Toro 07299 Operator's Manual page 19

Charging a battery reverses the chemical reaction, allowing
the battery to once again produce electricity.
A battery is a perishable item that has a limited lifetime
(Figure 13). When a battery is new, it requires a break-in
period to establish efficient electrical production. This break
in period usually requires 20 to 50 discharge/charge cycles.
Figure 13
Battery-lifetime table
1. Battery capacity
2. Discharge/charge cycles
3. Break-in period (20 to 50
cycles)
After the break-in period, the battery will maintain a high
capacity for many cycles. The number of cycles a battery will
perform is dependant on the following:
•
Battery maintenance—improper maintenance will
severely reduce the life of the batteries.
•
Depth of discharge between charge cycles—the deeper
the batteries are discharged on a regular basis
between charges, the less life they will have.
•
Charge frequency—charge the batteries whenever they
are not in use. Fully discharging the batteries will
damage them and reduce their life.
At the end of the battery life, the coating on the lead plates
begins to deteriorate, causing the batteries to rapidly lose
electric capacity.
4. Prime battery life
5. End of the battery life
Using the Battery System
When your batteries are fully charged, the battery meter will
have 10 bars showing from left to right (Figure 14).
1. Battery/hour meter
As you use the machine, the bars will disappear as the
electrical capacity of the batteries is used.
When only 2 bars are left, the red warning light on the meter
will illuminate, and the battery icon will begin flashing on the
screen (Figure 15). This indicates that the battery capacity is
nearly drained and you should charge the batteries as soon as
possible to prevent battery damage.
1. Battery icon
When only one bar is left, the warning light will flash, and the
machine will go into an energy-saving mode (Figure 16). In
this mode, the machine will only drive at 3 mph. Charge the
batteries immediately to prevent serious damage to them.
If the batteries become fully discharged, the machine will
shut down. Do not allow the batteries to become fully
discharged.
Important: To obtain maximum battery life, always
charge the batteries when there are 2 or more bars visible
on the screen. Depleting the batteries to lower than 2
19
Figure 14
2. Charge-indicator bars
Figure 15
2. Warning light—On