Advantages of the Hangcha Battery: Lithium-ion
Lithium-ion is the most popular Hangcha battery and for very good reasons including; 1. They never need watering. 2. They charge much faster than lead-acid batteries. 3...
Lithium-ion is the most popular Hangcha battery and for very good reasons. Click on the following sections to learn more about this great technologically advanced battery and how it can help your bottom line.
If you are looking for a local Hangcha dealer that can get you a lithium-ion-powered electric forklift, contact us.
Hangcha Battery: Lithium-Ion
1. What is a Lithium-Ion Battery?
Lithium-ion batteries can be used to power electric forklifts.
A Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses lithium ions as the main component of its electrochemical reaction. These batteries are widely used in many applications including:
Portable electronic devices
Electric vehicles (including electric forklifts)
Renewable energy storage systems
Lithium-Ion batteries are a great choice for the above applications because of their high energy density, lightweight design, and relatively low self-discharge rates.
Watch the following video to learn more about how a lithium-ion battery works or read on to learn about the various components of a lithium-ion battery along with a simplified explanation of how it works.
The electrolyte in a lithium battery is composed of lithium salt dissolved in a solvent.
The basic principle of a Li-Ion battery involves the movement of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes during charging and discharging cycles.
Anode (Negative Electrode):
The anode is the negative side of the battery. It is typically made of graphite, and it is where lithium ions are stored during charging. When the battery is charged, lithium ions move from the cathode to the anode.
Cathode (Positive Electrode):
The cathode is the positive side of the battery. It is usually made of a lithium metal oxide compound, such as lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, or lithium manganese oxide. During discharge, lithium ions move from the anode to the cathode, creating an electric current that can power devices.
Electrolyte:
The electrolyte is a lithium salt dissolved in a solvent, which separates the anode and cathode while allowing the movement of lithium ions between them. It's crucial for the proper functioning of the battery and ion movement.
Separator:
A porous membrane placed between the anode and cathode prevents direct contact between them while allowing the movement of lithium ions. This separator ensures that the battery operates safely and prevents short circuits.
How the Lithium-ion battery works:
During charging, lithium ions move from the cathode to the anode through the electrolyte and separator, storing energy. During discharge, the ions move back to the cathode, releasing energy that can be used to power devices.
2. Benefits of the Hangcha Battery: Lithium-ion
Lithium-ion Hangcha Battery: This type of battery can be used in cold temperatures.
Here are some of the great advantages of choosing a lithium-ion battery to power your forklift:
Battery Technology:
Hangcha uses square lithium iron phosphate batteries; the same type of batteries used in new electric vehicles.
Design:
The module has a sturdy and lightweight aluminum alloy frame that is designed to provide excellent heat dissipation.
Safe and Effective:
Its charging efficiency is as high as 98% and the thermal runaway temperature is at 600℃ and above.
Adapts to Low Temperatures:
It comes standard with an electrical heating feature, ensuring normal operation in low temperatures.
Quick Charging:
This type of Hangcha battery fully charges in as little as 2 hours.
Efficient:
It can also use opportunity charging for continuous use in multi-shift operations.
Long-Lasting:
It will give you 4,000 charging cycles with capacity retention greater than 80%.
Maintenance-Free:
Lithium-ion batteries do not require manual maintenance such as watering.
Green and Clean:
This type of Hangcha battery is pollution-free, releases zero emissions, and is recyclable.
3. How the Hangcha Battery Is Made
The Lithium-ion Hangcha battery is carefully made with automated processes to ensure high quality.
Hangcha's technically advanced lithium-ion batteries go through a rigorous manufacturing and testing process to ensure the highest quality possible.
This Hangcha battery was designed in conjunction with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL). CATL is a battery manufacturer that specializes in the making lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Hangcha uses an automated and highly intelligent battery module assembly line to construct its state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. The entire process involves many steps including the following:
Insulation test
Automated image processing prior to welding
Automated welding of the busbar connection plates
End-of-the-line (EOL) test
Take a look at the following video to see each of the above steps in action.
The lithium-ion Hangcha battery goes through two testing phases.
Each Hangcha battery must pass each test to ensure its high quality before it is installed into one of the wide ranges of lithium-ion forklifts manufactured by Hangcha.
