Play Away the Summer Time Blues

                It’s a bright beautiful week and you're stuck at work just thinking about the weekend. Visions of getting out the boat or jet-ski and hitting the water fill your head. Maybe it is not the water that beckons but the trail and that bike or ATV is sitting in the garage just waiting to be taken out to tear up some trails. Finally the weekend rolls around and first thing Saturday morning you roll your toys out to get them ready to go and ……. NOTHING! Dead battery!

                Now what do you do? You have to charge it up and hope it holds….. Get the tools out and pull the battery out. Now where do you go to get a new one? What kind of battery do you need? What is this going to cost me? NOT the start to your weekend you had in mind! You worked hard all week now it is time to play not mess with a battery. Relax and keep reading I have a couple tips and tricks that will help keep this from happening again.

                I think the biggest mistake people make with power sport and marine batteries is when they store the boat/motorcycle/ATV/RV they store it with a low battery or they let the battery get low while it’s parked. A battery with less than an optimal charge with deteriorate and the next thing you know you’re buying a new one. This is especially true on devices that do not have an onboard charger like jet-skis and boat trolling motors. The best thing you can do for any battery that may be stored for a while is invest in an inexpensive maintenance charger like the “Battery Tender” brand from Deltran (available at your local Battery Joe). Keep those batteries fully charged at all times and you will have multiple years of service life and reliability.

                The next thing we see a lot are people buying the wrong batteries for their device. If you have a boat make sure what you are buying is marine rated and is the proper battery for your application. For instance don’t buy an automotive starting battery when you need a deep-cycle marine battery made for trolling.

                If you have a motorcycle or ATV explore some of the new technologies available in power sport batteries. For instance an AGM (absorbed glass mat or “gel”) battery can provide increased power and reliability on your expensive bikes. New lithium battery technology can shave as much as 8 pounds off your bike when top-end weight is a concern. Both of these newer battery technologies are vastly more reliable than standard batteries and generally come with far better warranties than traditional batteries.

                Next time you are going out for a hard earned weekend of tearing up trails or riding the waves make sure all your “toys” are ready to go. The right battery, well charged with good maintenance can ensure your weekends are everything you have been dreaming about. Check out www.batteryjoe.comwww.batteryjoe.com for more tips and tricks for proper battery maintenance.

Buy car batteries like an expert... And keep em' fresh!

Awhile back I had to buy a new vacuum cleaner. Our old Hoover served us well for 6 years before "giving up the ghost" so when I went to the store to buy a new one I was a little overwhelmed. As I stood there in the isle trying compare the virtues of bag-vs-bagless, little cone suck thingys or big funnel looking thing it struck me that this must be what it is like to shop in our store for batteries.

Batteries are not something you need to buy everyday, especially vehicle batteries. I can only imagine how confusing it must be when one of our guys starts spouting off about different technologies and sizes and types of battery. Thats why I made up a handly little guide with some fairly simple explanations about what we call SLI batteries (Starting, Lighting & Ignition). As you flip through this brief slideshow I hope you find the information you need to make an informed decision the next time you buy a battery for any type of car, truck, motorcycle, ATV, boat etc....

In this presentation you will also find handy maintenance tips and tricks that can really extend the life of your vehicle batteries. A well maintained battery can pay off big when it comes to longevity. I hope that you will find this presentation informative and useful. Please let me know in the comments if you have any battery related questions we can answer for you.

Click this link to view the presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/BatteryJoe/car-battery-information-and-maintenance

For more information check out our website www.BatteryJoe.com

Humbled By Our Customers!

Here at Battery Joe we strive to give our best to each and every one of our customers. It is not a marketing strategy or just a tag line we add to our commercials it is just a part of who we are and who we try to teach our employees to be. We are honored to serve the communities of Lubbock and Amarillo and are deeply grateful when our customers respond and let us know we did a good job.

Like any other business we drop the ball from time to time but we always do our best to live up a high standard of customer service for each and every customer. I don't normally "toot our own horn" about it but lately we have had many fantastic comments left on Facebook, linked-In and email that I just have to share how wonderful our customers are for patting us on the back.

Here are just a few of the reviews we have received just on Facebook:

Susan - Facebook

      "I had fantastic customer service with the Amarillo store and Lubbock corporate today. Thanks!"

