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FleetMaintenance_July_2016

ing some sleeper hotel load on over the weekend is a familiar and expensive scenario. KBi’s KAPower starting system has been designed from the beginning to be an ultracapacitor starting system for heavy trucks, says company vice president Jim Burke. Having been in the coldstart business for many years, “we really understand the demands of starting deep cold-soaked diesels.” Th e KAPower used to be slightly larger than Group 31 batteries because early ultracapacitors were sourced from Russia, because, he notes, Russians have been cold-starting big locomotive diesels for two decades using this technology. Th at created some issues for KBi. One was that some customers didn’t want to deal with a unit with Russiansourced components. Another was that truck battery boxes have become so tight that accommodating the KBi unit has had its problems. Th e company has switched to a North American Saft - built nickel ultracapacitor and has a newly tooled unit with a Group 31 footprint. Saft (www.saft batteries.com) designs, develops and manufactures high technology batteries for the industry. Th e KBi unit’s asymmetrical ultracapacitors are simple, have no internal computer controls and use nickel carbon technology for its storage system. Th is means the complete unit is nearly twice as heavy as Maxwell’s, acknowledges Burke, but it still saves around 20 to 25 lbs over a Group 31 lead-acid battery. He says that the technology is robust and there is no issue with overcharging. Also, because of its simplicity, the battery will recharge in only 10 to 30 seconds even when fully depleted, which “is a big plus.” Maxwell’s solution has a stack of modular ultracapacitors that are controlled by an electronic DC/ DC converter. Providing there is at least 9V on the vehicle batteries, the capacitor stack can be charged to between 14.5V and 16.2V for a guaranteed start – which is more than the 11.3V a battery-based start requires. Less than 9V would disable ECUs, notes Maxwell’s Brakley. Both the Maxwell and KBi systems are recommended to be isolated from the main vehicle batteries once they have received their charge. Th e Maxwell ESM has a third terminal on the top which connects directly to the starter or the mag switch in the starter circuit. WE MEASURE SAFETY DOWN TO THE POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH. We see safety differently. It’s our fi rst priority. In fact, we see tire service differently. And you will, too. We have over 200 locations and 1,500 service trucks in the U.S. and Canada to give you the peace of mind that you’re rolling on expertly serviced tires. In our shop or on the road, we’re bringing something new to tire service: SERVICE. VehicleServicePros.com/10119745 1-844-68-TIRES • gcrtires.com/service GENUINE • COMPLETE • RELIABLE Continued Page 20 WITH THE STARTING LOAD taken off batteries, their useful life is extended. Heavy Duty |


FleetMaintenance_July_2016
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