Right Caring for your Forklift Battery

One of the best ways of keeping your forklift functioning properly and extend its lifespan is by ensuring that its battery is working well. Note that your forklift battery should last for a few years if you take care of it well. But have you wondered about the best approach to ensuring that your forklift battery is well-maintained? Here is a comprehensive guide to ensuring that you have maintained your forklift battery as expected:

How to water your forklift battery

Whenever you want to water your forklift battery, follow the following instructions:

• Always use clean water that contains zero to low mineral content. Though you may not need distilled water, in areas that have hard water, you will need distilled water or bottled water.
• Avoid watering your battery before you charge it. Always charge it first and once it’s fully charged, water each battery cell individually.
• Never overfill your forklift battery. When watering your battery, focus on watering each individually until the perforated element protector that is located just below the cell cap is approximately ¼ covered. For perfect results, it’s advisable to use a battery filling system that has a blinking indicator light.

Charging guidelines

For you to ensure that you have charged your forklift battery in a way that will enhance its life, follow the following guidelines:

The right charging approach can be practiced if only the person responsible for charging the battery has the right information from the forklift truck’s battery regarding the state of the battery. Experts recommend that a professional forklift technician should first check the forklift to ensure that the battery charge indictor is calibrated as expected.

Always keep in mind that a new battery usually has a fixed number of charge cycles available to the user before the battery’s active material is fully consumed. A charge cycle is simply the process whereby you discharge a fully-charged battery then recharge it to 100% full. Keep in mind that regardless of whether you discharge your battery by 56% or 78% it still equals to one charge cycle consumed. Since the battery has a fixed number of charge cycles in its life, it makes sense to discharge it to the greatest possible extend before you charge it. Always aim at minimizing the amount of charge extracted from the battery over time.

Avoid discharging the forklift battery below 20% state of charge. If you discharge your battery below 20%, it means that its voltage will go below the normal level and to compensate, the battery will start supplying the forklift with higher amperage to meet the forklift’s electrical requirements. This higher amperage will cause the battery to heat up leading to premature electrical component failure. This will require you to start financing unnecessary repairs.

Other charging instructions include:

• Always make sure that the forklift charger matches the battery
• Place the forklift battery on equalize charge every five to ten charge cycles. This will help you to maintain the battery at charge level at peak.
• During the normal charging process, the battery releases hydrogen gas. Always charge the battery from a well-ventilated area and away from flames.

Follow this guide to take care of your forklift battery and lengthen its lifespan. If you’re in search of forklift rental Toronto, contact us.