Is He Right?! My first forklift #forklift #welding #equipment

[aaronwilson]

Ok so im a forklift mechanic. The battery is rated for so many charge cycles. Not so much keeping it on at all times. You can turn it off but just dont charge it unless it basically goes into "limp mode". And by that i mean hydraulics wont work and power reduced. Try not charging it until its at least 20% or lower. That will keep your battery from goung to shit. Another thing. Check the water in your batteries. It needs to be above the plates. Use distilled water or have a osmosis filtration system. Iron in the water is the devil when it come to batteries. Check your specific gravity with a hydrometer and if one cell is less than the others it maybneed replaced usually 2.3 volts per cell at full charge. Keep the motors and contacts clear of dust and debris. Make sure it's lubricated and use dry moly for the inside of the mast rails. Keeps the sust from sticking. If you have any questions, im happy to help. I primarily work on cat mitsubishi linde doosan tcm forklift mechanic.

[Astinsan]

he's right.. the cells get hot and turning them off causes damage to them if they cool fast. Its better to keep machines running 24/7 than to park them.

[HarrDa]

Yeah keeping all of those circuits in the on position is a lot less stressful for them. Constantly getting and losing power can weaken electrical systems.

[heathhill]

If your clocked in, everything stays on .
Had a truck that idoled 13 hours a day for 6 years, and drove it Maybe 2-3 hours
Chevy 350 . Maybe not a storyline of the battery talk . But I bought that truck
It had 400, 000 before it got stolen.
Very little maintenance.

[enginebae]

We never turned ours off unless we plugged em in to charge. We started getting a lot more life out of the batteries when we started leaving them on and running the batteries down for a few days instead of plugging them in every evening.

[ronaldbarber]

I work at raymonds and some of the battery's we use are super old like 13 14 years and we never turn the trucks off

[MidwestBoom]

If you've seen how the last guy used that forklift, I wouldn't worry about maintenance 😂

[thelonewrangler]

I know nothing about electric forklifts, but if it has some type of battery cycling system that only works when it's on, it makes sense to always leave it on. Lack of use is one of the biggest killers of battery life

[andrethebear]

Keep the battery between 20% and 80% charging above and draining below does the most wear

[TGS_The_Viking]

Only one rule with forklift, that the forks ALLWAYS ARE ON THE GROUND WHEN ITS NOT IN USE..

[charge]

Hes right i find that leabing it on keeps it operating better

[projectcar]

Im a forklift operator at Ford and my recommendation is have some people like hilo garage around to do the maintenance on it and the cost doesnt come out of your pocket. Problem solved lol i drive an electric Hyster 120

[rusty_restorations]

I agree. Running the battery deader, then recharged is better than always charging from 99% to 100% each day.

On that same note, keep an eye on water level in the batteries, and monitor battery chemistry, if you end up having to add water at any point

[okcguy]

We just replaced the battery in the forklift at my shop. Battery was 20 years old. Yes the last couple years it went onto the charger couple times a day but it still worked. That was with us turning it off anytime there was no one using it.

[benkrom]

I do know that in refrigerated areas we kept lifts on and had optional heater in the electrical box so it wouldn't sweat and corrode, I also know keeping water level in battery is important and using distilled will also lengthen battery life. I always checked once a week. Make sure funnel is dedicated to just filling battery and kept covered and clean. 10yrs easy on battery.

[kylechristie]

For most of the welding tools I use I've been told run them dead. So if he said leave it on well you know what to do.

[JackofNon]

I was always told you can leave it on or turn it off but don't charge it unless the battery is almost drained. Can't so much have old batteries like that in a warehouse setting now but we've got some at my job that's been around for 5 years

[sparksmobilerepair]

yea thats what ive always heard but me personally i have diesel and propane. but those are nice for inside smaller shops

[DiegogomezGTO]

As a forklift mechanic and former battery tech. Wait until the lift throws code for the battery then charge it.

[LandoCallrissian_]

"cycling" batteries with little load, is similiar to leaving a "maintenance/trickle charger" on them. With chemical action, those iron plates in the "chemical solution", like to "keep moving electrons", when they sit, thats when they start to "stagnate/solidify", and then electrons cant flow well/build up and release well. (VERY rudimentary explanation, but its accurate) Thats why you hear of guys filling up abused and old batteries with a cleaning solution, and then rinsing, as well as adding back an electrolyte solution. It can take a "junk battery" that DOESNT flow any electrons/make energy, and make it BETTER than it ever was before sometimes, depending on the solution ratio/quality of plates in battery.