Today we take a look at forklift lithium-ion batteries and let you know why they are the best choice for powering your forklift rental.
Companies like Huizhou Walmart in China have seen a surge in stay-at-home orders from Chinese people, and in response they hired 10,000 workers to help with fulfillment at company warehouses. Other companies, such as Kroger, Amazon and Lowes, have hired thousands of people to work in fulfillment centers.
Instead of purchasing new forklifts to meet growing warehouse needs, many companies choose to rent forklifts as a more economical option to expand their fleet to meet their needs temporarily.
There is one consideration that can help ensure the company that rents it has a hassle-free experience...the type of battery used to power the forklift.
While both lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries provide power, lithium-ion batteries offer additional benefits to rental companies and businesses that lease forklifts. We have over 10 years experience in the material handling industry and we are happy to share our expertise and experience with you. We'll outline all the features and benefits of forklift lithium-ion batteries and compare them to traditional lead-acid batteries. So, let's get started.
Renting a lithium-ion battery-powered forklift offers significant advantages to companies struggling to meet current demand for their products or services.
Lithium-ion batteries do not require water for maintenance. If a customer rents a forklift with a lead-acid battery for only one month, they will have to perform water maintenance during that time.
During water maintenance, workers must check the electrolyte level in lead-acid batteries and refill the batteries with distilled or deionized water to prevent deterioration. This process of refilling the battery with water is risky. If a leak occurs, the highly toxic sulfuric acid inside the battery can splash on workers, causing serious injury.
For many companies that rent forklifts short-term, this extra maintenance and risk of injury is not worth it.
For companies that work around the clock to deliver food and other products to stores and consumers, battery runtime is critical to maintaining operational efficiency.
Companies that can use lithium-ion batteries for their forklifts can expect an average run time of about 7.2 hours before needing to be recharged. Lithium-ion batteries can also be safely discharged to 20% capacity.
Lead-acid batteries, on the other hand, need to be recharged after about 5.4 hours of use, and can only be safely discharged to about 30% capacity.
The longer the battery life, the more cost-effective the operation. And, changing the battery after only 5.4 hours could result in costly downtime for employees who must remove the battery from the device and replace it with a fully charged one before the device can be put back into service.
This eats up precious productivity at a time when every minute counts.
The Li-Ion battery only takes 1 to 2 hours to charge. They can collect opportunities between shifts or when employees take breaks.
This is critical as workers continue to work around the clock to fulfill orders and deliver products, as each device typically requires only one lithium-ion battery, regardless of the number of shifts.
Lead-acid batteries take 8 hours to charge and another 8 hours to cool down. Therefore, each lead-acid battery actually takes 16 hours to return to service. That means one battery per shift per device.
The discharge curve of a forklift lithium battery is much flatter than the linear discharge curve of a lead-acid battery. This means that over a wide operating range, there is very little change in voltage at the battery terminals, allowing the battery to hold more charge even when almost fully discharged.
It can be used beyond 80% state of charge (SoC), but not to zero. When the SoC is zeroed, there may be power remaining in the battery, and further discharge may damage the battery.
With lithium-ion batteries, your fleet will benefit from less downtime and increased productivity and throughput.
If your operation lasts 16 or 24 hours a day, battery charge time is critical for smooth operation. Forklift battery charging is an important factor to consider.
A typical battery discharges in about 6 to 8 hours. This is the key difference between lead-acid forklift batteries and lithium-ion forklift batteries.
Therefore, you may need 2 to 3 lead-acid batteries per forklift for multiple shifts, or you will experience downtime.
With Lithium batteries you can recharge your forklift Lithium Ion battery during 15-30 minute breaks throughout the day (called opportunistic charging). While you can charge a lead-acid battery, it will shorten battery life.
Additionally, the lithium-ion battery can be fully charged in as little as 1 hour or as long as 2 hours. This is 8 times faster than lead-acid batteries and requires no cooling time.
That's why 1 lithium-ion battery can power three shifts. They store 4 times more energy and are 30% more energy efficient.
Lead-acid batteries lose energy when they are discharged, charged or idle, leaving only about 80% of the energy used to charge the battery available as output. This makes lead-acid batteries energy inefficient and increases electricity bills.
Lithium-ion batteries, on the other hand, are more energy efficient because they have minimal losses and most of the energy used for charging is available as output, sometimes as much as 99%.
Therefore, lithium-ion batteries can help you reduce your electricity costs as they can provide more output with minimal energy loss.
If you are using lead-acid batteries, you may need multiple lead-acid batteries per forklift during operation. This may also require you to save their extra storage space.
Additionally, you need to ensure a safe storage environment, away from hot air ducts and other heat sources, out of direct sunlight, and with good ventilation. You must also follow safe charging procedures to avoid acid spills or leaks that could cause burns, corrosion, and other hazards.
All of these guidelines require trained personnel and resources. But lithium-ion batteries are easy to charge and require little maintenance. You don't need additional storage infrastructure because you don't need multiple batteries per forklift.
Of course, any electric option will produce cleaner fumes than an internal combustion engine, so this is especially important for businesses concerned about environmental and community impacts.
While acid battery-powered forklifts require a lot of extra space for a dedicated charging area, lithium-ion powered forklifts have no such requirement. In a warehouse or workplace where space is at a premium, being able to instantly charge your forklift without waiting for other fleet vehicles is a totally affordable luxury.
No need to interrupt productivity or return to base for extra juice. Just replace it with a fully charged Li-Ion battery and you can go about your day. In addition to the charging facilities required for acid battery forklifts, the need for specialized floor coatings is another disadvantage of this type of machinery. With a Lithium-ion powered machine, it works right out of the box. No special requirements or downtime required.
