Long story short, we had our yearly government inspection here at the airport. Everything passed with no problem, although we were asked the question, "Why aren't your trucks plugged in?" No one said anything before he asked again, "How do you know it'll start?" Now we plug our trucks in after our work is over (usually around 1700hrs) and they stay plugged in until the morning when the next shift comes on duty and does their daily truck check (0700hrs) I was asked to get in my truck and start it, and of course it started with no problem. Now we are all questioning when and how long to plug in our trucks. I personally think its ridiculous to plug them in 24/7, I think it could damage the battery charger. Little back ground we have 2 Oshkosh T-3000's and 1 E-One Titan 8x8.
Is there anything in the NFPA codes stating when/how long trucks should be plugged in? When do you plug your trucks in? Just trying to clear up some un-answered questions. Thanks for everyones input!
TCSS Logue
Um... I'm not sure if there are any NFPA standards about how long an apparatus should stay plugged in. We keep ours on the cord 24/7. They stay plugged in until are ready to roll out the door and the engineer plugs it back in when we get back. As far as any damage being done to the batteries/charger, cant say that I have seen any signs of damage. They all start right up. Well... sometimes our larger tanker takes a little to turn over but thats only because of its army tank sized engine lol
Thats a good idea. I have never seen anyone drive off with the the truck still on the cord. It would be pretty funny though lol. Our new engine will not start if any of the roll up doors are still open.
We plug our trucks in every time they are in the station. We have air and 110v to each of them. All chargers are automatic and we have never had any problems out of any of them.
ours are plugged in all the time for the simple reason of the on board computer always being on. do your trucks have auto eject on the plugs? what does the manufacturer suggest.
Zam our E-One Titan had the auto-eject, but it doesn't work anymore. The other 2 Oshkosh trucks don't have an auto-eject system. I realized earlier that with the onboard aircompressor, the battery chargers, and the external outlet plugs, that the truck would eventually drain without being plugged in. It does in fact have a trickle charger. I guess I was just blinded by a little bit of anger and a lot of ignorance. But that's why we have others that have more experience to explain things. To learn from their mistakes. (Even though we still gotta make our own)
Thanks for everyones continued input!
-Logue
I have been in my FD for 10 years now. As long as I have been with them we have been plugging in our trucks 24/7. The trucks get plugged back in after we are done with our calls. We have not had any problems with our battery chargers on the trucks. I hope this helps you my dept is not a staffed dept we are vol.