The electric forklift is normally the most ideal alternative for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing environments. This is mainly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is a really important factor to consider for indoor work places. Amongst the Internal Combustion or IC units, only the propane-fueled models could be used inside and these units still require extremely good ventilation. Units which work on diesel and gas are not able to be utilized inside under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other main benefit of electric lift trucks. These units have lower cost per hour compared to any of the other IC or internal combustion units. Among the main drawbacks to using the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. Brand new electric forklifts could vary from 20 percent to 40% more than internal combustion models which are similarly rated.
Electric forklifts on the other hand, provide many benefits such as quiet operations, that can be a big plus for indoor settings. Furthermore, no fuel storage needs mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. Since electric forklifts have less moving parts as opposed to IC units, and they are typically utilized indoors and in cleaner environments, 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, large, lead-acid batteries, similar to the ones found inside your car. These batteries are really powerful and really large. Usually, batteries provide sufficient power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous utilization.
Charging a lift truck battery will take roughly 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be used after the charging process is done. Because of this long method of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you require forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must purchase extra batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These additional batteries will add about $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
On the market today, there are several new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have changed the business of electric lift trucks. Their charging can be completed during the course of coffee and lunch breaks, allowing them to return to work much sooner.