MR Battery - The Battery Man

South African Car of the year finalists announced

AutoTrader has released the 14 finalists for their 2020 South African Car of the Year competition.

The cars will be put to the test on public roads and on the race track in March next year. They will be judged by a jury of 27 automotive writers selected by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ). The winners will be announced in April 2020.

In addition to the grand title, these finalists can also win one of seven other categories including: Family, Leisure, Lifestyle, Premium Car, Premium SUV, Sport/Performance or Urban.

AutoTrader chief executive George Mienie, said that members of the public have voted that they would like to see the Mazda3 to win.

“It triumphed in the consumer vote, where we had hundreds of thousands of votes. The consumer votes act as the 28th Juror in the competition. Mazda’s last win was back in 2008, with the Mazda2 1.5 Individual – so it will be interesting to see if this Japanese company can take top honours,” he said.

BMW 3 Series

BMW X5

Citroen C3 Aircross

Ford Ranger Raptor

Hyundai Atos

Jaguar I-Pace

Mazda3

Mercedes-Benz GLE

Peugeot 5008

Suzuki Swift Sport

Toyota Corolla Hatch

Toyota Rav4

Toyota GR Supra

Volkswagen T-Cross

Image: @DoughZAR/Twitter

Author: Popular Mechanics – Leila Stein

Uber and Hyundai release plans for a flying car

Uber has unveiled its plans, in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Co., for flying cars that will operate as air taxis.

The full-scale prototype of the concept vehicle is on display at the CES technology conference this week.

The flying car is planned to be fully electric, take off and land vertically and be able to seat four passengers. It is expected to fly up to 322 km/h for up to 97 km per charge at around 300-600 meters above the ground. Uber plans to have these vehicles fly autonomously eventually, but have acknowledged the need for a human pilot initially.

The project is part of Uber Elevate, the company’s aerial division.

Alongside the actual vehicle design, Hyundai unveiled concepts for a landing hub and a ground vehicle which will transport people to the flight station. Uber has not released any prices for these flights since the project is still in its early days.

The model is the first step, with Hyundai yet to complete any test flights.

According to My Broadband, Uber said it will conduct the first public demonstration of a flying car this year and allow customers to book aerial rides by 2023. It will first launch in the US, in Texas and California.

On top of the actual physical challenge of building the vehicle, Uber and Hyundai will have to negotiate with the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation regulatory bodies before being allowed to take to the skies.

Image: Uber

Author: Popular Mechanics

History and Timeline of the Battery

A battery, which is actually an electric cell, is a device that produces electricity from a chemical reaction. In a one cell battery, you would find a negative electrode; an electrolyte, which conducts ions; a separator, also an ion conductor; and a positive electrode.

Timeline of Battery History

- 1748—Benjamin Franklin first coined the term “battery” to describe an array of charged glass plates.
- 1780 to 1786—Luigi Galvani demonstrated what we now understand to be the electrical basis of nerve impulses and provided the cornerstone of research for later inventors like Volta to create batteries.
- 1800 Voltaic Pile—Alessandro Volta invented the Voltaic Pile and discovered the first practical method of generating electricity. Constructed of alternating discs of zinc and copper with pieces of cardboard soaked in brine between the metals, the Voltaic Pile produced electrical current. The metallic conducting arc was used to carry the electricity over a greater distance. Alessandro Volta’s voltaic pile was the first “wet cell battery” that produced a reliable, steady current of electricity.
- 1836 Daniell Cell—The Voltaic Pile could not deliver an electrical current for a long period of time. Englishman, John F. Daniell invented the Daniell Cell that used two electrolytes: copper sulfate and zinc sulfate. The Daniel Cell lasted longer than the Volta cell or pile. This battery, which produced about 1.1 volts, was used to power objects such as telegraphs, telephones, and doorbells, remained popular in homes for over 100 years.

