It’s important to charge your forklift battery correctly and conduct regular maintenance and inspection to ensure that the truck has enough power to keep up with the demands of your business.
To make sure that you charge your forklift batteries correctly, leading forklift parts supplier Wholesale Industrial Parts shares these basic charging instructions.
What you can find in this blog article:
- Forklift battery instructions
- How to choose the right battery charger
- Other tips to prolong the service life of your forklift batteries
- Final word
Related articles: Ten Types of Forklift Trucks | Forklift Parts that Often Need Replacement
Forklift battery instructions
This guide ensures that you charge your forklift battery at the right place, at the right time, and for the ideal amount of time, allowing your truck to operate at its best.
- Establish a dedicated charging space. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA recommends businesses have a specific charging dock or area for battery charging.
- Turn off the charger before connecting the forklift battery. The idea here is to eliminate the risk of a short circuit between the ground and the positive terminal.
- Avoid overcharging your forklift battery. Overcharging means leaving your vehicle (or any device) plugged into a charger after reaching a full charge. Doing so results in reduced battery life and even a risk of overheating that could damage it.
- Charge at the right time. A good rule of thumb is to charge the forklift battery when its charge level dips below 30% to promote its optimal health. Fyi, charging your batteries more frequently than necessary can reduce their lifespan. In fact, most of them function at their best before they reach the 1,500 charges threshold.
- Use the right amount of water. Forklifts equipped with lithium-ion batteries require the right amount of water to prevent overheating; however, too much can lead to an overflow that may corrode some parts of the engine.
- Mind the temperature. Charging forklift batteries in extreme temperatures (too hot or too cold) can reduce their service life.
- Use the correct charger. Different batteries often need separate chargers; thus, it makes sense to color-code your connectors to prevent mistakes. Note that the charger’s specs should always match the voltage required by a battery.
- Prevent corrosion. One way to do this is to immediately rinse any solution in your battery that overflows.
How to choose the right battery charger
Again, different forklift batteries often require their own charger based on their required voltage and specifications. Continue reading below to learn how to choose the right battery charger for your truck.
- Consider the battery’s dimensions. Make sure that you use a charging system that matches your battery. Always consult the manufacturer’s recommendations to ensure compatibility.
- Pick an industrial battery charger with the correct amp hour (Ah) rating. To optimize the service life of your industrial batteries, always consider the amp hour rating.
- Consider your battery charging schedule. When choosing your charging systems, consider the following factors: their charging speed, energy efficiency and service life.
Other tips to prolong the service life of your forklift batteries
Aside from using the correct charger system based on your battery’s specifications, there are other ways that can help you prolong the service life of your forklift batteries.
- Recharge your battery once it drops below 20-30%, which is called the “red zone.”
- Don’t let your battery be completely depleted.
- Allow the battery to reach 100% charge before removing it from its charger. Remember that most batteries are only good for around 1,500 charges, which means once they pass this threshold, they may not charge or function as efficiently as they used to.
- Never allow batteries to remain depleted for too long, which usually happens when a certain forklift part breaks down and the replacement accessory takes too long to reach you. (This is why you need a reliable forklift parts supplier like Wholesale Industrial Parts that ships anywhere.)
- Conduct regular inspections to ensure that your batteries’ electrolyte levels are normal and not depleted.
- Avoid the so-called “opportunity” charging. It doesn’t matter whether you charge the battery at 70% or 20% power because doing so still reduces the total number of charges it can withstand. Simply put, don’t recharge it just because it happens to be convenient if you don’t want to shorten its service life.
Charging Your Forklift Battery
Now that you know forklift battery instructions and the simple ways to prolong its service life, it’s also important that you find a reliable supplier of forklift parts and other industrial accessories to avoid costly downtime. At Wholesale Industrial Parts, we ship high-quality parts anywhere.
Related articles: Ten Types of Forklift Trucks | Forklift Parts that Often Need Replacement
From hard-to-find industrial parts and tires and electrical components to seats, tires and pallet jacks, Wholesale Industrial Parts can serve as your reliable supplier. Additionally, we have a team that can help you locate any industrial accessory you need.
Please visit our online store or call us at (844) 588-8455.