LiFePO4 Batteries for Walk-Behind Floor Scrubbers — 24V & 36V Replacement Packs

Walk-behind scrubber-driers are the volume end of commercial floor care — and the end where batteries die youngest. The machines are charged by cleaning staff, topped up between shifts, and run on lead blocks that nobody waters. The result is a replacement rhythm dealers know well: a scrubber fleet consumes battery sets the way it consumes brushes and squeegees. LJY Energy supplies LiFePO4 replacement packs for walk-behind and compact floor scrubbers to cleaning-equipment dealers, rental fleets and building-service contractors, with every configuration confirmed per machine model before quotation.

This page covers walk-behind scrubber-driers and compact machines. For ride-on scrubbers, stand-on machines and scrubber-sweepers, see our dedicated LiFePO4 batteries for ride-on cleaning machines page. Machine brands are named for fitment research only; no affiliation is implied.

The walk-behind platform: 24V is the standard, 36V is the legacy class

24V mainstream — nearly every current walk-behind scrubber-drier runs 24V, built from two 12V blocks in series. Kärcher’s published battery kits for the BD 50/50 are typical of the class: two 12V gel blocks at 76Ah or 105Ah, or AGM at 80Ah or 115Ah. Nilfisk’s Viper AS510B ships the same way — two 12V 105Ah AGM blocks — and Tennant’s T300 runs 24V AGM or flooded. Large walk-behinds stretch the same platform upward: Kärcher’s B 80 W runs a 24V 240Ah AGM set.
36V class — a smaller, older layer of large walk-behinds, of which Tennant’s 5700 is the best-known example, runs 36V lead-acid. The installed base is real but ageing, so we treat 36V walk-behind conversions as per-model confirmations rather than a stock programme.
What this means for stocking: one voltage platform (24V), a handful of block footprints, and a wide model range. That is what makes walk-behind scrubbers a standardisable, repeat-order battery line for a dealer — once fitment is documented per model, the same pack families serve every fleet replacement after it.

How to size a lithium replacement: five checks that decide the quote

Most failed scrubber conversions fail on one of these five points, not on the cells. Work through them in order:

Voltage from the machine plate, not from memory. 24V and 36V machines look alike on a fleet list and are not interchangeable. The data plate and the existing battery label settle it in one photo.
The amp-hour trap. Lead scrubber batteries are rated on traction duties (often quoted at the C5 rate, sometimes C20), and in service only about half of that nameplate capacity is usable without destroying the set early. A lithium pack is rated much closer to its usable output. Comparing labels directly — “the lead set is 105Ah, so the lithium must be 105Ah” — oversizes the lithium pack and the quote. Compare usable watt-hours against the machine’s shift pattern instead; depending on configuration, the correct lithium nameplate is frequently well below the lead figure it replaces.
Compartment before capacity. Measure each block position (length × width × height), the hold-down arrangement, and cable length and routing. Whether the conversion is built as two block-format units or one steel-case pack follows from those dimensions — never assume drop-in.
Connector and charger are part of the conversion. Anderson SB50-style plugs are common on this machine class, but plug colour and keying vary. More importantly, a lead-acid charging profile — especially any equalisation stage — is wrong for lithium. A matched lithium charger, or a verified reprogrammed profile where the machine’s charger supports it, belongs in the quotation, not in a later complaint.
Weight changes machine behaviour. A lithium set typically weighs well under half of the lead set it replaces. On walk-behinds that can affect traction and brush behaviour on some models. We flag it during the model review and confirm whether any spacer or ballast arrangement is needed for that machine — per model, not by assumption.

