Brake Testing

Overview

The Bowmonk BrakeCheck is a fully self-contained, portable, battery-powered brake meter that can be used by workshops, government traffic authorities, testing and inspection stations etc. to test and report on vehicle brake efficiency. The unit is MOT approved.

The Bowmonk BrakeCheck determines braking efficiency of both the Service Brake (Foot brake) and Hand Brake by measuring deceleration.

Designed to be self-compensating, the instrument will indicate on the LED screen when it is positioned level enough to perform a brake test. A generous tolerance ensures "level enough" is easily achieved. All operations are performed using only three buttons on the unit.

The Bowmonk BrakeCheck can be used to test any type of vehicle, including motorcycles, and can be positioned anywhere in the vehicle.

The device operates on 4 rechargeable Nickel Cadmium batteries and will power-down after a period of inactivity to conserve energy.

With the Bowmonk BrakeCheck, test results can be viewed on the display or downloaded to a PC. Printing can be done from the PC or by using a portable serial or infrared printer.

There are 2 BrakeCheck models available:

Brake Check: stores only 1 Service Brake and 1 Hand Brake test into memory.

Brake Check Plus: stores 99 Service Brake and 99 Hand Brake tests into memory.

Features

3-Axis Accelerometer
Measures Peak Deceleration Front/Rear
Measures Average Deceleration Front/Rear
Measures Peak Acceleration Left/Right
Vehicle pulls Left/Right indication and value
Calculates Brake Efficiency
Calculates Stopping Distance (displayed in metres or, by special request, feet)
Calculates Test Speed (displayed in km/h or, by special request, mph)
Can be used for Hand Brake Test
Audio Signal
Measures Ambient Temperature in °C and °F
For BrakeCheck Geo only:
- Built-in GPS receiver
- Latitude and longitude of the brake test finish point are stated on the print-out
- GPS facility can be enabled or disabled as required by the user. When enabled, the brake test cannot be started until a GPS fix is obtained.
- LED indicating GPS status, one of the following:
  - GPS disabled
  - Searching for GPS fix
  - GPS fix obtained & ready for test
- Please note that BrakeCheck Geo is not currently compatible with CabCheckS software for downloading results to a PC.
Battery charger supplied, with appropriate plug for destination country
Operates for approximately 5 hours or approximately 120 tests on full charge
Can be used after 5 minutes of charging
Battery charge indicator
Automatic level compensation
Simple LED indicator system
Easy to use
"Calibration Required" indicator
Three digit readout
Display can be read in sunlight
Internal self-diagnostics
Test results are stated in 'g' units and are accurate to +/- 0.01g (results can be stated in m/s² by special request)
Size: 170 x 80 x 35 mm
Weight: 0.4kg
Range of accessories available

Model Variants

BrakeCheck (all vehicles)

The BrakeCheck is a DVSA approved decelerometer for testing all classes of vehicle, including:

Motorcycles and Quad bikes / ATVs (requires optional handle-bar mounting kit)
Passenger Cars
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), e.g. vans
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV), e.g. articulated and non-articulated trucks
Passenger Service Vehicles (PSV), e.g. buses, coaches and minibuses

BOW801 - BrakeCheck

Stores 1 Service Brake & 1 Hand Brake test into memory.

BOW801KIT - BrakeCheck Kit

Includes a BOW801 BrakeCheck, a wireless printer, a spare printer paper roll, a carry case and a CD with documentation.

BOW801S - BrakeCheck with Secondary Test

Stores 1 Service Brake, 1 Secondary Brake & 1 Hand Brake test into memory.

BOW803 - BrakeCheck Plus

Stores 99 Service Brake & 99 Hand Brake tests into memory.

BOW803G - BrakeCheck Geo

Built-in GPS receiver. Stores 99 Service Brake & 99 Hand Brake tests into memory.

BrakeCheck TT (Trailer Test)

The BrakeCheck TT (Trailer Test) is very similar to the standard BrakeCheck unit, but has the facility to display separate results for the truck and trailer braking efficiencies.

Please note that, as with any portable brake testing device, the BrakeCheck TT is not DVSA-approved for trailer brake testing. To gain DVSA approval a test device must be able to determine whether the wheels have locked up, which is not practically possible with a portable device.

BOW820 - BrakeCheck TT

Stores 99 Service Brake, 99 Hand Brake and 99 Trailer Brake tests into memory.

BrakeCheck4Quarries

The BrakeCheck4Quarries is very similar to the standard BrakeCheck unit, but tests the parking brake via an inclined brake test (i.e. checking that the parking brake keeps the vehicle stationary on an incline rather than measuring deceleration of the vehicle itself). It is also able to prompt the user to enter the condition and type of surface on which the brake test will be carried out

BrakeCheck FLT (Forklift Truck)

The BrakeCheck FLT (ForkLift Truck) is very similar to the standard BrakeCheck unit, but has been developed with a leading forklift truck manufacturer to take account of the slow speed and tilt of forklift truck vehicles.

Bowmonk BrakeCheck Datasheet

Bowmonk BrakeCheck instructions