The solution of using a daily, short duration timer cycle would likely be a
very good maintenance solution for many common batteries.

The forklift battery in this instance is more than a half-cubic yard in
size, weighing about a half-ton, and somewhere in the neighborhood of about
800 Ah capacity.. subjected to outdoor temperatures here in the northest
U.S.

The history of the battery is unknown, but has been able to meet the demand
of occassional lifting, but has recently been subjected to some neglect by
the owner.
As I mentioned previously, the forklift is used only occassionally as a
lift, not for moving heavy loads around with the traction drive.

If the charge can't be automatically/routinely refreshed, it may just become
a scrap battery, which would then need to be replaced with a bank/stack of
automotive or marine batteries, as one possible fairly economical solution.

The heavy duty charger is indoors, and moving the charger to the forklift is
complicated/troublesome, which is why the owner has been neglectful at
keeping the battery charged on a regular schedule.
Once the battery has been charged, a small automatic charger might be able
to prevent further decline of the battery's health from sitting idle without
proper attention.

--
Cheers,
WB
..............


wrote in message
...

Get a regular 24 hour mechanical clock timer and use it to power a
relay whose contact is in parallel with the push-on start contact on
the power supply. Set the timer for the minimum possible on time,
usually 15 minutes per day. That will start the power supply once
each day and that should kep the batteries charged just fine. Simple
solutions for simple problems!!!