Summer Forklift Maintenance
When the warmer weather is upon us, ask yourself, is your engine overheating? Does your battery life seem to be draining at a fast rate? Maybe your tyres feel too bouncy, and it’s making driving feel uncomfortable, or perhaps a wire has broken causing you to come to a complete standstill. When working in the summer heat, forklifts can suffer a range of unwanted effects, but there are plenty of things you can do to try and avoid them.
Tyres
Even if your forklift is in excellent condition, you should still perform additional inspections and exercise extra caution in warm weather. Initially, consider your tyres. Another routine check that you will perform in regular weather is checking the tyre pressure, but if you are using your forklift in a heat wave, it is critical that you pay special attention to this.
The reason is that heat makes your tyres’ pressure rise, which could cause them to become overinflated and cause uncomfortable, bouncy driving or even a tyre blowout. On some days, you might begin working in a cool morning, but by the afternoon the sun will be blazing, and the temperature will have risen. Even if you checked your tyre pressure that day, you might want to check it again in these circumstances since you might need to release some air to keep the pressure at a safe level. Your forklift can avoid overheating by driving more slowly, taking frequent operation breaks, and, where possible, operating well below load capacity.
Look After Your Battery
Batteries of all kinds suffer damage from extreme heat. Due to the possibility of battery contents evaporating in extremely hot temperatures. This causes excessive corrosion and causes your power to deplete considerably more quickly than usual. It is crucial that you ensure that your battery cells have the necessary water levels on hot days, even though monitoring your battery is undoubtedly already a part of your routine maintenance checks. In the event that they don’t, make sure to top them off with water that has the right PH for your machine.
Check Your Other Fluid Levels
When operating a forklift in hot conditions, it is vitally essential to make sure your coolant levels aren’t getting low. To prevent leaks, make sure they are completely intact and that all connections are secure. To ensure that your coolant doesn’t leak it’s important to check that all of your hoses are securely fastened and have no weak connections.
Additionally, you have to ensure that you are using the right coolant for your particular piece of machinery. If you don’t, mixing various coolants together could result in corrosion or even blockages. This, therefore, causes your engine to overheat rather than prevent it. For efficient engine performance, oil levels are also crucial. To prevent complete engine failure when it gets hot, keep filling up with fresh supply.
Prevention
Radiator fans are an essential part of keeping a forklift’s engine cool as fans assist with the regulation of engine temperature as they pull away surface heat generated by the engine. It is crucial to routinely check fans for damage and corrosion because any flaws might impair performance.
A worn or cracked belt will mean that both air and coolant are unable to flow effectively, which again will lead to rising engine temperatures. Therefore, your engine belt is also key to maintaining consistent airflow and any previously damaged wires and cables are also much more likely to break completely in a heatwave. So, it’s best to get into the habit of replacing parts as soon as you notice any issues with them.
By including all of these inspections in your routine maintenance schedule, you can be confident that you’ll catch any problems as soon as they arise and prevent them from becoming serious ones.
Make Sure Your Forklift Has Been Serviced Properly
If you follow a strict daily maintenance schedule, your forklift will have a higher chance of surviving the summer. Your forklift won’t be able to regulate the temperature efficiently if your filters haven’t been changed in a while or your engine fan is damaged, which increases the likelihood of a problem.
Checking your forklift every day is a must, but there is no point in checking your truck on a daily basis if the appropriate service hasn’t been carried out on it. Forklift servicing ensures that there comprehensive and thorough checks on your truck.
At Groundwater, we take responsibility for maintaining your trucks, we ensure your trucks meet all safety requirements, and prevent unplanned downtime and costly repairs.
Are your forklifts summer-ready? Talk to us today about our forklift services on 1569 763247 or email service@groundwater.uk.com, alternatively, if you are thinking of updating your equipment for the summer season, talk to our sales team on 01569 768014 or email sales@groundwater.uk.com