- 1839 Fuel Cell—William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell, which produced electrical by combining hydrogen and oxygen.
- 1839 to 1842—Inventors created improvements to batteries that used liquid electrodes to produce electricity. Bunsen (1842) and Grove (1839) invented the most successful.
- 1859 Rechargeable—French inventor, Gaston Plante developed the first practical storage lead-acid battery that could be recharged (secondary battery). This type of battery is primarily used in cars today.
- 1866 Leclanche Carbon-Zinc Cell—French engineer, Georges Leclanche patented the carbon-zinc wet cell battery called the Leclanche cell. According to The History of Batteries: “George Leclanche’s original cell was assembled in a porous pot. The positive electrode consisted of crushed manganese dioxide with a little carbon mixed in. The negative pole was a zinc rod. The cathode was packed into the pot, and a carbon rod was inserted to act as a current collector. The anode or zinc rod and the pot were then immersed in an ammonium chloride solution. The liquid acted as the electrolyte, readily seeping through the porous cup and making contact with the cathode material. The liquid acted as the electrolyte, readily seeping through the porous cup and making contact with the cathode material.” Georges Leclanche then further improved his design by substituting the ammonium chloride paste for liquid electrolyte and invented a method of sealing the battery, inventing the first dry cell, an improved design that was now transportable.

- 1881—J.A. Thiebaut patented the first battery with both the negative electrode and porous pot placed in a zinc cup.
- 1881—Carl Gassner invented the first commercially successful dry cell battery (zinc-carbon cell).
  - 1899—Waldmar Jungner invented the first nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery.
  - 1901 Alkaline Storage—Thomas Alva Edison invented the alkaline storage battery. Thomas Edison’s alkaline cell had iron as the anode material (-) and nickelic oxide as the cathode material (+).
  - 1949 Alkaline-Manganese Battery—Lew Urry developed the small alkaline battery in 1949. The inventor was working for the Eveready Battery Co. at their research laboratory in Parma, Ohio. Alkaline batteries last five to eight times as long as zinc-carbon cells, their predecessors.
  - 1954 Solar Cells—Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller, and Daryl Chapin invented the first solar battery. A solar battery converts the sun’s energy into electricity. In 1954, Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller, and Daryl Chapin invented the first solar battery. The inventors created an array of several strips of silicon (each about the size of a razor blade), placed them in sunlight, captured the free electrons and turned them into electrical current. Bell Laboratories in New York announced the prototype manufacture of a new solar battery. Bell had funded the research. The first public service trial of the Bell Solar Battery began with a telephone carrier system (Americus, Georgia) on October 4, 1955.

1964—Duracell was incorporated.

Author: Mary Bellis
Source: www.thoughtto.com

Vehicle-to-Grid: Using Electric Cars To Store Renewable Energy

Electric cars that aren’t currently on the move could be used to help stabilise energy grids, make electricity from renewable energy sources more viable and generate extra income for EV owners. That’s the goal of the Munich-based company The Mobility House and their smart Vehicle-to-Grid technology.

On average, privately-owned cars are parked for approximately 23 hours a day. Unfortunately, the same is true for electric cars. But what about if that downtime could be put to good use – by using the car’s battery as temporary storage for renewable energy? That wouldn’t just help to stabilise the power grid – the energy stored could also be used to provide power for the owner’s home, for example. That’s the vision of The Mobility House, who want to unlock the potential of electric vehicle’s batteries. This should be made by possible with a Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) solution, which the Munich-based company is currently working on.

While wind and solar energy are cleaner and greener alternatives to the traditional burning of fossil fuels, their availability and production is of course unpredictable, and isn’t always available at the times when it’s most needed. Or there’s so much electricity produced at one time that the grid is overloaded and unable to make use of it all.

The Mobility House wants to use electric cars as stationary storage solutions, via Vehicle-to-Grid technology. It works more or less like this: While an electric car is stationary and plugged into a charging point, its battery can be used to collect any excess energy. When demand goes back up, or the supply is reduced, the saved energy can be fed back into the energy grid. The owner of the electric car is to be able to decide how long their vehicle is available as stationary energy storage and when they want to be able to use the car themselves – with a fully-chardged battery, of course.

