Motive Energy Forklift Battery Care Tips

Ignoring Proper Forklift Battery Maintenance Will Be Costly

Lead acid style forklift batteries and electric pallet jack batteries are the most common type of motive energy battery in use today.

New forklift batteries typically come with a 3 or 5 year warranty and reconditioned forklift batteries typically come with a 1 year warranty.

However, if you ignore proper battery care instructions throughout the life of the battery, you might find yourself replacing this battery much sooner than expected and you might also find yourself in a position where the battery dealer won’t honor the warranty due to a lack of required battery maintenance.

Replacing this type of battery can be very costly, sometimes less than $10,000 and sometimes more than $10,000 depending on the voltage and ampere hour capacity of the battery ( gas tank size ). It also depends on whether the replacement is new or reconditioned.

Below you will find a concise to-do list of how to properly care for your lead acid motive energy battery so you can avoid having to replace this battery prematurely.

How To Properly Care For Forklift Batteries & Electric Pallet Jack Batteries

1. Maintain the battery water level within the proper range as determined by the manufacturer of the battery. Having insufficient water inside each cell of a battery is the number one reason for all lead acid motive energy battery failures.
2. Check water levels in each cell of the battery at least once per week. A 24 volt battery has 12 cells, a 36 volt battery has 18 cells, a 48 volt battery has 24 cells, an 80 volt battery has 40 cells and so on.
3. Watering a battery properly can take a lot of time and not everyone has the desire or time to accomplish this task properly. We would highly recommend that you consider adding an automated battery watering system to every motive energy forklift battery in your fleet, especially if the top of the battery isn’t easily accessible.
4. Use only distilled water or low mineral content water to water the battery. Using a high mineral content source of water will do irreversible harm to a lead acid battery in a very short period of time.
5. At least once per year, use a solution of baking soda and water to clean the top of the battery but make sure that you don’t get this acid neutralizing solution inside the battery because it will neutralize the acid inside the cell and will likely cause the cell to no longer function properly.
6. Have a trained technician inspect the output cables and the connector of the battery to ensure the cables aren’t frayed and that the connector isn’t damaged. Cables and connectors that aren’t in good condition could cause a potential fire or explosion due to hydrogen gas that is produced by the battery during the recharging process.
7. Charge and equalize the battery at least once per week to maintain optimum battery health, regardless of whether the battery has been used or not.
8. Make sure the forklift battery charger is properly matched to the battery voltage and battery ampere hour capacity. We find that roughly 50 % of the time, a client’s charger is not the right charger for the battery. Overcharging or undercharging a lead acid style of battery will result in premature battery failure. The farther out of range the charger is compared to the battery, the shorter the battery’s life.
9. Make sure you are charging your battery with an up-to-date auto start / auto stop charger so that the charger decides the length and strength of each charge, not the user. It must also have an equalization capability if the battery is to perform at it’s best.
10. Make sure you have one primary person responsible and properly trained for the watering and regular inspection of each battery with a secondary person designated as a back-up during times of sickness, holidays etc. Keeping proper records for the watering and repair of each battery will help to ensure that there is accountability within your system too.

At Fleetman Consulting Inc., with over 37 years of industry experience, we have the knowledge and technical expertise to help you get on track and stay on track when it comes to properly managing and maintaining your forklift battery inventory.

Call ( 604-614-3530 ) or email us ( help@fleetmanconsulting.com ) today to arrange on-site forklift battery care training, to diagnose and / or repair an existing forklift battery or for a quotation on a replacement new or reconditioned forklift battery or electric pallet jack battery.

To print out a (1) page PDF detailing proper forklift battery care instructions, please go to Forklift Battery Care Instructions.

For more information on forklift batteries, please go to Forklift Batteries.

For more information on forklift chargers, please go to Forklift Battery Chargers.