Topping Up A Forklift Truck Battery

Topping up a forklift truck battery is key to a long battery life. However keeping the battery topped is neglected by a lot of forklift truck drivers. This leads to battery failure and prevents the truck from working properly. Sometimes you can buy cheap battery replacements or reconditioned batteries but keeping the old one in good condition is cheaper.

Who is responsible for topping up the battery?

The person responsible for keeping the battery topped up to the correct levels is down to the forklift truck operator.  On the candidates forklift truck course the instructor will have taught them as part of the forklift pre use checks lesson the correct procedures for keeping the battery in a good condition. Therefore the operator should follow the lessons taught when using and checking the truck on day to day operations. Some companies have a designated person within the company to look after the batteries.
 Faults with the battery should be reported on the pre use check sheet. We have a FREE pre use check sheet available on our website.

5 Forklift Truck Battery Topping Up Procedures

1 – Ensure correct PPE is worn. As a minimum you MUST wear, safety goggles, safety gloves and an apron.

2 – Make sure the truck and area is free from obstacles.

3 – Remove all battery safety catches where applicable to gain access to the main battery.

4 – With your PPE on, lift the cell caps on the battery and then fill up to the required level.  Note, distilled water must be used to top up the batteries.  A good place to buy distilled water in the UK is Euro Car Parts.

Some newer batteries have an automatic cut off top up system. The procedure for this is straight forward. You connect the hoses, then turn on the pump. The top up system stops filling the batteries when they are topped up to the correct level.

5 – Ensure all caps are pressed down and make sure the battery safety catches are locked.

Do You Top Up Then Charge or the Other Way Around?

A forklift truck battery should be placed on charge first. Then topped up after if required. This is due to the increase in the volume of the electrolyte while charging raising the levels high. the last thing you want is acid leaking out!

The batteries in your forklift truck work really hard to keep up with the high demand operators put on them. So it is important to keep them working to the best level they can.  Work hard to keep your batteries topped up so you the can carry on working hard for you.

If you would like any more information from us, please do not hesitate to visit our website Keylift Forklift And Safety Training.

That’s all for now.