Lead acid batteries have existed for about 140 years, but now they are facing fierce competition from modern lithium-ion technology. Traditional lead-acid and lithium ion batteries are used to power forklifts in material handling operations. Nowadays, almost all electric forklift and warehouse equipment suppliers in the world comply with the trend of the times and equip their 名媛直播 with lithium-ion batteries.
But what are the advantages of lithium-ion batteries? Do their advantages push efficiency and productivity to a higher level than our electric forklift has reached? We compiled industry information to see what benefits these batteries have?
lithium battery
"Lithium battery" is a common name for battery types used in many things around us, such as mobile devices, electric vehicles and forklifts. They are everywhere. Due to different applications and requirements, there are many types of lithium batteries. Performance, durability, life cycle time and cost all depend on which battery chemistry and battery type are used. The prices of various battery types are very different, and usually you can expect to get what you pay.
Forklifts use high-performance lithium iron phosphate batteries, called Li pro, which enable forklifts to be used in most applications, including harsh heavy loads and shift operations. Li Pro battery has excellent performance and reliability for a long time, which can save cost and quickly obtain return on investment and ROI.
Generally speaking, forklift manufacturers will provide specially developed lithium-ion batteries to provide maximum safety and integration while maintaining the recognized high quality and reliability of forklifts. The battery cell is controlled by a monitoring and monitoring system called the battery management system (or BMS), which controls everything. BMS measures the health status, temperature, charging and discharging activities of the battery and records all data.
The BMS communicates with the forklift through can (controller area network) and sends information about battery status, such as discharge level, which is visible on the standard forklift display. If there is any problem, an error code will be displayed, and in the worst case, the battery will automatically shut down the forklift in a safe way. Even the charger communicates with BMS through can to realize the best and fastest charging according to the battery state. Provide a variety of fully integrated, tested and approved lithium batteries to provide maximum safety, performance and reliability.
Easy to use
One of the main advantages of lithium-ion batteries is that they are designed with special consideration to the convenience of use, especially the convenience of charging. Whenever possible, they can simply plug in the power, even if it's only a few minutes. Opportunistic charging provides the ability to plug the charger directly into the lithium-ion battery, so it can be charged at any time of the day. With the application of the correct specification of lithium-ion forklift battery and charger combination, charging during the normal rest time of a shift is enough to manage the continuous operation of 24 / 7. The lithium battery on the cat forklift can be fully charged within one hour (1c charging). In addition, due to the can integration with the charger, any available lithium ion charger can be used as long as the voltage is the same as or higher than the battery voltage. The charger will automatically adapt to the battery and provide the correct voltage and current. Very smart.
Battery life
The Li Pro forklift battery provided by the forklift manufacturer has a long service life. Because lithium-ion batteries are a modern technology, they are not sensitive to charging because they like to be charged. The life of these high-performance lithium-ion batteries is about 5000 capacity cycles. Compared with the traditional lead-acid battery with about 1500 charging cycles, this is a different measurement method. In most applications, you will need three to four lead-acid batteries to provide the same life as a lithium-ion battery. In addition, unlike lithium ion batteries, the service life of conventional batteries will be affected by their use and maintenance - water leakage, improper cleaning and charging or balancing lead-acid batteries will greatly reduce their life expectancy. If this becomes a big problem, lithium-ion batteries are a solution.
defects liability period
Due to the very high quality and performance of lithium-ion batteries in forklifts, they have an extensive 5-year warranty to ensure that the batteries can meet their commitments.
Battery running time
Another advantage of lithium-ion batteries is that they provide a constant high power supply and do not decrease with the discharge of the battery. Regardless of the state of charge (SOC) level, the forklift will operate with the same performance. In daily material handling activities, electric forklifts driven by lithium-ion batteries usually need to be charged for about one hour per shift for continuous operation. Charging can be carried out at any time and convenient time. The Intelligent Built-in BMS will warn the driver when the charging level is low. Lead acid batteries usually require 7-10 hours of charging and uninterrupted, depending on the charger. For shift operation, the battery replacement system is the only possible solution, which requires investment and space, and it is difficult to replace batteries frequently. If these costs are added up for a long time, the lithium-ion battery of forklift is a very good investment.