Intelligent Charging = Longer-Lasting Batteries

The V2G solution also means another advantage for electric car owners. Normally electric cars are plugged in and immediately start being charged – regardless of whether the power is cheap or expensive at that moment. The car then often sits there with a fully-charged battery, which according to The Mobility House, can have a negative affect on the performance and life-span of the battery. Integrated into the power grid via a V2G system, vehicles can be charged intelligently – ideally when the electricity price is low, and then discharged again when the demand increases on the electricity market.

That means that a parked electric car can help provide energy to the power grid, but also generate extra income for the owner.

Electric vehicles fitted with a CHAdeMO connector already fulfill the technical requirements for bidirectional charging. But for The Mobility House’s vision to become reality, there are a few other technical requirements that need to be taken care of – issues such as load management, supply frequency, cost reporting, typical traffic flows and usage patterns all have to be taken into account.

The Electric Car as Electricity Supplier

Whoever produces their own solar energy, for example, with a photovoltaic system on their roof, could benefit even more from The Mobility House’s high-tech solution. Because here too, your electric car could lend a helping hand as an energy storage solution, thanks to Vehicle to Home technology (V2H). This means your electric car would be charged with solar power, making it completely independent from the power grid and offering you an entirely emissions-free ride.

The V2G and V2H systems still weren’t available at time of publication, as The Mobility House is in the development phase, but they report that the technology has already been successfully field tested. Right now the team in Munich is busy working on optimising and expanding the corresponding infrastructure for V2G, as well as further developing an intelligent control system for the charging process.

How does vehicle to grid work exactly? The video below takes a closer look.

Electromobility is a topic that the RESET team has been investigating over the past few weeks.

This is a translation of the original article which appeared on RESET’s German-language site.

Written by Lydia Skrabania

The 2020 Olympic Medals Will Be Made from Recycled Gadgets

The world’s best athletes will wear old cell phones around their necks next summer.

The medals awarded during next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo—set to kick off July 24, 2020—will be completely made from recycled materials. The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games decided to create sustainable medals in an effort to build “an innovative future for all.”

Tokyo 2020 Medal Project officials shared that they hoped the results of the upcycling would create a lasting legacy and “contribute to an environmentally friendly and sustainable society.”

The process has been in the works since early 2017, when Japan announced it would collect old electronics and repurpose them into medals. Since then, the organizing committee has gathered over 47,000 tons of tech waste and more than 5 million cell phones in an effort to make the Games more sustainable.

The committee sought to collect around 70 pounds of gold, 7,700 pounds of silver, and 4,850 pounds of bronze—all from various donated electronic gadgets—to fashion approximately 5,000 medals for next year’s Games. The Japanese government will further recycle any source materials that aren’t used to make the medals.

Tokyo took inspiration from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, which implemented a similar method of reusing electronics–such as TVs, computers, and keyboards—for their medals. For that effort, the Vancouver-based metal company Teck Resources teamed up with the Canadian Mint to create approximately 1,000 medals.

This article was written by Daisy Hernandez and was published by Popular Mechanics on 26/07/2019

Image: Pixabay; The Olympic Committee

Taking care of your car battery in summer.

With summer now in full force, your car battery can also take strain in the heat.

One of the quickest ways to take better care of your car battery is to minimise sun exposure and park your vehicle in the shade.

Here are some other tips to help increase the lifespan of your battery:

Check that the fan belt is working. A durable fan belt in good working condition helps charge your battery.
Monitor the water levels of your battery, and if need be, top it up yourself or one of our friendly staff member’s at Battery man can do it for you. If there isn’t sufficient water, it can affect the lifespan and performance of the battery.
Also, keep an eye on the coolant levels – you don’t want your car to overheat or malfunction because of a lack of coolant.
If you have an older car, with removable filler caps fitted to the battery, consider upgrading to a newer model. With older batteries, the fluid can evaporate quickly, which could result in the vehicle overheating.

Did you know we also offer a free battery check? This ensures you get the best performance out of your car battery and keep you going the extra mile.

