The DURACELL GENERATION

Duracell used to run an advertising campaign showing a couple of humanoid toys climbing a rocky cliff to demonstrate how their batteries ran longer than other brands. It was hugely popular, and led to people using the phrase “Duracell Man” to describe someone who appeared to have more energy, stamina and endurance than anyone else. It got me thinking about batteries, how important they are in our daily lives, and how different our lives would be without them. Batteries are unobtrusive little things. These days they’re all pretty small, and hide behind neat plastic covers, out of sight, and hence often out of mind. It is therefore something of a wakeup call to look around the house and count the appliances, tools, gadgets and toys which run on battery power.

At the risk of being incredibly boring, let’s run through a list found in most modern homes. The television remote, the DSTv remote, the VCR/DVD remote, the hi-fi remote, the cordless phone, the cellphone, the radio, the bedside alarm clock, the wristwatch, the torch, the digital camera, and the car key immobiliser.

I have discovered a couple of other battery dependent devices lurking around my home . . . my cordless computer keyboard, and it’s cordless mouse, the computer’s uninterrupted power supply, the fax machine, the front door bell, my toothbrush, my security alarm system and its remote, and the garage door remote.

All in all quite an impressive and to some extent intimidating list, many of which are everyday items rather than gadgets. No doubt I have forgotten one or two others, which will spring to mind again when they stop working. I am equally aware that there are other devices out there which I have no experience of, such as electric shavers, hair curlers, Bluetooth devices, and probably a host of kids toys of which I have little knowledge or experience. I do have a good friend who is also a grandfather, and he assures me that they buy batteries for the grandkids toys almost as often as they do bread and milk!

Of course there is one battery in our household which eclipses all others, namely my powerchair battery. Without it I am literally dead in the proverbial water, and my powerchair becomes a lump of useless metal. It is the king of our household's batteries, and receives suitably royal treatment!

There are a number of theories about the charging of powerchair batteries, and everyone seems to have their own view. I believe that there is no hard and fast rule since we all use our powerchairs in different ways, on a variety of surfaces, for alternative times, carrying our individual weights and loads. I follow one very strict rule with regards to the charging of my powerchair battery. Never, ever, disconnect before the battery is fully charged. I watch the charge indicator daily, and when it shows approximately one third of a charge left it gets connected in the evening before I go to bed and is left to charge overnight. No top-ups. No quick half hour charges to "see me through". If the charger gets plugged in, it stays there until the charging process is complete.

I would like to think that this is the reason why, twelve years after purchasing the motorised wheelchair, I am still using the original battery. I follow the same regimen with regards to the charging of my cordless phone, and cellphone, with similar success.

My system of battery management and charging certainly works for me, and has ensured that, like the "Duracell Man", I am always ahead of the pack!