I need to buy a 36 Volt Forklift battery charger that runs on SINGLE
PHASE 120 or 220 volt power. It appears to me that every 36V charger I
find seems to run on 3 phase. I could see this because 36Volt
forklifts are usually high-end units used in heavy industrial
situations with 3 phase power. But we don't have it!
Important: there are many 36 volt battery chargers out there, but this
needs to be a heavy duty one capable of charging a 750AH battery. This
is a HUGE 2000 pound monster battery, and your run of the mill charger
is not going to handle it.

I need to know if: this charger is made, how much is costs, and where
to buy it. BONUS tip to anyone who can find me a used charger for
sale.

The outlet you plan to plug the charger into, likely has 50 amp
circuit breakers. That is 6000 watts at 120 volts or 11,000 watts at
220 volts. The charger needs to supply 40 to 45 volts, to the 36 volt
battery, which is 4500 watts at 1000 charging amps. The losses in the
charger should be less than 1500 watts, so the input requirement is
less than 6000 watts under most conditions, so 25 amp breakers are ok
on the 220 volt line, if nothing else is plugged into that circuit.
 1000 amps will put 500 amp hours into your battery in 1/2 hour, which
is more than enough to get your forklift back in operation, even if
the battery is completely discharged. Most chargers finish the charge
at much less charging current (500 amps to as low as one amp) so it
will take 5 to 50 hours to fully charge your battery. A battery near
the end of it's useful life either needs to be charged fewer amphours
and/or will accept less charging current from the charger. Even
chargers that claim 1000 amps on the name tag rarely supply that much
current in  real charging senareos, so charging time will sometimes be
longer.
 If you only run the fork lift a few hours per day and don't forget to
connect the charger, a 100 amp charger may prove adequite, and your
battery will last longer at lower charging rates. At an average of 50
amps charging current, it will take ten hours to put 500 amphours into
your battery. Some batteries return as little as half the amphours you
put in, so it could take as much as 1500 amphours to replace the 750
amphours you might use on rare occassions. While you are waiting for
the right charger, use three (four may be better) car battery chargers
in series to very slowly recharge your battery. Two 24 volt chargers
(or a 24 and a 12 volt charger) in series may work so well, you won't
need anything else. A welder with a dc option may also do a good job
of charging your battery. Try it, damage is unlikely to either the
welder or the battery, but you might want to disconect one terminal to
the forklift, in case the forlift has charge regulating circuitry. In
this case an exact replacement charger has least risk. Batteries are
damaged when left at or near discharged.   Neil

Some after thoughts are: Using two 24 volt chargers in series may over
charge your battery if you don't use your fork lift for several days,
such as over a holiday weekend. Over charging can cause a shorted
cell, which then requires replacing that battery.
 If you have a three phase battery charger, you may be able to use it
at reduced power, by connecting the two hot wires from the single
phase 220 volts to any pair of the 3 hot wires for the 3 phase input
to the charger. The 208 volt setting is likely close enough to 220
volts. Just make sure there is good air circulation around the
charger. You may be pleasently surprised that performance is hardly
degraded at all. You can probably reduce the slight possibility of
electric shock by connecting the green wire to the case of the charger
and/or the frame of the forklift, assuming the 220 volts has a green
wire.   Neil

What country? Uzbekistan? There?s a big wide world out there :-)

If USA, be quick on ebay. Exactly what you want, and cheap :-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=56998&item=3843449486&rd=1

Best

It?s still there..........

4 days 
7-day listing 
Ends Oct-07-04 16:46:35 PDT


Price: US $299.99

YOU ARE BIDDING ON A LIKE NEW WORKHORSE SERIES 1 BATTERY CHARGER FOR
ELECTRIC PALLET JACK OR FORKLIFT. THE UNIT IS MANUFACTURED BY APPLIED
ENERGY SOLUTIONS

INPUTE: 110/240, 1 PHASE, 27/14AMPS, 
OUTPUT: 36V, 750AH
MODEL# 18A0750Y1C
BATTERY TYPE: LA
CELLS: 18


Item location: Staten Island, NY
United States Ships to: United States Shipping costs: Check item
description and payment instructions or contact seller for details


Best

WOW. 
Thanks everyone, I actually bought that one from ebay. 
I was actually looking on ebay the day before and only saw 3 phase chargers.