Hi all again, back from long hours at work in the labs of TSW. I have been working very hard on some projects that are very secret that even I don’t know what there for. IFT will be out soon, can’t wait for that as I even don’t know what it is. Maybe at Eastern Creek this weekend.

A question has been asked about charging batteries and caring for them, so I have dug out some notes and will again try to explain it in simple terms.

The first step you need to do is make sure they have been stored in a cool dry place. I have found that this dry part does not really matter to much but a cool place is very important. Just like ice-cream and frozen peas, cells will loose their crispiness if left out at normal room temperature. So for the average man yes the freezer is the best place to keep them. For the serious racer you must go to the next step. A deep freeze is the best set-up. I am lucky my lovable wife works in a hospital and she lets me keep my cells in where they keep the blood samples. Don’t worry when I go racing I put the samples back in the freezer so they cool down again.

Now when you go to charge them you must sit them on the other side that they have been lying so the chemicals mix properly when charging. People have it all wrong with charging them at 5 to 6 amps these days. I like to charge them at ½ a amp to get the best run time. I may take a few more hours to charge a pack but the only time you should be in a hurry is on the track, not in the pit. While I am waiting for my pack to charge I normally put the Billy on and set-up my swag, tell some ghost stories to some local wild life that have been bitting me throughout the day. Jack the back of the Land cruiser up and rewind a few clicks on the odometer by spinning the wheels backwards. Watch the sun go down and then back up again, ready for a days racing with my charged packs.

When charged and ready to race I always take the spare 12 volt battery out of the 1972 model land cruiser and onto the grid and hot wire this to the pack. This will give the cells all the punch you need to go and race. Punch and runtime is all good when doing this method. Also make sure you have someone in the pit just in case you don’t make runtime, a simple pit and another hotwire from the 12 volt will sure to give you that extra lap and a little more. Another trick that was used by kids to get a little more power from batteries and still works to this day. Place you cells on top of your TV.

Discharging is another story. I normally have a little battery power left and instead of attaching this to a bulb discharger I just hook them up to the tail lights on the Land cruiser before driving home. If I have a spare pack I make it a little more fun for my fellow racers and attach it to my air horns and give them my version of the sweet tunes of Kenny G as I drive out.

Equalizing packs. Never do it to your packs. This little bit of imbalance will not be a problem. Just put them back in the freezer ready for the next race day.

Dr Lowtech.