Roughly 60 percent of the lift truck market is made up by electric lift truck models. These units are powered by heavy, huge lead-acid batteries that which prevents the machine from tipping over because it gives it the counterweight.
The ITA states that electric counterbalanced lift trucks are considered Class 1 forklifts. The category of Class1 also encompasses stand-up counterbalanced lift trucks in addition to other electric trucks which are designed for general use. Even though the first investment when you purchase an electric lift truck is more compared to an internal combustion or IC lift truck, electric trucks are less expensive to run and operate in the long-run. This is because of lesser maintenance and fuel costs, than the internal combustion or IC models.
The majority of the electric rider lift trucks shipped within North America is designed for transporting material indoors. They are commonly used in retail spaces, and warehousing applications. The electric units are the best option for inside applications because they emit zero toxic emissions and make less noise.
The battery of an electric lift truck can run on average for 8 hours or for a single shift. The recharging, reloading and removing batteries that weigh upwards of 3000 pounds could be hard and time consuming. This burdensome task often needs a dedicated area for handling the battery. However, new fast charging technologies are now used to change the procedure and update this method to be able to accomplish it in a a lot quicker method.
Fast charging technologies are considered the best charging technologies. It has revolutionized electric unit lift trucks and the charging time of their batteries. The experts of the material handling business, state that these new developments within the battery charging systems and battery technology could cut charging time by up to 50 percent!
IC or Internal Combustion Counterbalanced Forklifts
IC forklifts depend on a variety of different kinds of fuels, like LPG or liquid propane gas, diesel, CNG or compressed natural gas and gasoline. The larger forklifts are usually utilized outside. Usually, these units operate on diesel or gas and utilizes pneumatic or air-filled tires in order to make them appropriate for rough terrain and steep slopes, as opposed to cushion tires. Cushion tires are more suitable for smooth services and indoor applications as they are made from solid rubber.
The LPG unit is the most popular fuel choice for indoor trucks. Today, there are over 600,000 propane-filled lift trucks working around the world. These units offer a wide variety of advantages. For example, lift trucks which operate on propane fuel maintain 100% constant power during operation. As well, these models offer faster ground speeds than other power sources.