[RE-wrenches] Forklift battery life

[Joel Davidson]

William, What is the size of your forklift battery and what is the 24-hour 
self-discharge rate?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William Korthof" <wkorthof at gmail.com>
To: <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2010 7:52 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] RE-wrenches Digest, Vol 3, Issue 600


> The batteries in my forklift are from the early 90's and continue to 
> perform, despite regular abuse and irregular care. I'll second the comment 
> about the economy of golf cart batteries... They are great for situations 
> where they can be made to fit.
> They've worked well for me in all sorts of applications, and even when 
> they actually fail due to abuse or application misfit, the remedy is not 
> much of a hardship. But you do need to remember that they are commodity 
> traction batteries, not heavy duty solar float or cycling batteries...
>
> /wk
>
>
>
> On Oct 30, 2010, at 10:35 AM, re-wrenches-request at lists.re-wrenches.org 
> wrote:
>
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>> Today's Topics:
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>>   1. Re: Are Thick Plate Batteries Worth the Price? (Dave Palumbo)
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:57:43 -0400
>> From: "Dave Palumbo" <dave at independentpowerllc.com>
>> To: "'RE-wrenches'" <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Are Thick Plate Batteries Worth the Price?
>> Message-ID: <051901cb77de$42a97d00$c7fc7700$@com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>
>> All,
>>
>>
>>
>> I've worked with most battery types in 23 years in the trade. There are 
>> no
>> easy answers here. We see the unusual T-105 battery bank go 12 years.
>> Conversely we have seen people blow through L-16's in 3 years. I 
>> personally
>> have some gigantic (Hoppecke LA's 330lbs each cell) 2v cells in my shop
>> system that are 16 years old and show no signs of decline. They are 
>> German
>> made and brought in special to make good on a failed fibered NICAD 
>> battery
>> we sold for Hoppecke in the early 90's  (that was not a pleasant 
>> experience,
>> I would not do it again, even for a free 20 year+ battery bank as a 
>> make-up
>> gift). Also, I wouldn't want to actually buy these large 2v cells.
>>
>>
>>
>> If you can trust the life cycle, depth of discharge, charts from the
>> manufacturer and calculate a simple "best value" for the dollar, than 
>> you've
>> done your job. Then it's up to a good system sizing design, good metering
>> and great user care. Our number one rule is "fully charge every ten days 
>> (at
>> least)". If you do this, you avoid sulfation, the number one culprit in
>> early battery demise.
>>
>> For a small system  the T-105's typically are the best value. In larger
>> system's there are more choices. A string, or two, of 2v cells can be an
>> excellent choice depending on the price/value ratio. Medium size systems
>> will normally call for Surrette/Rolls 6v, or Trojan L-16 batteries. All 
>> for
>> off grid applications. Sealed batteries for battery backup grid tied.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dave Palumbo
>>
>> Independent Power LLC
>>
>> Offices in Lamoille and Champlain Valley, Vermont
>>
>> www.independentpowerllc.com
>>
>> NABCEP Certified PV Installer
>>
>> Vermont Solar Partner
>>
>> 802.888.7194
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
>> [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of jay peltz
>> Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 8:52 PM
>> To: RE-wrenches
>> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Are Thick Plate Batteries Worth the Price?
>>
>>
>>
>> HI Nick,
>>
>>
>>
>> I gotta ask have you ever seen a battery last 25 years that wasn't in 
>> float
>> and had to do some work,
>>
>> or even 15 years?
>>
>>
>>
>> jay
>>
>> peltz power
>>
>> On Oct 29, 2010, at 5:17 PM, Nick Soleil wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> You generally pay for what you get.  The industrial 2V cells generally 
>> cost
>> more, but will last a lot longer (up to 25 yrs.)  I think it depends on 
>> the
>> customer's budget, and the long term plans for the property.
>>
>>
>>
>> Nick Soleil
>> Project Manager
>> Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC
>> PO Box 657
>> Petaluma, CA 94953
>> Cell: 707-321-2937
>> Office: 707-789-9537
>> Fax: 707-769-9037
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>> End of RE-wrenches Digest, Vol 3, Issue 600
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