Unless you live in a warmer area, wintertime means colder temperatures, harsh winds, and excessive precipitation. All these things can affect your equipment if you work in a warehouse, which is why winterizing your equipment is critical.
Luckily, you can do a few things to protect your equipment during the colder months. With this in mind, here are a few tips for winterizing your warehouse equipment.
Give Your Engines an Oil Change
Heavy equipment requires you to change the engine oil seasonally for basic maintenance. This is true regardless of which season you are in.
However, since oil can flow more easily when it’s warm, switching to a multi-grade, synthetic base oil can help improve performance during the winter. You’ll see the most drastic change if you live in an area where temperatures get lower than -22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Replace the Oil Filters, Hydraulics, and Fuel
Changing filters is as essential to a healthy engine as an oil change. By switching from regular diesel to winter-grade diesel, you can help prevent wax crystals from forming on your equipment and avoid gelling. Additionally, checking your fuel filters will help you avoid costly repairs down the line if you don’t replace them or forget to clean them out.
If the filter clogs, it can become difficult to operate your engine. Stocking up on replacement filters can help you avoid these pitfalls. Also, you should empty your water trap so that it doesn’t freeze when temperatures drop.
Protect Your Batteries
Your engine relies on fuel and oil to function correctly. However, it won’t power on at all without a battery, rendering its other components obsolete. The battery is one of the engine parts most vulnerable to the cold.
If you want to prepare your forklift batteries for winter, you should know that they operate at peak performance when they reach around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Any temperature below this number will make your battery operate less efficiently. For example, at 32 degrees, your battery’s cranking capacity will decrease by about 65 percent.
Overall, you can prepare your equipment to operate at full capacity despite harsh working conditions with the right planning. Now that you know some tips for winterizing your warehouse equipment, you can continue to work as efficiently as possible at your warehouse.
