Can A forklift be run on Golf cart Batteries?

[birmingham]

Title says it all basically. I am buying a forklift with bad batteries and no charger. What would happen if I put golf cart batteries in it? I realize this would not have anywhere near the weight and would potentially make it a tipping hazard. The max out of the forklift is 5000 lbs max i will be picking up am most 1500. longest run time i will have on it will be 30 min absolute max.

In this very limited situation would this work?

[teecro]

....

[birmingham]

The battery in it is an 850amp hour. with one set of golf cart batteries there will be no comparison. also the fork lift batteries weight around 3000 lbs. I was just wondering if this would instantly melt battery posts, or if it would ruin the batteries by drawing too much current at one time. or if the fork lift would hardly be able to move at that reducecd amp hour. I just don't know.

[teecro]

Originally Posted by birmingham

The battery in it is an 850amp hour. with one set of golf cart batteries there will be no comparison. also the fork lift batteries weight around 3000 lbs. I was just wondering if this would instantly melt battery posts, or if it would ruin the batteries by drawing too much current at one time. or if the fork lift would hardly be able to move at that reducecd amp hour. I just don't know.

Nope I take everything I said back..... DO NOT EVEN THINK OF THIS !!!

6 8-Volt 165 AH batteries connected in series is 48 volts but is still 165 amp hours.....

[birmingham]

I'm thinking 12- 6 volt batteries, connected in a way that 2 golf cart chargers could be used to charge 2 seperate 36volt packs. don't worry about the weight the fork lift empty (without batteries) weights 8600lbs.

could it operate with this?

[teecro]

Originally Posted by birmingham

I'm thinking 12- 6 volt batteries, connected in a way that 2 golf cart chargers could be used to charge 2 seperate 36volt packs. don't worry about the weight the fork lift empty (without batteries) weights 8600lbs.

could it operate with this?

I could careless about what the forklift weights...

I'm worried about you blowing yourself up!

If you connect 6 180A/H 6-Volt battery in parallel you would have 1080 amp hours but your still at 6 volts.... If you connect 6 180A/H 6-Volt batteries in series you would have 48 volts but still 180 amp hours... You see the way this works? What voltage does the forklift operate at? If you try running it at less than operating voltage you will burn it out... If you draw too much amperage from a battery you will likely at the least blow off the terminals and at the worst blow up the batteries!

[tag50]

I don't know what you have for a forklift, but the ones I jockeyed wouldn't even groan with cart batteries. Well, the reverse horn might make noise. It takes a small crane to change the battery. I don't think you can use enough cart batteries (in any combination) to equal that. The last one I played on used a 60 amp supply to the charger. The lead posts would suffer China Syndrome.


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[theboss20]

There is a 6v golf cart type battery that is used in floor scrubbers called an L-16 that would work...but before I did that I would do some checking around for a good used battery. There are people that refurb them by taking the cells apart and replacing the bad cells and then resoldering the cell connectors. Most forklift batteries have a code stamped into the main pos. post that looks like 18-10-31 this gives anybody familiar with these types of batteries the info they need to quote you a price....good luck.

[Figmo2000]

This thread is a few months old - but for future readers here's my answer:

"Yes, an electric forklift can be run on golf cart batteries."

I know because I did it. My forklift had a 36v 800ah 2,000lb battery that was shot when I bought it. Got it cheap because a new forklift battery costs around $5,000 and the previous owner didn't want to spend the money. I looked into a refurbished battery of equivalent size - but even those were around $2,500.

I Googled the web and found this thread. Even though there were a couple dire warnings about explosions (I already knew that wasn't realistic) I still wasn't sure if it would work so I decided "nothing ventured..." and gave it a try.

Bought 6 Trojan T-105plus batteries. Wired them up in series. Hooked them up and the unit works just fine.

Here are the only cons if you are considering the same:

• Weight: remember that the original 2,000 lb battery served the dual purpose of being a counter weight to balance heavy loads up front. I stacked scrap steel under the batteries to compensate for this.
• Run-Time: Obviously, these 225ah Trojans will not power the unit as long as the 800ah battery that came out of it. But I just needed something to unload a pallet from a truck and stack it a couple times a month. I get about 20-30 minutes use out these. Fine for unloading one or two pallets off a truck a few times a month. If the run-time ever gets to be an issue for me I will just add a second bank of Trojans to double it. Still be under the cost of a used forklift battery. If you need to run it all day, every day - then you really need to just suck it up and buy the big battery.

So, yeah - if your forklift needs are light and you come across a deal on an electric unit with a bad battery...go for it.