Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the numerous makes and models of forklift will have a different design and layout. Forklifts are made more toward producing high torque than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also needed to lower and lift the forks via a series of chain pulleys. The majority of forklift engines which are modern are powered by propane since they would be used for indoor applications, where gasoline and diesel engines will be unsuitable because of the exhaust they generate.
Usually, the lift truck is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are like car engines because they contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. Every cylinder head consists of an intake hatch, an exhaust hatch and a spark plug, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
Once the driver starts up the forklift engine, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes with air which comes from the mass air intake prior to moving into the cylinder head intake hatches. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, that compresses the mixture of air and propane as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is really precise, the alternator and battery of the engine produce an electrical current that passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites causing an explosion which drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, resulting in a continuous turning of the camshaft. In the cylinder, an air pressure imbalance causes the the exhaust hatch to draw out exhaust as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner compared to gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.