What Happens If You Do Not Maintain a Forklift Battery

There are so many dangers of ignoring forklift battery maintenance. If your company is faced with a drop in workload, it is often tasked with temporarily cutting certain areas of its operation. For companies that use forklifts, lead acid battery maintenance may be among the first to go when reducing certain areas of its operations. This can present an extreme problem that can cause major financial repercussions.

Dangers of Not Maintaining Forklift Batteries

Here are some forklift battery maintenance tips that you can implement for your daily operations.

Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries do not require as much maintenance compared to lead-acid batteries. This makes these batteries the perfect option for companies that are looking for ways to cut their costs.

Maintenance Issues During Charging

All maintenance crews must pay special attention to lead acid batteries while they are charging to make sure that they are not under or overcharged.

If a lead acid battery is not returned to its full charge after use, there is a risk that damage may occur. If a lead acid battery is only partially charged, it can cause sulfation, which can occur when lead sulfate develops on the plates of the battery. This reduces the performance of the battery and can even cause battery failure.

On the other hand, lithium-ion batteries can be partially charged safely. Additionally, partially charging a lithium-ion battery is more convenient since it enables crews the opportunity to charge the battery during their breaks.

If you overcharge a lead acid battery, you can cause danger as well. If any of your workers happen to leave the battery in a continuous state of charge for a long period of time, the positive battery plates may develop corrosion.

Furthermore, if a lead acid battery overcharges, any pressure that has been produced from the oxygen and hydrogen gas must be released or it can rupture.

Lithium-ion batteries feature a state-of-the-art battery management system that is able to keep track of cell temperatures while the batteries are charging to make sure that they remain at consistent temperature ranges.
 

Watering the Battery

Lead acid batteries require what is known as a “watering” process. Lead batteries are filled with a liquid electrolyte solution that requires regular refilling with water or the chemical process will break down. This can also cause the battery to suffer an early failure.

Overwatering can also cause battery damage since electrolytes can become diluted. This takes away from the battery’s performance and increases the risk of a spill occurring. If this occurs, highly toxic sulfuric acid can splash onto your body and cause significant injuries.

Furthermore, lead acid batteries require additional ongoing maintenance procedures such as routine checks of ventilation holes. This enables hydrogen gas to escape. If gas is not able to relieve itself, a build-up of pressure can occur and result in an instant explosion.

It is also important for crews to frequently monitor the discharge levels of a battery since a battery that is left dead for an extended period of time can become damaged.

Categorised in: Forklift Batteries

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