SALES

Used Equipment

In some cases customers are starting out a new business or are running a small low volume operation.

We have customers regularly inquiring about good used, rebuilt, refurbished or reconditioned batteries as an option. We also have requests for good used modern chargers.

Occasionally, very good used batteries do come along, and if they are of a common type should be kept and repurposed for a potential lower volume application.

Having said this, batteries, like everything else. have doubled in price over the last 20 years. Now, new batteries can range from between $4,000. - $12,000, plus tax.

That is a massive single-time cost for many lower volume customers, which has created a demand for the lower-priced used battery option. Used batteries are priced at half the value of new, with a 1 year warranty. In many cases, with proper application assessment, the right used battery may represent good value.

BUT

New batteries as a storage device self discharge at a very slow rate. It takes months, perhaps years, to sulphate a new battery to the point where it won't work. A 10 year old battery that has lost half its capacity from cycling use, and also has experienced years of sulphation has a problem.

Here is the issue:

Sulfation can be reversed by constant current charging the battery, therefore some capacity can be restored to a certain degree. Dead cells can be replaced with other reasonably healthy used cells. Acid can be added.

The battery may load out in the shop showing 70 to 80% of its original capacity. However, in real world application what we see over and over is old batteries, self discharging at a rapid rate, as fast as 1 week! For 25 years we have seen many customers experience this problem with their used battery.

If presented a proper ROI between new and used, the economics most often favor the new battery.

This is a very common scenario and it must be explained up front to the customer what the differences between a new battery and a refurbished or used battery is.

If a customer is considering a used, rebuilt -refurbished battery the questions that should be asked are:

• How old was the battery before it became a refurbished battery?
• What brand is the battery? not all batteries are of the same quality and have the same amount of fuel engineered into them.
• How was the battery maintained over its lifetime?
• Did it spend much of its time in a sulfated state?
• Was it heavily flooded and is there corrosion on the tray?

Typically it is not recommended to use batteries that are older than six or seven years of age that have more than one or 2 dead cells.

Few buyers will ever know the answers to these questions.

There is a THIRD option and a smart way to handle the upfront one-time cost of purchasing a new quality replacement battery.

Rent to Own

We are all used to purchasing gasoline or diesel for our vehicle or propane forklifts on a weekly basis. We understand as we consume fuel we need to replace it to keep on doing our work that is required.

Rent-to-own allows you to have the same type of monthly payment where you can acquire your fuel as required over longer periods of time. At the end of that lease you may purchase that battery and own it for many, many years. This is where you'll get the greatest value on your investment.

Lease to own makes owning and operating an electrical forklift the same as a propane diesel or gas unit.

Again, consultation is always the best and taking the time to do the research can ensure you make the ideal purchase.

Please contact Black Box Battery for further consultation.

A final comment: Lead acid batteries have been around for 150 years, there is no magic in them, everything is tried-and-true.