Step 8 – Remove The Battery From The Forklift

Next, we recommend removing the forklift battery from the forklift. Check the

forklift user’s manual for specific battery removal and maintenance instructions.

But keep in mind that a forklift battery can weigh up to several thousand pounds

and may require heavy equipment to move. Often times industrial companies will

already have the proper equipment to move the forklift batteries that you can

use.

If moving the forklift battery is not practical you can technically still recondition

the battery. You will just have to be a little more careful to not get residue and

other things all over the forklift. Just be sure you’re in a well ventilated area and

you use the precautions we talked about earlier in this guide, whether you move

the battery or not.

Description: Forklift battery removed from the forklift

Step 9 – Remove Water Filler Caps and Fill Cells With Distilled Water (and optional Epsom salt)

Next, remove all of the water filler caps (if they’re not off from optional Steps 4

and 5). Some forklift batteries have automatic watering systems where the hose

and caps are connected together. If this is the case, try to remove the hose and

caps together so they’re easy to put back on later.

After the water filler caps are removed, look inside each opening to see if the water level is low. The water should be about a 1/2" above the top of the

separators. If it’s lower than that, you will need to pour distilled water in the openings to fill each cell’s separator so there’s a 1/2” of water covering the

separators.

So at this point you can either just add the distilled water OR you can do our

recommended method and add a distilled water and Epsom salt solution to each

cell that will help break down the sulfation in the battery. We will show you how to add just distilled water and also how to add this distilled water/Epsom salt

solution to each cell in this step. You can decide which method you want to use but again, we recommend the distilled water/Epsom salt method because it

works fantastic at breaking down sulfation.

First, we’ll show you how to just add distilled water to each cell.

Pro Tip: Use a syringe to add the distilled water so you don’t make a mess and can

accurately pour in the right amount of distilled water, like in the following

example.

Description: Adding distilled water to each battery with a syringe

Additionally battery water typically contains a ratio of 30% sulfuric acid to 70%

water. Because of this, we sometimes get asked if we recommend adding extra

sulfuric acid to the battery during this step. We generally say NO to this unless the

battery was actually tipped over and all the acid ran out. The reason for this is

because while the water will go down in the battery; the chemicals that make the

sulfuric acid are still in the battery (even if the water level is low). So when we add more distilled water in this step the sulfuric acid/water ratio should eventually fix

itself.