4. Hangcha Battery Differences: Lithium-Ion vs Lead Acid
Before Lithium-ion battery technology, electric forklifts were powered by lead acid batteries.
A lead-acid battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses lead dioxide as the positive electrode (cathode), metallic lead as the negative electrode (anode), and a diluted sulfuric acid solution as the electrolyte. These batteries have been used for over a century.
Lead acid batteries are commonly used in various applications including:
Automotive starting
Backup power systems
Industrial equipment (including forklifts)
Lead-acid batteries have several advantages, including their affordability, availability, and ability to deliver high currents, making them suitable for applications requiring a burst of power, such as starting internal combustion engines. However, they also have limitations, which will be explained below.
The following video will give you a simple explanation of how a lead acid battery works.
Lead acid batteries have powered forklifts for many years.
Here is a breakdown of the differences between lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries used to power electric forklifts:
Battery Watering:
You should have enough fluid to cover the plastic battery element. If your fluid is low it will need to be topped up, but only after it has been fully charged to prevent overfilling. This is called battery watering.
You need to keep the right amount of water in your lead-acid battery in order for it to work at its full capacity. You should check your battery fluid levels after every 5 charging cycles or so.
Lithium batteries, on the other hand, never need watering.
Battery Cleaning:
To help avoid build-up on your lead-acid battery that can cause corrosion, you should clean it monthly with battery cleaner or warm water. Lithium batteries, on the other hand, never need cleaning.
Equalization Charging:
Most lead-acid battery manufacturers recommend that you do an equalization charge each week. During equalization, your battery gets overcharged in order to correct some of the cells which may only be holding a half-charge.
Equalization requires you to charge your battery longer than the usual 8 hours. You will usually have to charge it for an additional 3 or more hours at a low stream of power. This also means that your battery will need additional cooling time after the equalization charging.
This adds to the total charging time and the total time that you are not able to use your battery. Lithium batteries, however, never need equalization charging.
Energy Savings:
Lithium-ion batteries are designed to keep a constant voltage level during their entire discharge cycle. This will enable you to save as much as 50% in energy costs compared to using a lead-acid battery.
Looking for the Best Selection of Lithium-ion, Hangcha Battery Forklifts?
If you are in the market for a Lithium-ion forklift, contact Wayco. We have:
The best-priced forklifts in the industry
Forklifts with the best warranty in the business
The widest range of brands in the market
Wayco is a full-service forklift dealer which means we can provide you with everything you need forklift related, including:
Contact us today to book an appointment.
What Our Customers Are Saying…
“I have used Wayco twice, and both times I experienced excellent customer service . They had the right forklift for my needs at a reasonable price. I will be using their services in the future and recommend you do as well.”
- Gabe Gartner
Forklift Lithium-Ion Battery: Why It's Your Best Choice
A forklift lithium-ion battery has many great advantages over a lead acid battery including much faster charging times, holding a charge much longer, usable capacity of 80% and so much more!
Today we are going to take a look at the forklift lithium-ion battery and let you know why it is your best choice.
We have over 40 years in the material handling industry and we would love to share our expertise and experience with you.
We'll outline all the features and benefits of the forklift lithium-ion battery and compare it to the traditional lead-acid battery. So, let's get going.
Learn why a forklift lithium-ion battery is your better choice
Forklift Lithium-Ion Battery
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) is an "advanced battery technology that uses lithium ions as a key component of its electrochemistry." The electrodes inside a lithium-ion battery are made from lithium and carbon.
Because lithium is a highly reactive element it is capable of storing a large amount of energy in its atomic bonds. This means that lithium-ion batteries have a very high energy density.
The following video explains the main differences between a lithium-ion battery and a lead acid battery.
Learn more about the difference between lithium-ion and lead acid batteries
How a Forklift Lithium-Ion Battery Differs from a Lead AciD BATTERY
There are several differences between a forklift lithium-ion battery and the common lead acid battery, here are some of the main ones:
Battery Management System: Lithium-ion batteries have a battery management system that protects the battery from getting an under-charge and an overcharge. Lead acid batteries do not have this feature.
Usable Capacity: Lithium batteries have a greater usable capacity. You can use 80% of the power in a lithium battery before it is considered to be flat. The lead acid battery on the other hand only lets you use between 30 and 40% of its power before it is considered flat.
