1/11/2023
At Hy-Brid Lifts, we continue to innovate to find new solutions to make our scissor lifts as maintenance-free as possible. This includes providing a better, maintenance-free battery option that helps increase your ROI. From slow charge time to yearly battery changes lead acid batteries are just not worth the hassle. Lithium provides a maintenance-free, better return on investment, and more efficient battery solution. Keep reading to find out more about why lithium batteries are the best battery option for your scissor lift.
With lead acid batteries, you have to maintain them to keep optimal performance. Over time, Lead acid batteries will lose water reducing performance and forcing a battery water check, these would have to be done 1-2 times a month. Along with water checks, these batteries only have about 300 charge cycles forcing you to replace the battery every 1-2 years.
Over the span of 10 years, you will have to replace 14 lead acid batteries and check the battery water over 120 times. While that sounds like a lot, the cost of doing so will be even more.
Lithium batteries are designed to be as maintenance-free as possible. There are no water checks or replacing your battery every 1-2 years. Lithium batteries will easily last you for over 10 years without any extra maintenance. Lithium performs well in cold and hot temperatures.
Battery life is an important factor in determining how often you will have to replace your battery. Batteries with 300 charge cycles will cause you to replace the batteries every 1-2 years with a yearly utilization rate of 80%. In 10 years, maintaining and replacing those batteries will cost you over $6,000. With over 3,000 charge cycles, lithium batteries are designed to last over 10 years without any maintenance. While the upfront cost of a lithium battery is significantly more than lead acid batteries it will save you money over the life of the lift.
Compared to lead acid batteries, lithium batteries can utilize more of the available capacity providing longer run times. Lead acid batteries can only use 30-50% of their available capacity while lithium can utilize up to 100% without damaging the battery making lithium the more efficient battery.
Have you ever noticed your scissor lift slow down when elevating or driving? That's because as lead acid batteries use capacity the voltage drops significantly making your electronic parts run slower and slower. With lithium batteries, the voltage drop is minimal throughout the capacity of the battery so your scissor lift doesn't slow down as capacity is used.
Charging lead acid batteries is more complex than charging lithium batteries. If a lead acid battery isn't properly charged the battery performance will degrade. To properly charge a lead acid battery it needs to be fully charged frequently without interruptions during the charging process to prevent sulfating of the battery plates. On the other hand, a lithium battery doesn't require several charge stages to maintain performance and can be partially charged at any time. Due to the simplified charging the lithium batteries will charge significantly quicker than lead acid batteries.
Lead acid batteries contain sulfuric acid which is a dangerous chemical to come in contact with your skin and to breathe in. As lead acid batteries charge they give off these dangerous gases which can cause respiratory harm and if there are sparks nearby it could cause an explosion.
Lead acid batteries require you to check and top off the water inside to maintain the performance of the battery. If the cells are filled too full, fluid will seep out when charging, covering the battery in acid. This causes close contact with sulfuric acid that can cause chemical burns if proper safety equipment isn't worn. When an accident happens while taking care of these batteries it can cost you money.
Using a lithium battery provides a safer work environment as lithium does not use sulfuric acid and is maintenance free so you won't come into contact with dangerous chemicals avoiding unnecessary accidents.
At Hy-Brid Lifts, there are three battery choices:
Each battery choice has its pros and cons which will impact the machine's cost and performance. Making an informed decision to choose the right battery can help you increase your ROI.
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