Want to Reduce Downtime? Don’t Neglect your Forklift Battery.
A major setback in any operation is downtime. Taking good care of your forklift battery is one way to avoid unplanned work stoppages. Let’s review proper battery and charger maintenance to see how the right process will keep your forklift fleet operating at its best capacity.
To begin with, although critical—there is more to battery maintenance than watering. The following battery and charging issues will undoubtedly lead to problems:
- Weak or bad cell – An undetected weak or bad cell will cause more battery changes and overheating, shortening of the life of the battery.
- Corrosion – A dirty or corroded battery creates heat buildup that can decrease runtime, shorten the battery’s life, and lead to significant safety factors.
- Damaged cable – Damaged cables and connectors increase maintenance costs due to the false voltage and amp reading, causing intermittent codes and diagnostic problems.
- Improper charging – Improper charging practices can increase charging frequency and shorten the life of your battery. Read our battery charging tips here: Charged! Tips to Keep Your Forklift Battery Running Properly.
Second, planned maintenance is a smart way to stay on top of issues that may arise. Here are the key steps from Crown Equipment service [1] for maintaining your forklift battery and charger.
Battery Planned Maintenance
- Visually inspect battery condition, cables, connections and vent caps
- Check electrolyte level and battery leakage
- Record voltage readings and specific gravity for each cell
- Thoroughly clean and neutralize battery
Charger Planned Maintenance
- Verify DC charge rate
- Validate ammeter and check nameplate rating to ensure proper match
- Visually inspect charging cables, connectors, contact tips and AC lines
- Inspect line contactor and tighten internal connections
Third, specially trained service technicians can help optimize the efficiency of your batteries. By being skilled in maintenance, safety, and compliance, a good battery technician can provide suitable recommendations and take the steps needed to keep your batteries in tiptop shape. You’ll find that the right maintenance team can help your forklifts, batteries and chargers work together to maximize uptime and performance.
Ultimately, you can eliminate unnecessary downtime by incorporating forklift battery maintenance into your forklift maintenance program. At Action Lift, we know industrial batteries. We offer a wide range of products including chargers, low water/low maintenance, high-capacity battery options and new, fast-charge products. On top of that, we can evaluate your fleet and help maximize your battery investment with our PM Service and wash programs. Remember, as you take care of your forklift battery—it will take care of you!
References:
[1] http://www.crown.com/en-us/service-parts/battery-charger-service.html
Here is a link to download our Crown Battery and Charger Service
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