“We are taking all the experience we have with engines and moving it into batteries,” says Stephen Avery at Briggs and Stratton. “OEMs are coming to us for engines for their manned vehicles and batteries for their robots,” he says.
The battery launch at the recent World of Concrete show centered around the company’s 5 kW Vanguard lithium ion battery which will be offered with its own controller and charger. Eventually the line will include batteries from 2.5 kW up to 20 kW.
The batteries can be wired in parallel, up to four at a time, says Avery. The battery controller monitors current and temperature to protect the battery from overheating.
Vanguard is also producing a service tool that can identify a weak or failing battery cell and has made the battery packs modular and serviceable so you can disassemble them and replace the any cell that might not be functioning properly. Made in the United States, the batteries are Tier 1, lithium ion batteries, which says Avery, are highest quality commercial batteries available.
To demonstrate the capabilities of the new Vanguard batteries at the World of Concrete booth, the company put four into an Argo all-terrain vehicle with a cargo capacity of 1,500 pounds. (Argo is a Canadian manufacturer of ATVs for recreational, commercial and military applications.)
