Finding the right motive power solution for your warehouse forklifts can be a major challenge. Inefficient solutions may have you carrying (and thus paying for and maintaining) more industrial batteries than you actually need—increasing your costs. Worse yet, low-quality forklift batteries can run dry quickly, experience leaks, or cause other issues that impact the safety and efficiency of your warehouse operations.
This is one reason why Southern States Motive Power uses Hawker forklift battery solutions. Hawker is an industry leader in the motive power field—creating many high-quality and high-spec products that are used in warehouses and distribution centers all over North America. However, like with any warehouse equipment acquisition, there are a few things that you should know before you purchase Hawker battery products:
1: How the Hawker Forklift Battery Will Impact Your Maintenance Routines
Hawker has a large variety of battery types, some with special considerations for common maintenance issues. For example, the Hawker WATER LESS® battery is specially designed to reduce the need to replace the water in the battery. Because of this, the water only needs to be replaced four to six times a year—which can “reduce maintenance and watering expenses by more than 90%” according to Hawker.
In addition to reducing maintenance expenses, this type of special forklift battery can impact the overall efficiency of your warehouse’s forklifts. Fewer maintenance cycles for replenishing water in a forklift battery means less time spent on servicing batteries and more time spent putting them to use.
2: Hawker Forklift Battery Specs
It’s fairly important to know all of the specifications of the batteries you purchase before you start relying on them to power your warehouse forklifts. This includes things like:
- Total battery weight
- Battery voltage
- Battery size/dimensions
- Ampere hours (Ah or amp hours)
- Connector size and placement
Comparing the specifications of a Hawker forklift battery to the requirements of your warehouse’s forklifts is crucial for ensuring your forklift equipment can operate at peak efficiency.
For example, electric forklifts often need heavy batteries to act as a counterbalance to keep the forklift from falling over when lifting large loads. If the forklift’s battery is too light, then it might tip over when trying to move with a heavy pallet or other container. Also, if the battery isn’t the right voltage for the forklift, it could cause damage to the forklift’s systems—so, if you have a 36-volt forklift, it needs a 36-volt forklift battery.
Ampere hours give you an idea of how long a battery can last on a single charge. Hawker POWERLINE Battery® solutions use ultra-dense grids and positive pastes to ensure high ampere hours and long-lasting battery charges.
3: The Specs of Your Warehouse Forklifts
Part of matching the right forklift battery to your forklifts is knowing the design specs of all of your warehouse’s forklifts. Especially, you should know the recommended battery dimensions, minimum/maximum recommended battery weight, and the voltage required to operate the forklift.
If you have a variety of different lift truck types in your warehouse, this can be complicated. Consider making a list of the different makes and models of forklift equipment—along with their specs—in your warehouse that you can reference when purchasing industrial batteries.
4: How You Want to Optimize Your Battery Charging Schedule
The charging schedule you use for your forklift batteries can have a significant impact on their long-term performance. There are many different Hawker battery chargers, each of which is each designed to optimize a different aspect of your forklift batteries’ performance.
For example, do you need a fast, IONIC, or opportunity charger system for your batteries? The Hawker LIFESPEED® MOD3 has the flexibility to operate in all three of these modes. Meanwhile, the LIFEPLUS® MOD3 offers superior energy efficiency to help you reduce the total cost of ownership for your industrial batteries.
Knowing how you want to optimize your battery charging schedule—whether you want to optimize battery useful life, minimize downtime for charging/maintenance, or prioritize energy efficiency—is important when you purchase Hawker battery products, because it might change which specific Hawker batteries and Hawker battery chargers you want to buy.
5: Reconditioned Forklift Battery Options Are Available
A lot of warehouse owners are obsessed with getting only the newest and shiniest products—to the point where they end up spending more money than necessary on their motive power solutions. Rather than buying a brand-new battery, however, it can be a better and more cost-effective idea to purchase a reconditioned forklift battery for your warehouse’s forklifts.
Buying reconditioned forklift batteries can be a great way to:
- Reduce costs. Pre-owned industrial batteries are often less expensive than brand-new ones. This helps reduce up-front battery purchase costs to free up capital for other expenses.
- Protect the Environment. Today’s customers are more environmentally-aware than ever, and using reconditioned batteries can help demonstrate your commitment to “going green.” Your downstream supply chain customers can use this in their own marketing as well, citing your warehouse/distribution center as an eco-friendly operation.
However, to get the most out of a reconditioned battery, it has to come from a reliable manufacturer who guarantees their used equipment—there’s no point to saving a few bucks to buy a defective battery! Hawker’s reconditioned forklift battery products are all made to a high initial standard and then reconditioned to provide a reliable product for your warehouse forklifts.
Need help finding the right motive power solutions for your warehouse? Contact the experts at Southern States Motive Power today! We can help you find the right forklift batteries, chargers, and accessories to make your warehouse safer and more efficient.
