How to choose forklift lithium batteries?
In recent years, the development of new energy in China has been booming. The technology of forklift lithium battery packs has rapidly improved, but the price has rapidly decreased, which has had a huge impact on the existing lead-acid battery market. After calculation, we found that the price of lithium batteries is not much different from lead-acid batteries, and they are easy to use. It can be charged at any time without damaging the battery, and its weight and volume are less than half. This has led many electric forklifts, electric transport vehicles, golf carts, etc. that previously heavily used lead-acid batteries to switch to lithium batteries. Forklift lithium battery packs have many advantages, but safety and reliability are their disadvantages. It is not easy to make good lithium batteries. As users, we need safe, reliable, and high-quality products. How to choose a forklift lithium battery pack for electric forklifts?
The first thing to do in finding high-quality products is to understand the manufacturer's brand, scale, technical strength, and philosophy. Focusing on building a big brand, focusing on creating good products, emphasizing reputation, having a huge scale, investing heavily in research and development, and having years of industry experience are the foundations for building good products. If there is any non-compliance, the product will not be very good. We can check the establishment time, past industry experience, technical strength, including patents and professional knowledge, brand influence, scale, and whether there is a bad credit record of a company. If we learn about the manufacturer one by one based on these terms, even if we purchase online, we have a great chance of buying satisfactory products.
Next, we will inspect the two main components of the forklift lithium battery pack: the battery unit and BMS (which can be considered a more complex protective board). The battery unit is the main body of a lithium battery that stores electrical energy, and also the main body of the entire battery. Its quality is directly related to the quality of the battery pack. Electric forklifts and electric vehicles have very similar requirements for lithium batteries, so this type of power lithium battery cell is a good choice. Thanks to the rapid development of new energy vehicles in China in recent years, the technology and safety of lithium batteries used for automotive power have developed rapidly, and production has also increased significantly, providing sufficient sources for the supply of lithium battery units for electric forklifts. As long as the battery cell quality of domestic top tier lithium battery cell manufacturers is good, and as long as the battery cell manufacturers provide guarantees, they can be used with confidence. It should be noted that many defective merchants use batteries from unknown manufacturers, even dismantle or recycle batteries, and sell them directly to consumers without testing. Regardless of the performance, capacity, or safety of this type of battery, it cannot be guaranteed. We must keep our eyes wide open.
BMS is a very important component besides battery cells, which includes basic protection functions and some auxiliary functions. BMS builds a safety barrier for lithium batteries through functions such as charging, discharging, and short-circuit protection. Of course, the price of a fully functional and high-quality BMS is also not low. In order to save costs, some unscrupulous merchants even omit this point, bringing great security risks to users. Although the problem may not occur immediately, it will happen sooner or later. There is no small matter in front of safety. This money cannot be saved, we should try to choose a reputable and well-known brand BMS. A simple way to determine if there is a BMS inside is to observe the discharge. If the battery is not suddenly protected at the standard discharge cut-off voltage, i.e. the voltage suddenly drops to zero volts but gradually decreases, then there is basically no BMS inside. Of course, we can also directly turn on the battery and check if there is a BMS inside.
