Removing Forklift Battery Cells For Off Grid Solar Power

Now that I have my Harbor Freight engine hoist built, I can start pulling out the forklift battery cells from the bed of my truck one at a time.

The entire forklift battery bank weighs a total of about 2,000 pounds. But the single battery cells only weigh about 100 pounds each.

The first problem I had to solve was to move the heavy battery bank further back in the bed of the truck so that my hydraulic engine hoist could reach the battery cells to pull them out.

I first tried to move the battery bank by using the engine hoist to pull it upwards and then use my legs to push the battery back to the tailgate of the truck. This failed. The battery would not move at all.

I decided to try extending the arm of the engine hoist by using a 2x4 to reach over the top of the battery. This harbor freight engine hoist has a one ton capacity but with the arm extended the engine hoist can handle 500 pounds. I figured that with a 2x4 extension it could easily still handle 100 pounds.

But this idea failed miserably. The board kept slipping off the engine hoist arm.

I got a smart idea to drive the truck backwards slowly and then hit the brakes hard to slide the battery back some. Bit by bit I carefully slid the entire forklift battery back to the end of the truck bed so the engine hoist could reach it.

The next problem was to move the hydraulic engine hoist over to a better place to work. The ground is very muddy from constant rain so it was quite a job just moving the engine hoist. My feet kept slipping around making it tough going.

I finally got everything in place properly and connected the engine hoist to a battery cell. I did this by using a ratchet strap and tying a loop in it. One part went over the battery negative terminal and the other end went on the engine hoist hook.

I started to slowly and carefully lift out the battery cell. I would crank a little bit on the hydraulic ram and then tap the side of the battery pack with a hammer to loosen it up. The battery cell slid upwards a tiny little bit at a time.

I got a little bit too over confident and cranked too much on the lift at one time. This caused the terminal connector to break off and fly through the air.

There is a bunch of cement spilled in the sides of the forklift battery. Somehow this expanded and jammed in the battery cells very tightly. Normally you will not have as much trouble as I am having pulling out forklift battery cells for off grid solar power use.

I decided try the other half of the forklift battery. The steel case is divided into two halves. This means that I might be able to pull out the battery cells from that side easier.

I connected my hoist and, very carefully this time, I pulled out a single battery cell. When I got it up almost fully out of the case I got up on the bed of the truck and lifted the battery cell by hand the rest of the way. It is very heavy and hard to handle but I got it out.

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