Electric Truck Batteries

The information provided here is not a substitute for the training and information that can be provided by the various manufacturers and suppliers of this equipment but should be used as a basic guide. 

The lead-acid battery is very basic to material movement and handling. A lead-acid motive power battery is a portable source of energy supplying direct electrical current (DC) to electric powered vehicles. A battery is a device that stores energy in a chemical form and releases that energy on demand, from the operator, in an electrical form to an external load—such as a motor. The battery releases power by the reaction of the electrolyte (sulfuric acid and water) with the active material of positive and negative plates (electrodes) within the battery. 

There are basic guidelines intended to protect the operator and equipment when charging or handling batteries. 

Rubber boots with steel toes Safety glasses and face shield A nonconductive hard hat if felling hazards or overhead cranes/ hoists are being used. 

Eye wash units should be permanently plumbed into the building to furnish at 

---

Electric-powered industrial trucks offer a very good solution to the carbon monoxide problem. However, even though electric lift trucks do not produce carbon monoxide, they do present other hazards such as exposure to corrosive battery acid and an explosive atmosphere from the hydrogen gases emitted by the electric truck battery. Each type of powered industrial truck poses its own set of potential problems. 

Taking a longer view, the complete elimination of fossil fuel use is eventually inevitable. At that point, trucks and automobiles will be powered by electricity - from batteries or fuel cells - and by biofuels. Electricity is... 

Chow, A.T. and Keyes, C.E. 1991. Lift Truck Battery Charger Efficiency. Ontario Hydro, Toronto, Canada. Grant, J.C., ed. 1975. Nickel-Cadmium Battery Application Engineering Handbook, 2nd ed. General Electric Corp., Gainesville, FL. 

Adequate high level ventilation should be provided in the charging areas of battery electric trucks. 

Are special battery changing areas provided for electric trucks ... 

Forklift Trucks The backbone of most in-plant handhng systems in the chemical industry is the forklift truck. Available in capacities ranging from 1 to 50 tons, the most commonly used are 1-, 1.5-, and 2-ton vehicles, with the 3-ton unit occasionally being used (Fig. 21-54). The trucks are usually powered by internal-coiTibustion engines that consume liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or by electricity by means of storage Batteries. 

Lift trucks are available to meet a variety of clearance restrictions. Noteworthy is narrow-aisle equipment. Another accessory worthy of consideration is the multilift mast, which permits lifting loads over 3.7 m (12 ft). Of special importance in specifying any mast is that it will clear the various door openings it must enter, which includes those of trucks, railcars, and buildings. To meet most conditions, the collapsed height of the mast must be 2235 mm (88 in). An ideal lift truck for chemical-plant distribution warehouses would have 2000-kg (4000-lb) capacity electric (battery) propulsion solid-state controls ... 

Electric vehicle (EV) is an abbreviated term for battery electric vehicle, which is a vehicle that uses energy from a batteiy to operate an electric motor that rotates the wheels. Throughout the twentieth century, a wide array of electric cars, trucks, buses, bikes, and scooters have been developed. However, except for the golf cart and special delivery vehicles, none has experienced any sustained commercial success. 

NiMH batteries can power an electric vehicle for over 100 miles, but are still several times more expensive than lead-acid. NiMH batteries from Energy Conversion Devices were installed in GM s EVj and S-10 electric pickup truck, doubling the range of each. Chrysler has also used... 

A fuel cell car, bus or truck is in essence an electric vehicle powered by a stack of hydrogen fueled cells that operates like a refuelable battery. A battery uses chemical energy from its component parts, while a fuel cell uses an electrochemical process to generate electricity and receives its energy from the hydrogen fuel and oxygen that are supplied to it. Like the plates in a battery, the fuel cell uses an anode and cathode, attached to these are wires for the flow of current. These two electrodes are thin and porous. 

Hydrogen gas may accumulate in rooms or areas where multiple batteries are routinely recharged or maintained, such as electric fork-lift truck charg-ing/maintenance stations and storage battery banks for Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS). Adequate continuous ventilation (natural or active) should be provided (CCA, 1992 NFPA 50A, 1999 NFPA 506, 1999). 

The manufacture of lead storage batteries, like the ones used in cars and trucks, account for about one-fifth of all the antimony used each year. A small amount of antimony is also used in making transistors, which are found in such consumer electrical devices as computer games. 

---