New Machine Battery Care including Winter Service advice
As part of your purchase/service we have tested and charged your battery, and the charging circuit on your machine. That said, it is best to carry out a little preventative maintenance, to ensure the longer life of your battery, please read the advice notes below.
Maintenance: Keeping the battery maintained increases the chance of continued use during the cutting season. Batteries discharge their current, over time, especially when the cutting deck is engaged. It is advised to keep the machine revs on full whilst engaging the cutting deck to maintain the battery charge.
The manufacturers recommend that the machine is charged before, or after each use, it can also be left charging, for some months, between one use and another.
This is even more important during the long period of inactivity over the Autumn and Winter months, and especially after the machine has been serviced and stored at the end of the cutting season.
USE: If the battery is not removed from the machine, make sure the key on the control panel is in the “OFF” position, or better still, remove the key after use, to prevent accidental discharge of the battery.
Location: Store the battery/machine in a safe, dry location. A garage connected to a home or heated building is a good choice because the interior temperature will likely never fall below 32 degrees. Most garage interiors aren't exposed to extreme temperatures because they are enclosed. If the garage is open to elements, consider removing the battery and storing in another location.
Freezing: Battery acid has a freezing point because of a chemical reaction. Freezing points are determined by the charge remaining in the battery. The lower the charge, the higher the freezing point; this is also true of the reverse (low freezing point due to high charge). Because of this fact, a battery with no charge has a very high chance of freezing causing damage to the battery core. If the battery holds a charge, and is charged, it can be stored in a dry location below freezing temperatures.
Fuel Additive: An additive has been added to the fuel in your machine, this should make for easy starting in the spring. Start next season with fresh fuel, we advise not to use old petrol you may have stored throughout the winter.
Addendum: These notes are aimed at ensuring that your machine is ready for use as and when you need it to. If it is necessary for Shire Garden Machines to attend your property for machines and batteries that have NOT been maintained correctly throughout the Autumn/Winter months, these call outs may incur additional costs on top of the annual servicing costs.
Thank you for using Shire Garden Machines, we really value any feed back from customers to help us improve our service in the future.
