated by a drop in the voltage shown on the unit. If you do not see this voltage drop,
check you charger.

TIPS FOR USING THE BATTERY EXTRA
The BE is fitted with a low voltage cut of switch. When in the on position it is designed to turn off
the unit at around 11.7 to 11.9 volts and depending on the model of Battery Extra, at multiples of
this voltage i.e. a 24 volt battery will cut of at around 23.5 volts and 48 volt battery will cut of at
around 47.00 volts. This means that when left on an unattended battery or battery pack the BE
cannot over discharge the batteries.
When reviving old batteries it is often an advantage to allow the voltage to drop below the cut off
value when cycling the battery, to do this just put the cut off switch into the off position.
It can be difficult to see the improvement in batteries when using the BE. A good way to check for
improvements when reviving batteries is to check the run time. Example charge a 12 volt battery
with the BE connected until fully charged, then attach a load to the battery, say a bulb or other
item that will drain the battery, measure how long the battery takes to reach a fixed voltage, say
10.5 volts. Repeat the process and note any improvement in run time, continue until you get no
more improvement. If you have a new battery you can run a side by side comparison, to get an
indication capacity against the revived battery.
We often get call from people who have fitted the BE to a new set of batteries and they tell us that
they cannot see any improvement in their battery capacity. Sorry but the Battery Extra will not
make batteries better than new.
Should you see ERR on the voltage display, this means you have exceeded the maximum voltage
for the model you are using, this will not damage the unit but it will not work.
If you require any technical help please contact us by phone, on 020 8743 2267 or by email at
[email protected]