Power Storage: A lithium-ion battery can store 150 watt-hours of electricity in 1 kilogram of battery, however, a lead acid battery can only store about 25 watt-hours per kilogram.
A typical forklift lithium-ion battery on the left and charger on the right
Cost: Lithium batteries are considerably more expensive than lead acid batteries.
Weight: Lithium batteries weigh about 1/3 of the weight of a lead acid battery, which makes them much easier to handle. This is because lead makes up 90% of the lead acid battery whereas only 3% of the lithium-ion battery is made up of lithium.
Temperatures: Lithium batteries are sensitive to temperature so they don't work well in extremely cold temperatures.
Power Output: Lithium batteries offer a larger power output per kilogram than lead acid batteries.
Typical lead acid batteries
Charge Time: A lithium-ion battery can receive charge at a much higher rate than a lead-acid battery so their charge times are much quicker.
Lifespan: A forklift lithium-ion battery has a much longer life expectancy than a lead acid battery.
Forklift Lithium-Ion Battery: MAINTENANCE
The forklift lithium-ion battery requires very little maintenance, however there are a few things that you should do in order to ensure that it lasts a long time and that it charges correctly.
After you have finished charging your forklift lithium-ion battery you need to cover the charging gun and the dust cover. If you don't cover these you may find you have problems when you try to charge again as the dirt and debris that builds up might prevent your charging gun from inserting all the way into position.
If your gun isn't inserted all the way you won't get a complete connection and it will return an error code, therefore, your battery will not charge. Dust can also wear away the surface on your battery connections and will cause a poor connection.
It is also a good idea to regularly clean the charger connectors to clear away any dust, debris or water that might get on them.
Discover useful forklift lithium-ion battery maintenance tips
Forklift Lead Acid Battery: Maintenance
A forklift lead acid battery is much more difficult to maintain because of its extreme size and weight (they weigh about as much as a mini van) and because it contains harmful acid which can be extremely dangerous if mishandled.
They also need to be watered. According to the Canadian Safety Association, your employees must be trained to safely handle and move batteries using the proper equipment.
To learn more about how to properly maintain your lead acid battery check out our post "Everything You Need to Know about Your Forklift Battery." The following video shows you how to properly water your battery.
Lead acid batteries require a lot more maintenance
Benefits of Hangcha's Forklift Lithium-Ion Battery
Hangcha has a large line-up of material handling equipment powered by lithium-ion batteries. Here are some of the great benefits of choosing an electric forklift powered by lithium by Hangcha.
Dead to Fully Charged in 2 Hours!
Hangcha's lithium-ion batteries fully charge in only 2 hours. That means they go from dead to fully-operational again much faster than lead-acid batteries which take 8-10 hours to fully charge.
Therefore, they use a lot less energy to charge and you can get back to work much faster.
Increase Your Productivity
Faster charging times means you can get back to work faster which increases your productivity and profit.
Hangcha has a wide range of forklift lithium-ion battery models
Use Less Energy
Not only can you get back to work much faster with Hangcha's lithium-ion powered trucks, but you'll also use less energy charging them which is better for your bottom line and for the environment!
They only burn off 10-15% of their energy as compared to a lead-acid battery which loses 45-50% of its energy.
Save Money
In addition you'll save on maintenance costs as lithium-ion batteries do not require the labour-intensive maintenance and watering that lead-acid batteries require.
Lithium-ion batteries last much longer than lead-acid batteries, so you save on replacement costs as well. They even have longer warranties. In fact, our Hangcha Lithium-ion batteries come with an incredible 10 year or 20,000 hour warranty.
Trust Wayco for the Best Lithium-Ion Powered Forklifts
If you are looking for the best lithium-on powered forklifts, contact Wayco. Wayco is now the exclusive dealer for Hangcha Forklifts in southwestern Ontario.
At Wayco, high quality and affordability are extremely important to us. That is why we have teamed up with Hangcha to bring you top forklift equipment at a significantly lower price than what you will pay with the competition. Now is the perfect time to buy a forklift from Wayco. Contact us today for a quote.
“I have used Wayco twice, and both times I experienced excellent customer service . They had the right forklift for my needs at a reasonable price. I will be using their services in the future and recommend you do as well.”
