The electric forklift is generally the best option for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing environments. This is mostly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is an extremely essential factor to consider for indoor work places. Amongst the Internal Combustion or IC units, only the propane-fueled units can be used indoors and these models still require really good ventilation. Units which run on diesel and gas can not be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary benefit of electric lift trucks. These units have lower cost per hour as opposed to any of the other internal combustion or IC models. Among the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric lift trucks can range from 20% to 40 percent more than IC units which are rated the same.
On the other hand, electric forklifts offer many benefits like quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor operations. Moreover, no fuel storage requirements mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. As electric lift trucks have less parts that move than IC units, and they are normally used indoors and in cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric forklifts biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The big and very heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat similar to those now found inside automobiles. These batteries are really big and really strong. Typically, batteries offer a sufficient amount of power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of nonstop use.
Originally, charging a lift truck battery takes roughly 8 hours. After the charging process is completed, an additional 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it could be utilized. Because of this long method of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must purchase extra batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These extra batteries will add about $1000 to $2000 to the acquisition price.
There are a few new fast charge electric forklifts available on the market. These specialized batteries have changed the electric forklift industry. Their charging could be completed in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to return to work a lot sooner.