Lack of water is a common cause of premature failure for forklift batteries. Most owners of forklifts will have been faced with a situation where an expensive battery has needed repairs, or even needed to be replaced, because it simply hasn’t had water added and the plates dry out. Not only does this incur the expense of the repair but also the lost productivity whilst the battery is out of service.
Old solutions to the problem of scheduling battery watering include using; mnemonics ‘Water on Wednesday’, visual boards to log the last water for the battery or using the white dot on some watering systems that indicates the cell is full. Out of desperation, and with great expense, some operations have either attempted to automate watering or tried VRLA batteries in forklifts, with mixed results.
An ingenious, but cheap, solution to show when a battery needs water is available. The simple Blinky shows operators, and managers, if a battery needs water or is ok, with an LED connected to a probe which measures the electrolyte level in the cell. First introduced in 1998 by Philadelphia Scientific the Blinky is now a common a sight on batteries in many major forklift markets around the world where for a tiny fraction of the price of a forklift battery a Basic Blinky returns its investment in less than 9 weeks.
The Blinky has evolved over its’ 18 year life, becoming smarter, with a time delay to only water the battery at the optimal time, and safer, with multiple fuses to prevent short circuits if it is damaged in operation. It’s also been adapted for all applications so if its normal spot on the battery isn’t feasible the LED can be mounted on the equipment, the side of the battery tray, or between the battery cables, in fact there isn’t an application that doesn’t have an ideal Blinky model to suit.
2016 sees a new ‘Pro’ model with a unique audible alarm so there is absolutely no way a battery without water can go without attention, furthermore if it does go without water the Smart Blinky Pro will tell you how many days the battery electrolyte has been low for. Both the Basic and Smart Blinky are now in their third generation receiving full upgrades including industry leading super bright indicators, as well as stronger housing and lower profiles to reduce damage in operation. Furthermore connection to the wrong voltage or polarity no longer damages the Blinky with new protections in place to spare installers blushes.
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