Forklift Battery

[Timd32]

Anyone know much about Forklift batteries.

Basically it's a 18 cell 36v set up.

Battery was pretty brand new a few years back, but now it will not keep a charge and boils when the charger is connected and for a long time afterwards.

So far I know it's been either way under filled or way overfilled the thing is not very straight forward.

I read it as it should be 1/2" above the plastic protection plate, but it was filled up to about a half inch below the fill hole.

I will figure out how to check the specific gravity, cell temperature, and voltages.

But it sure acts like something bad has happened to this thing.

I also downloaded the charger manual and need to check some settings, the charger gets shut off and restarted which could be an issue if it was doing the max equalize charge rate each time vs the normal charge rate.

The charger is pretty slick it should work for this thing it's specific to lift batteries from what I read.

Unfortunately the mfg does not have a battery manual for this thing that's pretty straight forward. But it seems like a really nice Battery and sucks if it's no good being so new.

Also at 3k lbs it's a heavy beast.

This is the per cell voltage, which works out to 45v which seems high to me, but it says 80% charge? So maybe need to.check the charger is set up for 18 cells.

 

[Timd32]

Not the best audio but here is a quick video.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ha00c51h7qM?feature=share

 

[Timd32]

Found this which states at 2.50 volts the gassing will be rapid, the charger said 2.52v, so that's accurate. I'm guessing the charger needs to be looked at for adjustments, but the battery is for sure not charged all the way at the end of the cycle.

FORKLIFT BATTERY GASSING:
Control of Gassing
Gassing is the evolution of gases from one or more of the electrodes during electrolysis. It is a natural phenomenon which takes place when a forklift battery on charge can no longer accept all of the current being applied to it. Gassing is evidenced by bubbling of the electrolyte. The gases liberated are oxygen, evolved at the positive plates, and hydrogen, evolved at the negatives.

The point at which significant gassing begins is determined by voltage, but the amount of gas depends upon the portion of the charging current that is not being absorbed by the forklift battery. Normally, noticeable gassing will begin when the voltage exceeds 2.30 volts per cell. At 2.40 volts per cell gassing will be normal and at 2.50 it will be rapid. The amperage at which gassing becomes excessive depends primarily upon the state of charge and electrolyte temperatures. As the forklift battery approaches full charge, it is necessary, therefore, to reduce the charging rate to a point at which excessive gassing is prevented. This safe rate is the finishing rate. When proper charging equipment is used the tapering of the charging current to the finishing rate is achieved automatically.

 

[SnoKing]

It should not be filled to the point where to fluid is above the side slots in the fill hole. The slots are here to allow the gases to escape from the cell.

 

[Timd32]

It should not be filled to the point where to fluid is above the side slots in the fill hole. The slots are here to allow the gases to escape from the cell.

Dug a little deeper and found the instruction card for the cell. Really need to get the cell Temps, specific gravity, and voltages checked.
Without that it seems it's a guessing game.

This thing sits for long times and like anything else that's not good for anything.

It's not a hard process at all but it's opposite of how they told us when they dropped it off for sure, the cell technology for this exact model matches our usage for watering, it's an extended "water" battery, which who knows could be a marketing deal but the name it self Deserthog, kinda leads into that, they have 3 levels of cells in this product line. Each has a different feature set for usage.

Found that we probably under watered but at no time was it so low to expose the plates, but we could have added more water.

It as Snoking says should not cover the vent, which we never did, I had read it should be 1/2" above the black protector plate, this diagram is not an exact scale of what we have there is a ton of room from that low to high mark, it's many gallons across the 18 cells.

Still can't say we did not reduce the life of this thing without the readings and some testing.

Also not 100% sure this 2nd charger is the exact type we need the book lists certain types of chargers, it's a lift truck charger for sure.

Another case of just should have done better with this and not rely on folks who sell parts and pieces vs operation folks who need to watch the budget and get the most performance out of the resource.

A new battery installed on site and everything is $10.5k, they are readily available and we can install on Thursday, but if I dont need a battery and need a charger thats a big deal.