Inspecting your forklift every day helps ensure its performance and the safety of operators and other workers. OSHA requires forklift operators to examine the machines at least once daily and after each shift if used throughout the day. If the operator finds a problem with the equipment, they report it to the supervisor.
If there’s an issue with the forklift battery, an experienced Green Power Forklift Batteries technician can use a six-stage process to clean, analyze, and diagnose the problem. Read about our forklift battery inspections and what to expect.
Initial Inspection
Visual Inspection
Just as the forklift operator begins a routine pre-operation inspection with a visual assessment, an expert technician begins analysis with a visual exam. We check for symptoms of acid loss, automatic watering systems, corrosion, inter-cell connector problems, signs of explosions, and physical damage.
Wash and Neutralization
After the visual inspection, we wash the battery with water and acid neutralization chemicals. This creates a clean and safe environment.
Inter-Cell Resistance Monitoring
High inter-cell resistance causes voltage to drop and leads to excessive heat. We look for loose screws and corroded IC connectors, sulfated and corroded connections, bad welds, and bad cables. If we find problems, we correct them.
Diagnostic Testing
Pre-Load Test Charge
After looking over the battery and cleaning it, the next step you can expect in the forklift battery inspection is the diagnostic test. Before we perform the diagnosis load test, we give the battery a full charge. This ensures the accuracy of the test results.
Diagnosis Load Test
During the test, we measure all the cells’ open-circuit voltage (OCV) and specific-gravity (SPGR). Through this test, we learn the battery’s amp-hour (Ah) capacity. We analyze the test results to determine our recommendations for what to do with the battery.
After the Test
Post-Load Test Charge
Once we’ve completed our inspection, we fully charge the battery. This completes the process, and we return the battery to you and give you our next-step recommendations. In some cases, this six-step inspection process corrects issues with batteries. If the diagnosis load test reveals problems with the battery’s capacity, we might suggest a more detailed service.
Green Power Forklift Batteries follows an 18-step reconditioning process that makes us a leader in forklift battery sales. Whether you want a new or reconditioned forklift battery, check out our supply of high-quality batteries today.
