Battery Best Practices

[AcesJames]

1) - 7 or 8 competition batteries, 1 "pit test" battery for testing code, charging pneumatics in the pits, etc.

2) - One triple charger and two single chargers (5 batteries max charging at once).

3) - Our EE mentor spends about a week discharging and recharging batteries before competitions start. He reconditions the batteries, and then load tests them. Those which do not pass the competition load test become "pit test" batteries, and they are replaced with brand new batteries for competition use. All passing batteries are then labeled "Competition OK 2012"

4) - We label our batteries by number, and keep a running list of how often they're used during a competition, and what their individual voltages are when they're finished charging. We put 1 charged battery in the robot, take 1 extra charged battery on our cart to the field just in case, and have at least 2 charged batteries ready to replace them in the pits.