Various industrial sectors in South Africa – including the materials handling equipment sector – rely on machinery and industrial vehicles for swift, safe, and cost-efficient operations.
This machinery is mainly powered by long-lasting internal combustion engines; as well as standard-issue lead-acid batteries – and the increasingly popular lithium-ion batteries – which need to be charged regularly or exchanged for new battery packs to ensure operational continuity.
Battery performance in applications such as battery charging, connects and disconnects between the machines and batteries, communications, and monitoring, can however be enhanced through the additional use of upper and lower pilot auxiliaries contacts on Euro battery connectors.
To this end, Alexander and Poole, a long-standing local electrical equipment supplier and sole distributor for the Southern African region of Anderson Power Products (APP) electrical connector solutions, offers connectors with auxiliary accessories to ‘charge up’ battery performance in a range of industrial applications.
“Our APP connectors, with optional auxiliary kits, are suitable for applications in both lead-acid and lithium batteries, ensuring optimal battery life and sustained operations in numerous related applications,” said Alexander and Poole Managing Director Andrew Poole.
National Sales Manager Juanita Fisher-Hill said, “APP’s SBE and SBX-style and the DIN 43589-1-style Euro battery connectors offer robust housings and contacts; as well as four or more auxiliary contacts for applications, such as battery monitoring and charger communications.”
In addition, the company offers a mounting and locking half for a double stack of connectors, providing power up to 640amps.
“In particular, the APP Euro DIN ‘E’ Series two-way battery fast-charge connector offers upper and lower pilot auxiliaries (and additional pins), which are increasingly being used in the lithium market to improve battery performance and battery monitoring,” she said.
“Demand for lithium-ion powered forklifts is therefore on the rise, partly as a result of the benefits associated with lithium-ion batteries – and partly as a result of changes in legislation, which may inevitably result in reduced use of diesel forklifts around food and beverage products.”
The costs and emissions associated with diesel and liquefied petroleum gas forklifts are further driving the change towards lithium-ion, she said, adding that APP connectors and auxiliary accessories are suitable for applications where lithium-ion batteries are used.
These include electric forklifts, counterbalance trucks, reach trucks, low-level order pickers, cleaning machines and lifting platforms, telecommunications (such as communications towers), in wind generation, in uninterruptible power supply sources and in the solar energy sector, such as at solar power farms.
To this end, Alexander and Poole supplies the APP Euro DIN ‘E’ series Industrial 2-way battery fast-charge connector; as well as the SB range 50amp to 350amp, SBE 160 to 320amp and SBX 350amp connector solutions with auxiliary kit accessories available in numerous colours. All the components for a complete connector can be packaged and supplied according to customers’ requirements.
