Battery Cleaning
Why do you need to clean your battery?
Surfaces in industrial settings are dirty, that’s a fact of life, dust from concrete, oil from machinery, dirt from outside blowing straight in through doors and vents. With batteries, the problem is magnified due to the film of moisture from the gas given off during the battery operation, particularly at the end of the charge, or during equalise charges, which attracts filth. Much of the water in the gas given off by the battery evaporates but the acid remains to pose a safety hazard to operators. Any dirt on the battery sticks to the film of moisture creating a layer of grime. Electricity from the battery leaks as it ‘tracks’ across the grime, which reduces runtime and leads to increased battery changes, therefore reducing forklift productivity. Electricity always wants to track to earth so with the help of moisture and grime the electricity continues to track across the top of the battery until it finds ‘earth’ in the form of the steel battery case. This poor electrical connection causes a build-up of white and yellow highly corrosive substance all around the battery case. If left untreated this corrosion expands, crushing cell walls, corroding the steel case away, but also robbing the battery of power and causing cells to become very uneven in output and prematurely fail.