The Effects of Heat on a Forklift Battery

Battery safety is an essential component of owning an electric forklift. In past posts, we’ve discussed the need to install an emergency eye wash system or even a shower station. However, with summer fast approaching, you also need to be mindful of the harmful effects resulting from excessive heat on your battery. In this post, we review what excessive heat can do to your forklift battery. In addition, we offer a few tips that will keep your battery performing admirably even in the dead heat of summer.

Handle Your Battery with Care During Summer

What are the effects of heat on your battery?

Heat causes a number of effects on your forklift battery, although none of them are positive. First of all, heat will shorten the lifespan of your forklift battery. As such, it is generally the case that during the summer, batteries last a bit shorter than during the cold weather seasons. You will need to factor this in when planning your work day, and don’t be surprised if you find that you need to perform maintenance than during the winter, spring, or fall. Regardless of the season, you need a good battery maintenance schedule, and your schedule should absolutely depend on the season. The standard life of a forklift battery is about 2000 cycles, and too much heat will cause this estimate to shrink substantially. In turn, this will make the lead plates erode at a faster pace and will shorten the life of your battery as well. Meanwhile, high temperatures make water evaporate way too quickly, and you will need to recharge your battery more frequently.

How should you deal with a hot forklift battery?

When you find that your battery is hot, don’t be alarmed. It is also important to remember that a hot forklift battery is exceptionally hot, so don’t be alarmed if you encounter severe temperatures. A good rule of thumb is to allow the battery to cool for a solid 8 hours before charging it. In order to cool down the battery, one of the most successful approaches is simply to install a fan over the battery’s intercell connectors. Finally, remember that the battery will inevitably cause it to heat up, and too much lifting will also heat up the battery. For these reasons, it is crucial that forklift operators are not overworked and that workloads are kept to a manageable level, particularly during the heat of summer.

The summer heat can have a brutal effect on overheating your forklift battery. In the summer, you will need to pay especially close attention to make sure that the battery does not overheat. By following the advice in this post, however, you can keep your forklift operating smoothly even through the most brutal heat waves.