If you have the ability to replace the FLA battery charging station area, you can free up extra storage space, which is something almost every business will appreciate. Especially if it means reducing clutter in high traffic areas.
In material handling operations, efficiency and productivity are two important keys to success. Why?
There are only so many hours in a day. So whenever you can find a way to get more done in less time, you'll gain a competitive advantage.
Can Lithium Forklift Batteries Offer You? Here's something to consider.
Do you operate multiple shifts?
Multi-shift applications such as manufacturing, 3PL, food processing, and other 24/7 material handling operations benefit the most from lithium-ion batteries. They can only use 1 lithium-ion battery per truck.
Their only complaint: we should have switched sooner.
For these multi-shift operations: Lithium-ion batteries may be able to pay for themselves in as little as 36 months. For single-shift operations, the payback time for lithium-ion forklift batteries can be longer—five years or more.
Do you have a freezer/refrigerated environment?
Lead-acid batteries do not handle cold or freezing conditions well. Their capacity can be reduced by up to 35%.
Lithium-ion forklift batteries have much better capacity at low temperatures than lead-acid batteries and can be charged quickly at low temperatures, even in a refrigerator.
Therefore, operations where forklifts operate in cold/freezing environments can quickly benefit from lithium-ion forklift batteries.
Are your margins slim?
If your operating margins are slim, you could benefit from switching to lithium-ion forklift batteries. Why?
When you switch to lithium forklift batteries, you can reduce energy bills, reclaim real estate and increase productivity. The changes were immediate.
Lithium-ion forklift batteries are 40 percent more energy efficient than lead-acid batteries and 88 percent more efficient than diesel.
Therefore, lead-acid forklift batteries may cost less up front, but cost more to own and maintain.
Increased productivity and lower energy bills are just two of the main money-saving reasons to start using lithium-ion forklift batteries.
Consider Culture Change
To get the most out of your lithium-ion forklift batteries, train your operators to strictly use opportunistic charging. Whenever a forklift is scheduled to be idle for a period of time, they should remember to plug it in!
A rental company may see significant benefits when choosing to power its fleet of rentable forklifts with lithium-ion batteries.
1. Peace of mind
Rental Forklifts It is almost always the safer and less risky option for customers to rent a battery forklift that requires minimal maintenance.
As mentioned above, lead-acid batteries require a lot of routine maintenance. This can be problematic for companies that own forklifts if the company that rents them does not have the proper training or safety protocols in place to specifically address maintaining lead-acid batteries.
Batteries can be damaged if proper maintenance procedures are not followed. When a damaged battery is returned to the forklift rental company, the forklift rental company may have to deal with the fallout.
In other words, rental companies can save themselves and their customers a lot of trouble by opting for lithium-ion batteries that don't require as much maintenance as lead-acid batteries.
2. Longer life
While the demand for forklifts is great news for companies that rent forklifts, it's important to make sure you're getting the most out of your investment.
One way to make sure of this is to look at the average battery life, so you can make sure your battery lasts as long as possible. A battery that lasts longer usually makes it a more worthwhile investment.
When properly maintained, the average lithium-ion battery life is between 2,000 and 3,000 cycles. On the other hand, the average lifespan of a lead-acid battery is only 1,000 to 1,500 cycles.
Intermittent charging for a few minutes (for example, 15 to 3 minutes) will shorten the life of a lead-acid battery, but will not shorten the life of a lithium-ion battery.
And, with 3,000 hours of lithium-ion battery operation per year in your forklift, you can realize your return on investment in less than 36 months.
how?
You don't need to buy extra batteries (for conversion) as they charge fast (allows for opportunity charging. This also saves facility space.
You don't need more charging stations. Lithium-ion chargers are very small compared to lead-acid, saving space in the facility.
Opportunity charging and fast charging without damage. You can recharge a Li-Ion battery during breaks of 15-30 minutes (called opportunity charging). While you can charge a lead-acid battery, it will burn out the battery and shorten battery life.
Reduce downtime. Opportunistic charging helps reduce downtime and improve fleet performance. Plus, lithium-ion forklift batteries last up to 4 times longer than lead-acid batteries, increasing your efficiency.
BSLBATT is a professional lithium-ion battery manufacturer, including R&D and OEM services for more than 20 years.The company takes the development and production of advanced series "BSLBATT" (best solution lithium battery) as its mission. The BSLBATT Battery has been validated to over 60 industry quality and safety checks. It has multiple layers of monitoring, safety, and backup redundancies both in the module and complete unit. The battery is designed and assembled in China., and its assembly facilities meet the stringent ISO 9001:2015 certification standards. In addition, 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.
At BSLBATT Battery by China Huizhou we have decades of experience supplying critical systems to OEMs. We understand the importance of being a partner, supplying on time and meeting our commitments. Our IP67 modules are robotically built in continual, serial production so that when your battery order comes in we can not only deliver the highest quality, safest and most technologically advanced product, we can also assemble and deliver it with the shortest lead time in the industry. Our battery packs are used to power industrial and commercial equipment like forklifts and Renewable Energy, as well as new applications like Golf Cart, Floor-Machines, Marine and Mobile Elevated Work Platforms stations. Our products comply with UL2580/UL1973/UN38.3/ROHS/IEC62133/CE/CB standards.
Our article, How lithium-ion forklift batteries are changing the game for the paper and packaging industry. Explores further the benefits lithium-ion batteries offer and why they are more reliable than lead-acid batteries in the long run for forklift rental companies .
