Being independent of the mains supply

Power failures are always a possibility in production and logistics operations, and in many countries they are even part of day-to-day life. They pose particular challenges for battery charging technology, as the charging process is interrupted and then starts from the beginning as soon as current is flowing again. This reduces the quality of the charge significantly, owing to the fact that the batteries become too hot, leading to a reduction in their service life and capacity. The result is unnecessary costs for new purchases and reduced availability of the entire forklift truck system.

Fronius Selectiva battery charging systems are equipped with an automatic mains failure detection feature. Users can activate this feature - in which the battery charging system automatically detects any interruption in the power supply and stores failures so that they can be analysed using the I-SPoT Viewer software tool - whenever they want. The user can also specify via the display how the battery charging system is to proceed when the power supply is restored, for example by adapting the charging characteristic accordingly. This prevents overcharging whilst increasing the availability and service life of the battery.

Mains voltage fluctuations are normal, but can differ significantly from grid to grid. In the case of an alternating current supply, one of the three phases often fails temporarily. This presents a challenge for operators of battery charging systems for electric forklift trucks: if the voltage fluctuations are too large, the quality of the charge diminishes and the battery charging systems may fail. This has a negative impact on the availability and efficiency of the entire forklift truck system.

Fronius battery charging systems have an extremely high mains voltage tolerance of -15% to +30%, allowing them to compensate for voltage fluctuations within this range without difficulty. If one phase of a three-phase alternating current connection fails, the battery charging system continues to operate with reduced power. A smooth charging process is therefore guaranteed, even with a heavily fluctuating power supply. This results in increased availability and efficiency of the forklift truck system.