The overall health of your forklift battery will determine how powerful and effective your electric forklift will be. In order to get the most out of your forklift, and to ensure that warehouse operations run as smoothly as possible for many years to come, you should maintain to a high, reliable standard. Part of this will include the way in which the machine itself is being handled, so convey the importance of battery health to your operators for absolute peace of mind.
To ensure your battery is in the best possible condition at all times, there are a number of different steps that you can follow. From keeping an eye on water levels to the avoidance of intermittent charging, it’s exceptionally quick, easy and simple to keep your forklift battery as healthy as possible.
Run regular maintenance checks on it
One of the major causes of forklift battery deterioration is sulphonation. This is when sulphuric acid crystals form and subsequently attach onto lead plates, meaning that the battery will no longer be able to hold as much charge as it did prior to sulphonation. Over time, this can actually cause the battery to die completely, and they can be ridiculously expensive to replace.
In order to prevent this from happening, it’s imperative that you run regular maintenance checks on the battery itself. If you see any crystals forming, even if they’re tiny, then you should notify an engineer as soon as possible as they’ll be able to rectify the problem by simply removing the crystals to prevent a more problematic, and potentially irreversible, build up.
Don’t let the battery fall below a charge of 20%
If the battery charge falls below 20%, it can cause certain parts and components to run extremely hot, therefore lowering the life expectancy of your forklift battery. It could even slow down the rate at which your hydraulics operate and also reduce traction over time. In addition to this, it could also cause the motor to burn out beyond repair.
To prevent the aforementioned issues, you should charge the battery overnight as it’ll be completely uninterrupted. If you cannot charge the battery overnight, then do so in between shifts for the recommended time. But remember to plug them in before they fall below a charge of 20%. Ask your operators to keep a close eye on the charging indicators that will be clearly displayed on the dashboard.
Avoid charging the battery intermittently
Somewhat related to the previous point, the manner and rate in which your battery is charged will determine how long it continues to operate for. It’s important that you don’t charge the forklift for short periods of time in between uses as this could cause more harm than good. This is because the overall lifespan of a forklift battery is determined by the number of charges it undergoes. The more often you plug it in to charge, the more you’re deteriorating its life by.
Instead, opt to fully charge it once for a long period of time. Many warehouse owners and forklift operators choose to do this overnight as it allows for several hours of uninterrupted charge time. In addition to that, it’ll also provide many hours of service over the course of a working day, meaning you might not have to charge it again for a few days, depending on how often it’s being used.
Keep an eye on the water levels
It’s important that the water levels are checked on any vehicle battery to help elongate its life as much as possible. This is because, if the water drops to considerably low levels, then the plates will quickly become exposed to the air. Once the materials on the plates begin to dry out, they’ll become brittle and subsequently be more prone to damage and deterioration.
If you notice, during the regular maintenance checks you carry out, that the water levels have fallen too low, then you can top it up using distilled water, although you should take care not to overfill it. If you’re at all uncertain about performing this task yourself, then ask an engineer for advice or even draft them in to do it for you.
Hire Forklifts are proud to be able to offer customers high-quality material handling machinery, including robust diesel, LPG and electric forklifts. If you would like more information about the warehouse equipment we have available for hire, including reach trucks, pallet trucks, order pickers and more, then get in touch with a member of our friendly, knowledgeable team today – we’re always on hand to help.
If you notice, during the regular maintenance checks you carry out, that the water levels have fallen too low, then you can top it up using distilled water, although you should take care not to overfill it. If you’re at all uncertain about performing this task yourself, then ask an engineer for advice or even draft them in to do it for you.
Hire Forklifts are proud to be able to offer customers high-quality material handling machinery, including robust diesel, LPG and electric forklifts. If you would like more information about the warehouse equipment we have available for hire, including reach trucks, pallet trucks, order pickers and more, then get in touch with a member of our friendly, knowledgeable team today – we’re always on hand to help.
