Battery Care in the Cold: How to Keep Your MEWP Running Strong This Winter
Cold weather doesn’t announce itself with a warning. One morning you walk onto site, fire up the machine, and nothing happens. Flat battery. Dead machine. Lost time.
The frustrating part? In most cases, it’s completely preventable.
This week on Smart Start Monday, Stefi — our resident height safety expert — breaks down exactly what cold temperatures do to your MEWP battery and four practical steps your team can take to stay ahead of it.
What Does Cold Weather Actually Do to a MEWP Battery?
Before we get into the fixes, it helps to understand the problem.
Battery-powered MEWPs rely on chemical processes inside the battery to generate and store power. Cold temperatures slow those chemical processes down. The result? Your battery delivers less power, charges more slowly, and loses charge faster than it would on a warm day.
For lead-acid batteries — the most widely used battery type in MEWPs — cold conditions are particularly punishing. A battery that’s already sitting low on charge and left out overnight in cold conditions will be noticeably weaker by the time your team arrives in the morning. What might have been a manageable charge level the afternoon before can be critically low by the time the first operator turns a key.
The machine doesn’t warn you. It just doesn’t perform.
Four Quick Wins to Protect Your Battery This Winter
- Keep the Charge Up
This is the single most important habit your team can build during colder months.
Don’t let batteries run down low and sit overnight. As soon as a shift ends, plug the machine in and recharge. A fully charged battery handles cold temperatures significantly better than a partially discharged one. It has more reserve capacity to compensate for the performance loss that cold conditions bring.
Make it a non-negotiable end-of-shift task: machine goes away, machine gets plugged in. Every time.
- Bring It in From the Cold
Where possible, batteries and machines should be stored indoors or under cover overnight — not left out in the open on a cold morning.
Lead-acid batteries lose charge faster in cold conditions, so an already-low battery left outside overnight will be even weaker by the time your team needs it. Bringing equipment undercover doesn’t require a heated facility — even a sheltered area out of the wind and frost makes a meaningful difference to morning performance.
If indoor storage isn’t an option for full machines, consider whether batteries can be removed and stored inside. Check your manufacturer’s guidance on this, as procedures vary by machine type.
- Store It Smart
The warmer the storage environment, the better the battery performs the next day. This doesn’t mean you need a climate-controlled warehouse — even a few extra degrees compared to leaving equipment outside in the open can make a real difference.
Think about how your equipment is currently positioned on site overnight. Is it in an exposed area? Is there a more sheltered option available? Small changes in where you park and store machines during cold spells can have a direct impact on morning readiness and reduce the chance of cold-related downtime.
- Check Your Terminals Before You Start
Cold weather speeds up corrosion on battery terminals. Corroded terminals create resistance, which reduces the power getting to and from the battery — meaning your machine may underperform even if the battery itself is fully charged.
Make terminal checks part of your daily pre-use inspection. It takes ten seconds. A quick visual check for white or greenish build-up on the terminals, followed by a tighten-up if needed, can save you an hour of troubleshooting later in the day — and prevent you from losing a machine mid-job.
If you do find corrosion, have it cleaned by a qualified technician or follow your manufacturer’s recommended procedure before operating.
The Bottom Line
Cold weather isn’t the enemy. Neglect is.
The machines your team relies on every day are designed to handle tough conditions — but only when they’re maintained properly. Battery care in cold weather isn’t a specialist task or a big time commitment. It’s four habits, done consistently, that keep your equipment performing and your crew productive.
Look after your battery, and it’ll look after your day.
Watch the Full Episode
Catch Stefi breaking this down in under 90 seconds on this week’s Smart Start Monday. Share it with your team before the morning briefing — it’s exactly the kind of quick, practical reminder that sticks.
Stay Safe, Stay Smart. ⚡
Smart Start Monday is a weekly safety education series covering practical height safety and MEWP operation tips for operators, supervisors, and equipment managers in the access industry.