Maintain
In fact, there is no maintenance, which is another advantage of lithium-ion batteries, which can reduce labor costs and improve productivity. Not only the charging procedure, the lead-acid battery also needs to consider other work, such as watering (replenishing the liquid level of the battery with distilled water to avoid damaging the battery, keeping clean to limit the current leakage between the batteries, flushing the electrode plate to prevent oxidation, etc.).
In order to keep the battery healthy, this rather unpleasant work needs to be carried out every week. The labor intensity of lead-acid battery is very high. If it is not properly maintained, the service life will be greatly shortened. Lithium ion forklift batteries are not. In addition to checking cables and connectors and wiping dust, they do not need any daily maintenance. There is no liquid to add. The advanced built-in BMS in the lithium-ion battery automatically balances the battery when it is charged to 100%. This is not obvious in normal applications, because as long as there is enough time, there will be a comprehensive balance.
energy efficiency
Lithium ion batteries save time and money, and have higher energy efficiency. They put huge energy into a small space and provide continuous performance in long-term operation. Lead acid batteries are bulky, although they are excellent at providing current for electric forklifts to perform tasks. Lead acid batteries have higher energy costs because they need to be overcharged regularly during the bleeding phase to stay healthy. Because there is no deflating process, the heat loss is very low. Combined with intelligent charging technology, the amount absorbed from the power grid by lithium-ion battery is reduced by 30%, and the same amount of useful energy is stored in the battery. This energy efficiency not only saves money, but also saves our environment.
Save space
Lead acid batteries produce explosive H2 gas when charging, which needs to be evacuated. This means that they need a specific charging room with air evacuation devices, as well as safety facilities such as eye washers, gloves, eye protection devices and, of course, fire extinguishers. Charging lead-acid batteries is quite expensive. The cost of evacuating heated air and square meters can be used for other purposes, which may affect which battery type you choose.
Cost and total cost of ownership (TCO)
At present, lead-acid batteries need to be regarded as a commodity because their service life is usually much shorter than that of forklifts. This is a different story for Li Pro lithium ion batteries. Their total cost of ownership is lower because they live longer and there are other factors, such as less energy for charging; Less labor (workers do not need to replace batteries); There is less time and labor for maintenance (e.g. watering lead-acid batteries), and overall, there is less energy waste, because, as we have mentioned, lithium-ion batteries consume up to 30% less energy from the grid. The return on investment is usually very fast, usually 2-4 years, depending on the application. Clean batteries and improved working environment are also an additional benefit.
Grid supply and load management
Since lithium-ion batteries usually require large chargers to adapt to fast charging, power supply may be a challenge. For this reason, there is a load management system. When charging multiple forklifts at the same time, the current consumption may exceed the available power of the grid. In order to avoid this situation, the load management automatically controls the charger to provide most of the energy for the battery with the lowest state of charge. This not only enables the forklift to operate continuously, but also minimizes the cost of the power grid.
Safety and worker satisfaction
Lithium ion forklift batteries require less handling, so they may be a safer option because they are very stable. The battery is completely sealed, so there are no problems of corrosion, vulcanization, acid overflow or pollution, which is also good for the environment. The battery is intelligent, which means that it is constantly controlled by BMS to ensure safe operation. If any problem occurs, the forklift will be shut down.
Therefore, it is not difficult to see that the use of lithium-ion batteries in electric forklifts has many advantages. However, when considering lithium-ion batteries, it is also worth noting a few shortcomings. Compared with traditional batteries, the initial investment of high-performance lithium Pro batteries is larger. However, if the appropriate return on investment is calculated in hand, in most cases, the total operating cost (TCO) has proved to be lower.
The main challenge we face is to provide sufficient power supply for lithium-ion batteries because the charger is relatively large. In order to reduce the driving distance and time consumption, it is best to place the charger near the rest place of the operator.
Finally, most lead-acid batteries are recycled when they reach their service life and have value. The recovery of lithium-ion batteries is more difficult and expensive. However, the service life of lithium-ion batteries is long. When they are no longer suitable for forklift applications, they can be used for fixed applications, which means that the impact on the environment is very low.
All lithium ion batteries provided by forklift manufacturers and warehouse equipment can be easily reused and recycled after forklift application at no additional cost.
Ultimately, the decision to use the correct battery type on your electric forklift depends on you and many factors, such as your settings and the material handling tasks you need the forklift to perform.
