On Sat Sep 03 08:54:20 PDT 2016 [email protected] said: >John Lussmyer via EV wrote: >> I have a couple of old electric forklifts that I use occaisionally in my >> shop. >> One is a little walk behind unit that uses 2, 6V golf cart batteres. >> The other is a full size forklift that has a 36V, 750AH battery. >> >> I need to replace these batteries. I don't like Lead-acid batteries for >> these machines, as they often sit unused >> for months. > >I would think that lithiums would be an expensive option; far more than >lead-acids. I'd also be concerned about the cost of lithium cells with a >high enough peak current capability. These lifts usually draw hundreds >of amps.
The cheapest 36V forklift battery I've found is a refurb, 1yr warranty, 510AH for $2000. That is FAR more battery than I really need. (as I said, using the lift for 1/2 hour or less, now and then, frequently more than a month between uses.) I'm tempted to try 5 Leaf modules in series for 40V, that's only about $500 if I buy them individually. (though I am tempted to watch for a wrecked Leaf instead.) As for the 12V unit, a pair of Golf Cart batteries seems to be in the $200-$300 range. In which case, 3 Leaf Modules is about the same price. (Yeah, splitting the one into separate halves would be a pain. Frankly, might be easier to just "ignore" the 1/2 module and use 1 + one half (or 2 + 2 halves) Leaf Modules) >Another thought... didn't you have a set of aircraft nicads? They should >be idea for this kind of application. Very long life, don't mind sitting >dead when not needed, and good for very high currents. Yup, those would work great - but all mine got destroyed in my shop fire 10 years ago. Haven't seen any for sale in a few years. -- Bobcats and Cougars, oh my! http://john.casadelgato.com/Pets _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
