Some industrial applications provide additional challenges for battery-powered Genie scissor lifts and Genie boom lifts.
In this article, we look at operating all-electric Genie lifts in cold environments such as food processing facilities, cold storage units, or in regions that have cold climates.
Step 1: Check the Manual
It sounds obvious, but the best place to start is always with the Genie Service or Maintenance Manual for your specific machine. Manuals can be easily accessed at https://www.genielift.com/en/support/manuals
Seek out the Hydraulic Fluid Temperature Range information and review the chart – this will tell you whether or not the cold temperature requires you to change the hydraulic fluid. Note that there are temperature range limitations clearly stated in the manual – do not operate the machine outside of these limits.
Step 2: Change the fluid
Change the hydraulic fluid if required, as outlined in the Genie Service Manual. This is extremely important if you want to avoid potential hydraulic system damage.
Step 3: Change the batteries
AGM batteries often provide the best performance in cold environments.
Step 4: Charging the batteries
For recharging the batteries, we recommend that you move your Genie boom or Genie scissor lift into a room temperature environment, ideally indoors. We recommend an overnight recharge.
Step 5: Double up
If you need to maximise up time for productivity purposes, you might want to consider having two Genie machines instead of one for each task — in this way, you can have one Genie lift charging while the other one is in use.
Step 6: Take it slow
Operators should expect the functions of battery-powered Genie lifts to be slower in cold environments, and the life of the battery charge on these machines could be reduced by 50%, requiring more frequent charging. So factor this into your planning. As the batteries age, you may also experience a reduction in performance.
Step 7: Maintain your batteries
Follow the guidelines for battery maintenance in the Genie Service Manual – this will help you to optimise battery longevity and performance.
