A Lucas Electric Vehicle Service Unit, the first purpose-built garage in Europe and possibly in the world, for the servicing of new-generation, high performance electric vehicles, is going into operation in Acton, West London. The floor area is 2,700 sq. ft. and it is situated alongside a Lucas garage which has serviced conventional vehicles for many years. The unit is divided into two sections. One is a vehicle servicing area, capable of handling testing and monitoring requirements. The other is the battery section. There are five test stands in the battery section, each constructed to contain a complete vehicle battery pack which comprises 36 6-volt lead battery units. Each test stand is hooded to ensure adequate ventilation and thus to minimize the likelihood of gas concentration. A point of interest here is that as well as battery handling equipment comprising special ramps to facilitate removal, a 'hover pallet' system has been developed using inflatable lifting bags and relying on the principles of the hovercraft. This is particularly appropriate when one realizes that each battery pack weighs 1,000 kilos.
