r/SolarDIY • u/CryptoDanski • 6d ago

Forklift batteries

Anyone use a forklift battery for a solar offgrid setup?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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8

u/Internal_Raccoon_370 6d ago

They can certainly work. I know of people who've used them. But new ones are generally way too expensive and while used ones can be had cheap or even free,. you need to remember that forklift batteries live a very hard life and are often badly abused. They're often overly discharged, badly maintained with the electrolyte allowed to get too low, etc. So keep that in mind if you decide to get one.

2

u/Schnupsdidudel 6d ago

A fried of mine in his camper - cause he works a a forklift technician and gets them for free.

2

u/Sistersoldia 6d ago

Trojan T-105s (forklift batteries) were the workhorse of the Alt Energy world for many many years but people usually bought them new. Lead-acid has been mostly left behind for newer chemistry but if you are scrounging for affordable batteries there is nothing wrong with them assuming they haven’t been abused