The electric lift truck is usually the best option for indoor use within manufacturing and warehousing settings. This is mostly due to 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is a very important factor to take into account for indoor work places. Amongst the IC or internal combustion units, just the propane-fueled units could be utilized indoors and these units still need extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered units are not able to be used indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary benefit of electric forklifts. These models have less cost per hour compared to any of the other IC or internal combustion units. Among the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. Brand new electric forklifts could range from 20 percent to 40 percent more than internal combustion units which are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks however, provide numerous advantages like quiet operations, which can be a huge plus for indoor environments. Moreover, no fuel storage requirements mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are dangerous and flammable. Since electric lift trucks have less moving components than internal combustion models, and they are normally used within cleaner settings and inside, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The battery downtime is the biggest downside of an electric lift truck. These units function with heavy, big, lead-acid batteries, like the ones found in your automobile. These batteries are really large and really strong. Usually, batteries offer an adequate amount of power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous utilization.
Charging a forklift battery would take approximately 8 hours. An additional 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it can be utilized after the charging process is completed. Due to this long process of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you require forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you will have to buy extra batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These extra batteries will add roughly $1000 to $2000 to the purchase price.
There are some new fast charge electric forklifts on the market. These specialized batteries have changed the electric lift truck industry. Their charging can be done in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to return to work much faster.