Load Shedding Solutions

Load Shedding ( The reasons we are given)
Load shedding is a cost-effective, emergency rotating method of energy distribution that has been quite helpful to ease the problems of lack of power generation South Africa is facing from time to time. Eskom developed this method to prevent blackout scenarios building a “power reserve” for critical moments. While the power generation is stable, electricity distributors are requested to route a fraction of their power load that is non-critical. The received loads are used afterwards to provide energy to all clients equally. Load shedding may continue in South Africa for an unspecified time period and it is vital that you implement an effective load shedding solution for your home or business.

Our solution to ease the household burden
We supply domestic type inverters which convert a 12 or 24 Volt deep cycle battery supply, into 220 Volts, which then enables the householder to run certain low wattage appliances during a load shed. These would include most TV’s and DSTV, Computers, low wattage lamps, inkjet printers (not laser), small fans etc.

PLEASE NOTE THAT NO HEAT GENERATING APPLIANCES MAY BE CONNECTED TO THE INVERTER. THESE WOULD INCLUDE TOASTERS, KETTLES, HAIR DRYERS, CURLING TONGS, FRIDGES (due to high starting current requirements) MICROWAVES or any industrial tools like ANGLE GRINDERS ETC.

The sole purpose of the inverter, deep cycle battery combination is to lessen the inconvenience of load shedding by enabling the user to continue watching TV or working on a computer during a load shed. Most inverter/battery combinations will supply between 2-4 hours of power depending on the number of batteries in use. The batteries will then automatically recharge when the power comes back on, so that you are ready for the next load shed.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY OR APPLIANCES AND IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PURCHASER TO DETERMINE THE SUITABILITY OF ANY APPLIANCE TO MODIFIED SINE WAVE INVERTER POWER.

If the basic guidelines above are adhered to the concept is very workable and very convenient.

At the time of writing we are supplying a very useful and presentable compact unit on wheels in both a 720 and 1400 watt option. Prices available from our branches on 033-3457288 PMB and 031-7658270 HILLCREST. Our staff will be able to guide you on the size and number of batteries you may need according to your requirements.

Load shedding times
The load shedding distribution works under a strictly scheduled program and is used during limited periods, as well as they follow a criteria to ensure that all customers get access equally and you are informed in advance when you would require load shedding solutions. Currently, the load shedding schedule is implemented in three different stages and each load shedding stage has different amounts of energy routed.
These implementations will happen during the period of 5AM to 9:30PM. Lack of power peaks might happen however for up to 2 hours and a half and this is when load shedding solutions are required.

Load shedding stages
Load Shedding Stage 1: up to 1000 MW of the national load shedding is used
Load Shedding Stage 2: up to 2000MW
Load Shedding Stage 3: up to 4000 MW of the national load shedding

Load shedding tips
• Always watch the news to know if load shedding is active and what stage of load shedding your area is in.
• If you are affected, refer to the load shedding schedule to see what time the electricity in your area will be cut off.
• Check that your appliances are charged before load shedding.
• Plan ahead to ensure that cooking and bathing is done before you are is effected by load shedding.
• Ensure you have an effective load shedding solution in place.

Load shedding solutions in South Africa require a proactive approach. The schedules are available on the Eskom website. Unfortunately load shedding seems like it will continue for a while and its best to be prepared. Fortunately, there are load shedding solutions in Durban and other cities readily available.

Most homes have precious appliances that can be destroyed because of power interruptions. Not the mention the inconvenience it causes. One load shedding solution in South Africa that will never let you down is our DC to AC inverters. Having this device means you will be protected from power outage while being able to continue with your day to day life. You do not have to tolerate darkness anymore because affordable resources are available.

Golf cart batteries: Maintenance and Replacement

The majority of deep cycle of 6 volt and 8 volt batteries should last 2 to 5 years, however harsh conditions such as extreme cold or heat can significantly reduce the lifespan of these batteries, no matter how robust. A lack of “cycling” the battery, discharging and recharging can also result in an early demise of the golf cart battery. In order to check and maintain your deep cycle 6 or 8 volt batteries, you will require the following:

Voltmeter
Goggles and Gloves
Post/Clamp Cleaner
Hydrometer
Distilled water, baking soda and Petroleum Jelly

Ensure that you are wearing the protective gear while handling any battery, also remove all jewellery as this could create an arc between the battery posts. This would result in serious injury. Avoid getting any leaked battery acid on your skin, rinse immediately if this should occur. Using the baking soda will neutralize any battery acid that has been spilled, and will also remove corrosion on or around the battery posts.