Melissa - Facebook

      "Awesome business and customer service! Thanks guys for everything!"

Kenneth- Facebook

      "The guys on university here in Lubbock just saved my butt. Got a battery from them, turned out to be the alternator, they put another battery on just to get me home as I have no money for alternator.....as a politician running for Ag Commissioner.....I hardly ever recommend a business...but THANK YOU! I was broke with no money to fix this and they got me home. No one else would have done this!"

We know you have many choices when it comes to batteries, cell phone repair, accessories, power tool service and alternative energy so we work extra hard to make sure your experience with us is fast and friendly. We are grateful that sometimes our dedication to selling the best batteries at the best cost and having the best staff possible gets a little recognition. Our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to our fans.

If you would like to interact with us more connect with us on Facebook, Linked-in, twitter, Google+, Yelp or just drop us a line using our brief survey (free batteries with a survey).

The Phone Everyone Has The Color Thats All You

Recently our friends over at Lubbock's Best reviewed our cell phone repair services and took advantage of full color changes for a couple iPhones. Color changes are a fast and fun way to express your unique style. We can change your iPhone, iPod or iPad to a custom color that fits you perfectly!

Check out the article from Coby Shaver here:
iPhones continue to be one of the most popular smart phones on the market despite some seriously high quality competition. The different features found in various other smart phones has led to a lot of “what ifs” about the iPhones design, including should color options be available...

At Battery Joe we repair iPhones, iPads, iPods and many different Samsung models. Broken screens, busted charging ports, dead speakers, powerless power buttons are all things we can address usually in a matter of hours (assuming parts on hand).

We have become known for iPhone repair in the Lubbock and Amarillo Areas due to our quick turnaround times, competitive pricing, quality workmanship and comprehensive warranty on all parts and labor. Contact Us today to set up a time to get you connected again..... and with style!

Need to recharge?

General advice for maintaining your power tool batteries

Trying to use a power tool without power is frustrating. There's nothing worse than cutting a job short because the tool designed to speed up the process is dragging behind. Over time, battery packs lose their juice. It's inevitable. Every battery, even rechargeable batteries, run their course and eventually fade into inadequacy. There are, however, some simple steps that can be taken to extend the life of your cordless tool battery packs for years, and avoid the steep prices of replacements.
            Knowing the limits of your power tool battery is the first step in proper maintenance. Standard battery packs are usually good for about 700-1000 charge/discharge cycles, if properly maintained. Each type of battery—whether NiCad, NiMH, or Li-Ion—has a different susceptibility to harmful environmental factors that can slowly decrease its long-term usage. NiMH and Li-Ion batteries usually have the most run time, measured in milliamp hours (mAh), but are more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions and heat than NiCad batteries. Although, as a general rule of thumb, it's best to avoid extreme hot or cold environments with any battery pack.

Be sure to recharge your battery pack after each use, and never store your battery packs without a proper charge. If you’re storing your batteries for an extended period of time, a loss of voltage and capacity due to self-discharge is almost unavoidable, especially concerning the NiMH and NiCad batteries. Even if you are not using the tool, it’s best to charge the battery at least once every two months.

Ironically, the charger itself can also be a potential cause of battery deterioration, so it’s important to be mindful of how long your batteries are connected to the charger. Prolonged charging can easily destroy the battery’s potential. Some modern systems charge the battery to its maximum capacity and then cut power, but even these chargers have a tendency to overheat the batteries and destroy the battery internally. Just be mindful of how long you leave your battery on a charger and remove it when fully charged.

Finally, it’s important to be careful with the battery pack itself, as the internal connections can be easily damaged. Power tool batteries are made up of a collection of smaller cell batteries, usually spot-welded together to complete a circuit at a certain voltage. When a pack is jostled around, dropped, or hit with significant force, that welding can be loosened or broken. Sometimes these can be repaired, but the best way to avoid this: don’t bang your tool around!

If your power tool battery has run its course and no longer holds a charge, rebuilding the pack by replacing the cells is a cost effective option, costing up to 50% cheaper than a new battery. A local battery store, like Battery Joe, can take care of this for you in just a couple of days. Usually the process is very simple and easy, they can even increase the run time of your battery and still be cheaper than a new battery. If, however, the pack is not rebuild-able then be sure to recycle your old batteries and be kind to the environment.

Miles Adams

Technician, Battery Joe