Cauliflower should be on your dinner plate, not on your battery.

Old or prematurely-aged lead-acid batteries may negatively affect your KPIs and profitability. If you have noticed one or more of these battery warning signs, you may need to consider replacement.

Slower lift and travel speeds

Power output from motive lead-acid batteries is not constant over a shift ― it starts off higher and then drops as the battery discharges. If your battery is old or poorly maintained, it will start at a lower power output and drop faster over the discharge cycle.

More than one batteryneeded per shift

Motive lead-acid batteries should provide power for a full shift. If you are replacing mid-shift, then you may require additional maintenance for a failing battery or replacement for an undersized battery.

Sulfurous smell

A battery that smells like rotten eggs is more than simply unpleasant to work around. Hydrogen sulfide is poisonous and flammable and can indicate a battery is overcharged or that it is no longer accepting a charge.

Battery is hot during use

All lead acid batteries sulfate during charging ― the trick is to keep proper charging regimens to avoid “soft” sulfation from turning into “hard” sulfation. “Hard” sulfation restricts power transfer efficiency making the battery heat up during use and charge. “Hard” sulfation also reduces the useable amp hour capacity of the battery.

Post pushing through batterytop

Overcharging can cause the positive plates in a battery to swell. Since motive battery cells are stored in a steel tray, the only direction the cell can expand is upward. This will cause the positive post to look like it is being pushed through the top of the battery.

“Cauliflower” growing on battery

Corrosion forms when acid from overwatering or battery cell gassing collects on top of a battery. It oftentimes looks like cauliflower, and over time it can short circuit your battery or eat through the battery posts or connectors shortening its life.