Know What’s Normal: Ultrasound Battery Care & When to Call for Service
Your ultrasound battery won’t perform exactly the same forever—and that’s normal. Like the battery in your phone, laptop, or power tools, ultrasound batteries gradually lose capacity with age and repeated use.
Understanding what
normal battery performance
looks like makes it much easier to recognize when a battery simply needs to be charged, when it may be reaching the end of its useful life, or when it’s time to contact ReproScan for a service check.
What Does a Healthy Battery Look Like?
When fully charged, a battery in good condition should provide runtime reasonably close to what you have come to expect from your system. Some gradual loss of runtime over months and years is normal.
You may also notice the battery becoming slightly warm while charging or during heavy use. That can be normal as long as the temperature returns to normal after use. Charging may slow as the battery approaches a full charge, and a battery sitting unused will gradually lose some of its charge—particularly when stored in warmer conditions.
What you shouldn’t see is swelling, leakage, deformation, unusual odors, discoloration, or excessive heat.
Typical Runtime
XT & Apexx
Interchangeable Battery
Expected runtime when fully charged:
approximately 4-6 hours depending on settings and temperature.
BoviScan
Internal Fixed Battery
Expected runtime when fully charged:
approximately 7 hours
Flexx
Internal Fixed Battery
Expected runtime when fully charged:
approximately 4-6 hours depending on viewing devices and temperature.
Actual runtime can vary with the age and condition of the battery, operating conditions, temperature, and how the ultrasound is being used.
One of the Easiest Things You Can Do: Don’t Leave It on the Charger All the Time and Only Use ReproScan Charger
It can be tempting to finish preg checking, plug the ultrasound in, and leave it connected until the next time you need it. Don’t make continuous charging your normal storage routine. It can shorten your battery life. Additionally, if there are any fluctuations in your power while plugged in, it could damage your machine’s internals. Pro tip: have a surge protector at your charging station.
Charge the battery using the manufacturer-specified charger and disconnect it once it is fully charged. Likewise, don’t routinely run the battery completely dead before charging it again.
Partial discharge-and-recharge cycles are perfectly acceptable. You do not need to drain the battery to 0% before recharging it.
For charging, a cool, dry, well-ventilated location is best. Avoid charging in direct sunlight or excessive heat. The recommended charging temperature is approximately 10–40°C (50–104°F).
Temperature Matters
Ultrasound equipment lives a harder life than most electronics. It gets used in hot barns, cold chutes, trucks, feedyards and plenty of environments that aren’t climate controlled.
The rated battery operating range for the XT and Apexx systems is -20°C to +48°C (-4°F to 120°F) . However, being within the allowable operating range doesn’t mean extreme temperatures are ideal for battery or equipment longevity. When possible, avoid prolonged exposure to excessive heat and don’t store batteries in hot vehicles or near heat sources.
If a battery becomes
abnormally hot
during normal operation or charging, stop using it and allow it to cool. If excessive heating continues, contact ReproScan rather than continuing to use or charge the battery.
How Long Should an Ultrasound Battery Last?
For the XT and Apexx battery, the manufacturer’s general expectation is approximately
300–500 full charge-discharge cycles
, with a practical service life often estimated around
2–4 years
.
That doesn’t mean a battery automatically fails after a certain number of years or cycles. Battery aging is gradual and is affected by use, charging habits, storage and temperature.
Instead of focusing exclusively on the calendar, pay attention to changes from your machine’s normal performance.
When Is It Time for a New Battery—or a Service Check?
A noticeable change in performance is often your first clue.
Contact ReproScan if you notice:
Runtime has become significantly shorter despite a full charge.
Battery capacity appears to have fallen to roughly 80% or less of its original capacity .
The battery seems to charge unusually quickly and then drains unusually quickly.
The ultrasound unexpectedly shuts off even though the battery indicated it had remaining charge.
The battery or ultrasound becomes excessively hot during normal charging or operation.
Charging becomes inconsistent or the battery will no longer maintain a charge.
You notice swelling, deformation, cracking, leakage, discoloration or an unusual odor.
A swollen, leaking, damaged, deformed, unusually hot or foul-smelling battery should not continue to be used or charged. Remove it from service and contact ReproScan for guidance on replacement and proper recycling.
A Few Habits Can Make a Big Difference
Treat your ultrasound battery much like any other quality rechargeable lithium battery: keep it dry, protect it from impacts and extreme temperatures, use the correct charger, don’t routinely drain it completely, and don’t leave it continuously connected to the charger.
Most importantly, know your machine’s normal and only use your ReproScan charger!
If your ultrasound used to comfortably make it through your normal working day and suddenly doesn’t—or you’re seeing charging, shutdown or heat behavior that isn’t typical—don’t just assume that’s something you have to live with.
Give the ReproScan team a call. Sometimes the answer is simply an aging battery. Other times, a service check can help determine whether something else in the system is contributing to the problem.