The goal of this article is to help extend the life of your batteries and improve the performance and life span of your lift truck by educating forklift operators on some of the basics of electric forklift battery maintenance for an electric forklift. Making sure your team is aware of the maintenance plan is critical for the longevity of your pallet jacks and lift trucks. A detailed battery maintenance program should be a part of any regular maintenance schedule the same as checking tires or making sure the spark plug is in proper working order.
FORKLIFT BATTERY CHARGING
Stick to protocol when it comes to forklift battery maintenance and charging your lift trucks. Batteries have a finite number of cycles, if you charge based on convenience instead of sticking to a schedule; you can potentially shorten the battery’s life. The general rule of thumb is to recharge the battery after an eight-hour shift or when it’s discharged more than 30%. If you charge too frequently when it is not more than 30% discharged, you will shorten the battery life. The following charging tips are also considered best practices:
In addition to these electric forklift battery maintenance tips, for safety purposes it’s also highly recommended that a facility be set up with a designated battery charging area. This area should have clear signage, available water supply for eye washing, ventilation, a fire extinguisher and a phone in case of emergencies. Additionally, these other safety precautions are recommended:
Having the right amount of water in your battery is very important for it to function to its full capacity. Have a schedule to check the fluid level of your forklift batteries – approximately every five charging cycles is advised. Check several cells to see if there’s enough water to cover the plastic battery element. If it’s not obvious from inspecting two or three, proceed to check all the cells. If necessary, top off the fluid.
Typically, forklift batteries will need to be topped off every ten charges if they’re brand new, and as mentioned above, should be filled to cover the plastic battery element. Batteries should only be topped off when they are fully charged. It’s also important not to overfill the battery as there needs to be some additional space to account for expansion when the lift truck battery is in use.
Water used in batteries should fall between 5 and 7 on the pH scale and within the batteries recommended levels for impurities. Check the documentation on your forklift battery for specifics on the allowed limits of water impurities. Distilled water is preferred.
Each month you should take a gravity reading of all of the battery’s cells with a hydrometer after a charge. Fully charged, standard forklift batteries typically have an ideal specific gravity of 1.285 (check your battery’s specifications for the exact number for your model).
Oftentimes forklifts are used in rather extreme environments, but for optimal battery life you’ll want to keep the operating temperature at or below 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius). If there’s no way around working in hotter temperatures, be certain the lift truck battery has a lot of circulation in the battery compartment so it can cool. Due to chemistry, the life of a battery is reduced by 50% for every 10 Dec C temperature above 25C. So 35C longevity is half of 25C and 45C longevity is half of 35C.
Some batteries require equalizing, and if so they will often have an equalizing setting on their charger. What is equalizing a battery? At its core, equalizing a battery means that you are overcharging it to remove sulfate crystals that have built up on the plates. Sulfation, as mentioned in the charging section of this article, can shorten the battery’s life. Equalizing a battery also reverses acid stratification, which occurs when the acid concentration at the bottom of the battery is greater than that at the top. Not every lift truck battery requires equalizing, so check the specifications on your battery before adding this to your forklift battery maintenance routine. For wet cell batteries, these should be equalized about once per week. Do not equalize more than the recommended frequency per operating procedures. More is not necessarily better!
Cleaning the top of the forklift batteries with battery cleaner or warm water is not only a good maintenance practice; it is also required on some batteries to maintain the warranty (check your warranty documentation just to be sure). We suggest a monthly cleaning even if it’s not required by your warranty to help avoid build-up, which can cause tray corrosion, faster self-discharge and possibly even impact the forklift’s electronics. Review the safety procedures listed above when preparing to clean a battery.
ADDITIONAL FORKLIFT MAINTENANCE AND FORKLIFT BATTERY RESOURCES