Monthly Archives: October 2011

Winter is quickly approaching, and snow is already falling in some parts of the country. While it’s too early to declare the opening of ski season, the truth is that wintery temperatures aren’t too far away.

So that you are ready to head outdoors and enjoy time on your snowmobile, now is the perfect time to make sure that your equipment’s battery is ready for another season of action. Depending on the age and condition of your snowmobile’s battery, it may be time to invest in a new one. And you don’t want to wait until the perfect conditions exist only to find your snowmobile won’t start up.

At Impact Battery, we have a variety of snowmobile batteries and even chargers so you are ready to hit the snow. We also have a wide selection of car batteries too, and solar chargers as a way to keep things powered up and ready for action.

The cooler temperatures also bring out an increased number of motorcyclists who enjoy the change in landscape and Mother Nature’s beauty. Children’s riding toys

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of consumer electronics, from laptops, smart phones, and even electric cars. While the current lithium-ion batteries are good, they will get better. The reason can be credited to researchers who have found a way to have the batteries store more energy.

According to a recent article in Science Daily, the anode is a critical component in these batteries. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Berkeley Lab have designed a new type of anode that can absorb eight times the lithium of current designs. Even more promising, it has maintained its greatly increased energy capacity after over a year of testing and countless charge-discharge cycles. And additional good news with it is that the new anodes are made from low-cost materials, compatible with current standard lithium-battery manufacturing technologies.

While the better batteries aren’t yet ready for your new electronics just yet, the emphasis on continual improvement to maintain high customer

A battery not achieving or holding a desired charge is a common complaint with consumers for anything electronic. Whether it is a battery for a toy, scooter, golf cart, boat, RV, laptop, or a hose of other electronics items, customers rightfully expect for their battery to produce a charge that makes the equipment is for run.

We have discussed previously that batteries have a life and that no battery—regardless of the brand or quality—lasts forever. But sometimes, consumers unwittingly shorten their battery’s life by using the battery improperly. When that happens, the end result could be a battery that is damaged, and in some cases, could even affect the appliance or equipment itself.

Common reasons why batteries fail:

• A battery is exposed to extreme weather conditions—heat, cold or moisture.
• Battery is attempted to be used in a different way than what it was made for. Many batteries are designed for a specific product and using them interchangeably when they shouldn’t be can cause damage.

According to a recent article in Science Daily, batteries could get a boost from a discovery that increases power, energy density and safety while dramatically reducing charge time.

A team led by Hansan Liu, Gilbert Brown and Parans Paranthaman of the Department of Energy lab's Chemical Sciences Division found that titanium dioxide creates a highly desirable material that increases surface area and features a fast charge-discharge capability for lithium ion batteries. Compared to conventional technologies, the differences in charge time and capacity are striking.

"We can charge our battery to 50 percent of full capacity in six minutes while the traditional graphite-based lithium ion battery would be just 10 percent charged at the same current," Liu said.

Compared to commercial lithium titanate material, the ORNL compound also boasts a higher capacity -- 256 vs. 165 milliampere hour per gram -- and a sloping discharge voltage that is good for controlling state of charge. This characteristic