Acid should never be added to any battery. Never smoke while replacing batteries. The hydrogen gas emitted by batteries is highly flammable, even explosive in confined areas.

Check the appearance of the batteries, are there any cracks? There should be no corrosion on the battery posts. Batteries that are damaged, leaking of bulging should be replaced.
Vent caps must be tightened. Using baking soda, remove any dirt or debris from the top of the battery. Rinse with water and dry with a cloth. Never use cleansers or solvents.
Disconnect the clamps. Clean the battery terminals and clamps with post and clamp cleaner
After applying a thin coat of petroleum jelly to the battery posts, reconnect the clamps
Once the golf cart batteries are fully charged, add water. Before charging, the water should be covering the plates inside the battery. The water level should be above the battery plates if the battery is either fully or partially discharged.

Burglar Alarm Batteries

Burglar alarms are generally reliable but if the internal battery is flat and will no longer hold charge it should be replaced as soon as possible.

A flat internal battery can mean that if there is a power cut the external siren will sound because the hold off circuit to it is no longer present. If the outside siren does not have a self contained battery (scb) the alarm can still go into tamper mode and activate when the power is supplied to the alarm system ( this is why many burglar alarms sound after a power cut). This video shows how to replace the back up battery.

View video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vsC9jgkVbo

Gate Motor Battery

In the vast majority of motors, batteries are used to drive the motor. To say that they are battery back-up motors is therefore incorrect, as the battery is always in use; not exclusively in the event of a power failure. If the battery is disconnected, the motor will not work. In the vast majority of motors, batteries are used to drive the motor. To say that they are battery back-up motors is therefore incorrect, as the battery is always in use; not exclusively in the event of a power failure. If the battery is disconnected, the motor will not work.

Is my gate motor battery unhealthy?
Most automatic gate users will not notice the gate motor beginning to move slower over time. This is something more likely picked up by a trained eye.

It is likely that you will only realise there’s an issue when the gate stops halfway through its cycle. This may occur within a year of replacing the battery.

Accurately Checking the Gate Motor:
Measuring the voltage of a battery under static conditions is generally not sufficient to determine if the battery truly is flat. Testing the voltage while the battery is under load is considerably more effective and accurate. The load, being a gate, garage or boom pole. Below, a short guide to assist the user to accurately diagnose a flat gate motor battery.

Required tools:
AVO meter or volt meter
Terminal screwdriver
an able assistant

Procedure

Disconnect the two motor wires from the controller (PC board).The motor wires are generally rather thick and black and blue in colour. The terminals on the controller where the motor wires are connected will be marked ‘MOTOR’ or ‘MTR’
Switch off the mains supply or unplug the charger from the controller, ensuring the voltage you read from the battery is not biased
Engage your gate motor
Now connect the motor wires straight onto the battery terminals. It doesn’t really matter which colour wire you connect to which battery terminal, as the polarity of the motor wires simply determine the motor direction.
Unless the battery is completely depleted,the gate should start to move the instant you connect touch the motor wires to the terminals. Don’t be startled – this is what it’s meant to do!
This is where the extra pair of hands comes in. Ask your assistant to measure the voltage across the battery terminals while the gate is moving, i.e. while you are holding the motor wires to the terminals
The battery voltage should never drop below 11V DC under load. If it does, it is safe to say that your battery needs replacement
A rule of thumb when dealing with a faulty battery is to also check the charging voltage. To do this, reconnect the charger or switch the mains back on, but now disconnect the battery (thick black and red) wires from the controller. Measure across the two terminals on the controller where the battery would normally be connected. For a 12V motor, this voltage should be approximately 14V DC, and approximately27V DC for a 24V motor

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Timeline of Battery History

Intelligent Charging = Longer-Lasting Batteries

The Electric Car as Electricity Supplier

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