Electric Forklifts Don’t Like Heat

The use of  electric forklifts   in industry today has grown dramatically in recent years.  Operators are finding more and more applications for which the use of an electric forklift is ideal.  They are also finding that there are fewer applications for which an   electric forklift   does not fit.  This is a good thing for our environment, since electric forklifts has almost no emissions and do not need fossil fuels to run.  By the way, Hyundai Forklift of Southern California has a great line of electric forklifts for you to see.

This type of forklift offers many advantages, while at the same time there are a number of key factors that you need to pay attention to assure the long-term health of your electric forklift.

One issue is that electric forklifts don’t hold up well to heat.  Now that is not to say that you should not operate this equipment is warm or hot climates.   What this means is that the electrical system in the   forklift   can get hot and when it does, it will damage your forklift.

So how do you prevent this from happening.  You can prevent this from happening by taking the precaution to properly maintain you forklift battery.  When you forklift battery is not charged adequately, the resistance on you forklift will grow up and with it comes increase heat in the system.   When the heat goes up, components in your forklift can char or even melt.

This is where the 30% rule comes into play.  It is recommended that you stop operating your forklift when the battery shows 30% or less of a charge remaining.  When your battery hits that mark, it is time to put the battery on charge.  Oh, and by the way, when you charge your battery, it gets hot.  So it is always a good idea to let your battery cool down after you charge it.  Typically, a battery should work for 6-8 hours a day, charge for 8-10 hours a day, and cool for the remaining 6-8 hours.

If you are looking into purchasing a new lift, some of these issues have become less pressing with the evolution of the electric forklift into AC systems.  With this new technology, forklifts do not have as many of the wearable parts that can go bad when the system gets hot.  That being said, it is always a good idea to follow the 30% rule to keep you forklift cool.