Last week I attended the PGA Show down in Orlando, FL, so this week I’ll be posting about some brand new and relatively new developments from the show that relate to the small, task-oriented vehicle markets. I’m going to kick it off with a relatively new product from Battery Watering Technologies, their i-Lite Sensor. The i-Lite Sensor uses an LED light to provide a visual indication when it is time to water the batteries. According to company, if the indication is ignored, the sensor is so smart, it can tell the operator how long the battery went without water.
The LED indicator and wiring is shown sitting on top of the battery. The indicator can be wired into the dash or other area of the vehicle for easy viewing. Green means the electrolyte level is sufficient and red indicates water is needed.
A battery from US Battery using the i-Lite Sensor showing the black valve that is inserted into the battery and connected to the watering system.
Currently, the product is only available for US Battery products but the company is developing a variant for other brands as well. Some variance with the height of the lead plates in Trojan batteries is an issue. Although, the product may work with some of the Trojan batteries, they cannot guaranty that it will work with all.
The sensor takes a reading from one cell and uses it as a proxy for the whole battery bank. According to US Battery, this method has been effective in the industrial battery market for forklifts. This approach assumes all the batteries in the pack are the same brand and type and were installed at the same time as a complete set.
The sensor is trying to address an ongoing problem with electric STOV vehicles – getting owners and operators to properly take care of their batteries. I consistently hear from dealers, battery manufacturers and watering technology companies that owners/operators are not properly taking care of batteries. This leads to a shortened battery life, an expensive consequence which makes customers angry, can reflect poorly on the battery brand and probably doesn’t endear the dealer to the customer. What is fascinating is how this problem persists despite decades of golf cars using essentially the same battery technology. The i-Lite sensor and single-point watering systems are both steps in the evolution of simplifying the whole process of battery maintenance. In effect they are an attempt to put a layer of user-friendly technology between the operator and the battery pack to improve battery performance.