Typical specification framework

Parameter	Typical platform range / options	Confirmation status
Nominal voltage	25.6V (24V class) / 38.4V (36V class)	Confirmed per model
Capacity	24V class: typically configured in the 50–230Ah range depending on compartment and shift pattern; 36V class per model	To be confirmed per model
Cell chemistry	LiFePO4 (LFP) prismatic	Standard for this series
Format	Two-block replacement format or single steel-case pack built to compartment dimensions	Drawing/dimension-based, to be confirmed
Charge method	Matched lithium charger or verified reprogrammed charger profile; opportunity charging supported	Charger path per model
Communication	BMS with SOC output; machine gauge behaviour reviewed per model	To be confirmed per model
Cycle life	Quoted per confirmed cell configuration and duty cycle	Per project — no blanket figure
Certification documents	Documentation available per configuration from our manufacturing partners	Provided on request per configuration

Why dealers, rental fleets and contractors convert

The replacement cycle is the business. Trojan — the incumbent lead-acid supplier to this industry — states that cleaning-machine lead packs under daily cycling must be replaced every one to three years. Dealers already sell into that cycle; a lithium conversion programme converts the same fleets once, properly documented, instead of re-selling the same lead set on the same complaints.
Rental fleets buy uptime. A scrubber that comes back with a sulfated set earns nothing while it waits for batteries. Lithium tolerates the partial charging rental use actually involves, and removes the watering checks between hires.
Operators are not battery technicians. Cleaning staff plug in when they can and unplug when they must. Partial-state-of-charge use is what kills lead early and what LiFePO4 is designed to tolerate — no watering, no equalisation, no acid handling on facility floors.
Fleet replacements arrive in batches. Contractors and facility managers replace on the equipment cycle, so documented fitments reorder predictably — the same pack family, the same charger, across every site running that model.

Standard 24V building blocks

Many walk-behind compartment builds start from standard 24V LiFePO4 units and are then formatted to the machine. For reference, our standard range includes the 24V 50Ah, 24V 200Ah and 24V 300Ah units. The final scrubber pack format — enclosure, connector and charger pairing — is confirmed against your machine model during the technical review; the same conversion discipline applies across our aerial work platform battery programme.

The conversion process

Send the machine brand, model and a photo of the current battery label, plus compartment dimensions
We confirm the pack format, connector and charger path for that model — in writing, before quotation
Pilot on one machine with your highest-utilisation site or rental unit
Measure a quarter: runtime complaints, charging behaviour, maintenance time removed
Roll out as a documented fitment kit per model, stocked against your fleet’s replacement calendar

What to send for a model check

Machine brand and model, current battery type and capacity (a label photo covers most of it), compartment dimensions or photos, charger make and model, how many machines run this model in the fleet, and the operating pattern — shifts per day and when the machines can charge.

Frequently asked questions

Can a LiFePO4 pack replace the two 12V gel or AGM blocks in a walk-behind scrubber?

In format terms, yes — either as two block-format lithium units or as a single pack built to the compartment. What decides it is the per-model check: compartment dimensions, connector, and the charger path. Send the model and a battery-label photo and we confirm in writing before quoting.

Why is the lithium capacity often lower than the lead set it replaces?

Because the two labels measure different things. Lead scrubber batteries are rated on traction duties (C5 or C20) and only about half the nameplate is usable in daily service without shortening life. Lithium capacity is rated close to usable output, so a lower lithium nameplate can deliver the same shift runtime. We size against usable watt-hours and your shift pattern, not against the old label.

Can the machine keep its original lead-acid charger?

Usually not as-is. Lead charging profiles — particularly equalisation stages — do not suit lithium. Depending on the machine, the conversion uses a matched lithium charger or a verified reprogrammed profile. The charger path is confirmed during the model review and included in the quotation.

Does a much lighter battery change how the machine handles?

It can on some models: traction and brush behaviour are the two things to check when a heavy lead set is replaced by a lithium pack at well under half the weight. This is part of the per-model review — where a machine needs it, a spacer or ballast arrangement is specified before delivery rather than discovered after.

What do you need from us to quote a fleet?

Machine brand and model list, the current battery specification or label photos, compartment dimensions, charger models, fleet size per model, and your market so documentation requirements can be checked per configuration. With that, each model gets a written configuration confirmation before any price is discussed.

Request a floor scrubber model check

Send your machine model and battery label photo — we confirm the configuration, charger path and gauge behaviour in writing before quotation.

Request a floor scrubber battery quotation → · WhatsApp: +86 159 8945 0735