Category: CALCULATOR

If you are trying to estimate the costs to maintain a forklift battery. look no further. This forklift battery maintenance cost calculator will model for you the costs that go into the proper maintenance of a forklift battery and a forklift battery charger.

The Cost to Water Forklift Batteries

Battery companies will water your batteries for a charge. Using competitive battery watering service pricing, our calculator will estimate the cost to water your batteries on a regular basis.

Batteries need watering based the charging schedule. Batteries require water because during the charging cycle, the charger breaks apart the bonds of the water molecule into its component parts of hydrogen and oxygen. Those gases then escape from the battery into the atmosphere reducing the amount of water in the battery.

Your battery maintnenance technician then returns the water to each cell roughly every 2-weeks, but as often as every week in busy work applications.

The Cost to Repair Battery and Charger Connectors and Cables

Every time a forklift battery is charged, the charger and forklift connectors are inserted into each other to begin the charging process. Once the charge connection is complete, the cables are separated. Often, operators pull the connectors apart by the cables, damaging the cable insulation, the charger wire tips, and putting stress on the SB connectors. If the operator drops the connectors to the ground after the charging even, the connectors risk cracking, and the cables risk being damaged by forklifts rolling over the cables. We estimate that the cost to keep connectors and cables in good repair is $130/year. You can change this amount up or down.

Annual Battery Wash

Companies that perform regular battery washes save money in the long run. When acid escapes from the battery cells, it accumulates between the cells, at the bottom of the tray, and on the edges of the tray. Over time, it cause the tray to corrode and weaken. That is why many companies elect to wash their batteries.

Forklift Charger Maintenance

Many forklift and charger service companies offer an annual charger service. This usually involves an inspection and blowing out the cabinet. It is usually a good idea to have your chargers inspected regularly.

Designing a warehouse racking layout for your new warehouse? Before you decide on the storage media, use our Pareto’s Law Pallet Racking Calculator to help determine the best approach to pallet storage depth.

A Multi-Media Warehouse is an Efficient Warehouse

Using our Pareto’s Law pallet racking calculator, you can analyze the number of pallets and the number of SKUs to determine the best storage method to optimize warehouse space and racking design.

Looking to know what to use for a Reach Truck aisle? Not sure how far apart to set racking when using a reach fork truck? Use this handy calculator to estimate the aisle needed for a reach truck to operate.

How much space do you need between racks to operate a reach truck safely?

Most people, if asked what aisle a reach truck needs to operate safely in would say, 9 feet. But there are a lot of parameters at play when spec’ing a warehouse aisle that needs to be considered. Such items include the following:

Parameters that Impact the Warehouse Aisle Dimension

Length of Load

Consider the length of the pallet any product overhang on the pallet. The pallet might be a 48×40 pallet, but the product on top of the pallet might easily be 50″ x 42″. These dimensions will impact the narrow-aisle lift truck’s storage aisle dimension.

Width of Load

Notice if the product protrudes over the sides of the pallet.

Reach Truck Capacity

The mast on a higher capacity reach truck is an inch wider than the lower capacity reach truck. The wider mast makes the reach truck longer and therefore impacts the aisle dimension

Maneuverability

If you want to move quickly, you will need more space in the aisle. We refer to this added space as maneuverability. Generally, we add an additional 12 inches to the aisle dimension to ensure the reach truck can move easily without hitting the product on the adjacent racking. It is possible to operate a reach truck in the engineered minimum, however, it is not easy and will add to the stress of the operator. Additionally, it will result in the possibility of increase rack damage, product damage, and will reduce productivity.

Baseleg opening (BLO)

Also known as outrigger inside dimension, the opening between the reach truck’s base legs impacts the aisle dimension. If the dimension is greater than 41″, add an inch to the width of the operating aisle.

Battery compartment size

Reach trucks come with various different battery compartment sizes to allow for longer shift life and increase capacity retention as the forklift lifts its load (pallet) higher in the air. The more lead in the battery compartment, the higher the weight capacity at full lift height. This is also called down-rating or d-rating. The wider the battery compartment, the longer the chassis length, and therefore, the wider the truck aisle needs to be.

Depth of the upright frame

Although the depth of the upright frame does not impact the width of the clear aisle, it is important to know when you are planning a warehouse and you are deciding where to put the racking. The aisle dimension is called the rack-to-rack dimension. It is different from the clear aisle dimension, also known as the product-to-product aisle.

Calculate the Aisle Needed for A Reach Truck

This calculator is provided for estimates only. Please contact us for a formal proposal with exact aisle dimensions. The other option is to contact the manufacturer of the reach truck to receive the aisle specification in writing from their engineers.

Compare Warehouse Storage Density and Calculate Pallet Storage – Online Calculator

Now you know what aisle dimension you need for your Reach Truck to work in, use our online calculators to compare the number of pallets you can store in a warehouse using different aisle dimensions. Estimate pallet storage – click here!