Charge a Forklift Battery
With more and more businesses switching from IC (internal combustion) forklifts to electric forklifts, new challenges are presenting themselves. This article will describe best practices around charging and maintaining a forklift's battery.
Contents
Steps
- Be sure the charger is correctly matched to the battery. This means that the charger has the correct output voltage (12, 24 volt, 36 volt, 48 volt, etc). Also, the output Ampere Hour rating on the charger is closely matched (within 10%) of the AH rating of the battery.
- Be sure the charger cables are not damaged or heat worn. The connectors should be in good shape, not damaged or cracked. Also, the connectors should not be burned or pitted and they make a good electrical connection with each other.
- If the lift truck consumes greater than 40% of the battery's charge at the end of the workday, the battery should be placed on charge for a full 8 hours.
- Batteries are watered after they are fully charged. The water should be distilled or free from heavy mineral content and the levels in each cell should be raised to just above the perforated grid. Do not overfill. Do not water an uncharged battery - it can overflow.
- Keep a watering log in case of a warranty claim. The manufacturer will want to see your watering records.
- Charge the battery no more than 300 times a year for 5 years (1500 cycles) to not void the warranty.
- Allow the battery to charger a full 8 hours through the gassing stage. This helps recombine the electrolyte (acid) throughout the battery and keeps the battery running optimally.
- The gassing phase or charging a battery produces oxygen and hydrogen. Never inspect a charging battery with an open flame. Never smoke around a battery. Charge the battery in a well ventilated area, never in a small room.
- Equalize charge your battery once a week. This is a longer charging cycle and is often performed at the end of the week.
Tips
- Similar to all rechargeable battery devices, forklift batteries should generally be drained as much as possible before recharging to a full charge. Constant recharging of a mostly full battery reduces its lifespan.
- After several years, most old electric counterbalance forklift's batteries last around 4-6 hours. For this reason they are sometimes put on charge sometime through the workday (as directed by the forklift / workplace supervisor).
- Brand new electric counterbalance forklift's batteries should last at least 8-12 hours of continuous use (depending on make, model, type of forklift lifting capacity, operating environments/tasks, etc).
Warnings
- Never place metal objects on top of a forklift battery.
- Always use a battery service stand to inspect a battery. A forklift battery can weigh more than 2000lbs. It should be handled only with the greatest care.
- Never charge the battery near an open flame or spark.
