Electric forklifts can offer you a way to save money on fuel over the years because they use batteries. These batteries don't require much in the way of upkeep, but you will need to charge them periodically. Use the battery-charging tips below to help you get this done.

Examine Charging Cables

The first thing you'll have to do is to determine the condition of the cables that you'll be using to charge the battery. Avoid using damaged and frayed cables, as they could be an electrical hazard and fail to charge the battery properly.

Use the Right Charger

Before charging your batteries, take a few moments to ensure that you've got an adequate charger. While it may seem obvious that you would charge a battery of a certain voltage with a charger of the same voltage, you might not know how to tell how many volts a charger is equipped with. To do this, look at the cells, which look like tiny squares that run along the top of the charger. Count the cells and double that number in your mind. That's how you'll arrive at how many volts the charger is equipped to handle. If the charger and battery are mismatched, you may feel heat emanating from the cables or the charger. If that happens, stop and make certain that the cables are intact and that the charger is suited to the battery.

Follow Up the Charging with Watering

One interesting feature of lift-truck batteries is that they require watering. That's because these batteries use a combination of water and sulfuric acid; the metal plates inside each cell heat up to activate that mixture. Without adequate water, the batteries won't work properly; insufficient water renders the battery unable to absorb and properly use the energy it needs to work. Yet, over time, water is lost. The bubbling that you see toward the end of the charging period causes water to evaporate. Not only that, but as you operate the forklifts, water is also lost because of the heat generated.

Therefore, filling the batteries with water every now and then is necessary. Use de-ionized or distilled water for this purpose, and fill each cell enough to ensure that you submerge the metal plates.

Charging your lift-truck batteries enables your forklifts to continue doing their job. For additional help during charging or watering, contact the battery manufacturer or battery retailer such as Enterprise Battery Corporation that can offer more guidance.

Share