A UK electric truck customer has been advised that one more example of Opportunity Charging (after two or three previous incidents) will invalidate / cancel his battery warranty.
It has been suggested that this would not be the case in countries such as Germany - perhaps because of higher levels of battery care, including a higher prevalence of (weekend-long) equalising charges.
It is certainly the case that battery suppliers will offer conflicting advice and that some (limited) opportunity charging (and taking into account battery heat levels and cycles etc) is considered to be okay.
Advising not to opportunity charge would put the battery at a competitive disadvantage and we have therefore changed the advice.
The previous UK advice…
Do not opportunity charge. Ensure a full 8 hour charge to properly distribute acid throughout the battery.
...has therefore been changed to:
Only charge in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations; this may include an equalising charge to re-distribute acid throughout the battery.
As the battery life may be shortened by additional charging, this may ultimately come down to a commercial decision, regarding the battery make, ownership type, contract term, customer expectations and associated warranty duration.
Either way, this one seems like a contentious issue - thanks for the suggestions and contributions - if the UK advice changes further, we'll add it here.
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