If you are working on a project that calls for an electric forklift unit, you will certainly have come across the terms IP54, IP65 and IP67. What do these protection ratings cover? Which protection should be chosen based on your project? Here's a brief answer to these questions.
Knowing the ingress progression (IP) of a battery can help you choose the one that offers you the most protection. Ideally, all the batteries you so heavily rely on would be impenetrable to liquids and solids that could penetrate their barriers. Unfortunately, not all devices are impermeable to elements like water, dust, or sand.
The IP rating given to a battery allows you to know what level of protection your battery has against both liquid and solid objects. These ratings offer a more detailed and useful set of information that can help far more than ambiguous terms like waterproof. The IP rating acts as a standardized evaluation of battery enclosures with the assignment of a number that informs as to the level of protection against entry of water and solids a battery has.
The IP protection rating is an electric forklift to be taken into account when choosing a lithium battery, since the chosen protection rating will vary according to the use (outdoor, exposure to dust/water infiltration, etc.). To avoid any risk of a fire outbreak in case of water seepage or damage due to dust, it is advisable to choose an IP54/IP65 protection rating, which guarantees complete airtightness and very satisfactory watertightness.
For more demanding applications where specific protections are required – for example in a hostile environment or for the food processing industry – BSLBATT's teams can offer you specific development of adequate protections for your electric forklift solution. Contact our teams.
It is a standard defined by international IEC standard 60529 of the International Electrotechnical Commission. It makes it possible to determine whether, for example, the electrical equipment is resistant to dust or weather. Apart from the industrial sector, it is aimed at various sectors, such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, etc. IP ratings have also become a selling point for Industrial forklift lithium battery. Generally speaking, this standard guarantees a product’s protection and resistance against the ingress of solid materials and liquids. This directly concerns the risk of damage to the devices until an incident occurs, such as the outbreak of a fire. In an industrial context, the protection rating therefore guarantees that the equipment can, for example, be left outside without risk of damage or personal safety risks.
Among the various standards certifying the safety and durability of equipment, the protection rating is an essential standard throughout the manufacturing process. Ensuring that equipment, such as a lithium battery, is certified by an IP standard and that the standard is appropriate for its use is therefore fundamental to the manufacture of its own products.
Similar to protection against the risk of toy fires, IPs require equipment manufacturers to perform laboratory tests to establish the protection level. The purpose is to certify the product with its IP rating or, alternatively, to reject it and thus go back over certain manufacturing phases.
For manufacturers, IP ratings are therefore an essential tool for guaranteeing the quality of their products and the satisfaction of their customers, whether individuals or professionals.
As outlined above, the ingress rating accounts for both solid object and liquid and moisture, protection classifications. Each of these two categories has its own scale and each value within the categories has a specific meaning with regard to the level of protection afforded to the battery. Listed below are details on how exactly each value is determined.
Solid Object Rating:
1. Protection against large objects larger than 50 mm
2. Protection against a large object larger than 12.5 mm
3. Protection against a large object larger than 2.5 mm
4. Protection against a large object larger than 1 mm
5. Allows for very limited ingress of solid objects the size of dust particles. At this rating, the battery is protected well enough that the battery’s operations are not impacted by small particles
6. No ingress of dust or small particles into the battery
Moisture Rating:
1. There is limited ingress with there being protection against vertical drops of falling water
2. In addition to the protection from vertical drops of water, there is protection up to 15 degrees from the vertical
3. Protection against sprays of water up to 60 degrees from the vertical
4. Protection from water from various angles
5. Protection against strong jets of water
6. Increased protection against stronger jets of water
7. Protection when submerged in water for upwards of 1 minute and 30 seconds
8. Protection against immersion in water under pressure for extended periods of time
For Refrigerated Storage applications, there is in particular a need for the second number in the IP rating to be as high as possible, ideally a 7 or 8. This is because the charging and discharging of batteries used in Refrigerated Storage applications can easily cause condensation and water mist, because splashing from multiple angles may also be submerged in water!
The IP rating of “IP67” offers one of the highest levels of protection that an IP rating can be for both solids and liquids. With this rating, the consumer can be assured of protection against ingress by dust particles as well as protection against liquids and moisture, even when there is submersion underwater for up to 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Batteries like BSLBATT Lithium forklift Battery offer an IP rating of IP67, which helps to completely repel both dust and water ingress, even when immersed in water for over one minute. A battery being used for Refrigerated Storage needs to be able to come into contact with water and debris without its barriers being breached easily. The IP67 offers just this level of protection and is the gold standard in IP ratings for batteries being used for Refrigerated Storage applications.
BSLBATT is the first forklift lithium battery in China to obtain UL2580 certification for its complete product line. Maximum and safe transfer of energy is conducted through flexible copper busbar cabling.
Looking for a battery that can withstand the tough conditions you need to put it through but are not sure where to start? Contact us anytime to speak to an experienced BSLBATT representative who can help answer all of your questions and concerns.
