FEATURE LIFT TRUCKS Ten key things to consider when upgrading a battery fleet


3 Keeping control of maintenance costs Challenge: Flooded cell batteries have significant maintenance requirement, with a need for regular water top-ups. These are time-consuming, pose risks for operators and to the factory floor and, in larger facilities, incur substantial water bills. Solution: More recent VRLA lead-acid types save maintenance time, risk and costs as their internal recombination processes mean that they do not require water top-ups.


As electric motors increasingly replace internal combustion engines in warehouse and production area vehicles, the quality and performance of their motive power batteries is coming under increasing scrutiny


W


hile traditional lead-acid types remain popular and reliable, newer


and more innovative lead-acid technologies, as well as alternatives such as lithium-ion (Li-ion) are giving operators many opportunities to significantly improve their daily operations strategy and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO). Below are ten key points for users to


consider while seeking to benefit from these new technologies:


1 Maximising the vehicles’ time in productive use Challenge: When using vehicles with traditional batteries in multi-shift operations, production time is lost as discharged batteries must be exchanged. The spare batteries required also incur extra cost and space requirements. Solution: Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) VRLA batteries allow vehicles to be used continuously, even in a multi-shift environment. TPPL batteries accept high charge rates, and allow opportunity charging during natural breaks within a shift; the batteries stay within the truck, so swap out time is eliminated.


2 Charging the battery in situ 12 SEPTEMBER 2018 | MATERIALS HANDLING & LOGISTICS


without health risk or product contamination Challenge: Flooded cell batteries release oxy-hydrogen gas and acid vapours during charging. Therefore, they must be charged within a dedicated room with extraction capability to avoid health risks and product contamination. Solution: Choose batteries that do not gas during charging to eliminate these risks. The cost and space of supplying an equipped charging room is avoided, as is the disruption of vehicles traversing between production, warehouse and charging areas.


Newer and more


innovative lead-acid technologies, as well as alternatives such as lithium- ion (Li-ion) are giving operators many opportunities to significantly improve their daily operations strategy and


reduce total cost of ownership (TCO)"


Innovative lead-acid batteries offer cost- savings through


improved operating life, with expectation of 1500 – 1600 cycles at 60 per cent Depth of Discharge (DoD) for current designs


4 Minimising energy costs Challenge: Flooded lead-acid batteries require overcharging levels of 10 – 20 per cent to generate acid mixing and minimise stratification. This adds to the facility’s energy costs and impacts its green footprint. Solution: Battery technologies available today require lower overcharging, at typically 8 – 10 per cent. Up to 30 per cent energy savings can be achieved by using such batteries with suitable chargers.


5 Reducing replacement rates for batteries Challenge: Ongoing capital costs for traditional batteries are higher than necessary because of their operational life cycle limits. Solution: Innovative lead-acid batteries offer cost-savings through improved operating life, with expectation of 1500 – 1600 cycles at 60 per cent Depth of Discharge (DoD) for current designs. They are ideal to be used in Partial State of Charge (PSoC) applications.


6 Reducing space requirements in electric vehicles Challenge: Compact trucks are required for narrow aisles and other confined areas. Solution: Plate sizes have reduced from 9 mm to just 1 mm thickness in some products; this allows 30 per cent space savings compared with equivalent AGM types.


7 The cost and organisation required for spare battery storage Challenge: Conventional batteries must be recharged once every six to twelve weeks during storage. Resources are required for monitoring the open circuit voltage of batteries in inventory, and boost charging when necessary. Solution: Latest-technology lead-acid AGM batteries can be stored for up to two years at 68°F when starting from a fully-charged condition; this reduces the monitoring and boost charging requirement and cost.


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