| Anti-Idling systems |
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| Q. | |
Due to the anti-idling fervor in the United States air conditioning and heating systems being sold into our industry vary from battery operated systems, stand-alone diesel powered systems, shore power and combination systems including devices such as inverters. All such systems are aimed at eliminating idle time. If a truck engine is shut off what redundency is built into the truck or such systems to assure the driver that his truck will start when he is ready to move? After all, we need those truck batteries to start the engine. What if they (the truck batteries) fail or begin to fail during the engine stopped period due to poor maintenance, end of life cycle, over charging or under charging, extreme cold or heat? |
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| A. | |
Lets tackle fuel operated heaters first and then we'll deal with battery powered operated A/C systems.
Fuel Operated Heaters draw a minimal amount of amperage off of the truck starting batteries, on average less than 1amp/hr. That is less than trucks running board lights. Remember the fundamentals of Fuel Operated heaters are that they are actually burning fuel and that is what generates the heat source not the batteries. Additionally, Espar fuel operated heaters have a low voltage cut off, which means that should the sensors determine that the battery has fallen lower than 10.5 volts, the heater shuts off, so that the driver can restart his truck. It is up to the driver however to manage all is other amp drawing amenities e.g. Microwave, T.V., Computer, etc.
As for battery powered A/C systems, I would recommend that you put additional batteries on your truck so that you do not comprise the integrity of the starting batteries. Espar does this with their partners on the A/C side, Bergstrom who brings the “NITE” system to market. Which is a fully battery powered A./C system. The additional batteries are isolated from the starting batteries via an isolator or separator and are only recharged after the starting batteries are charged first.
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