Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the many makes and models of forklift will have a different layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward generating high torque than for speed. They generally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also needed to lower and raise the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Nearly all forklift engines which are modern are fueled by propane since they will be utilized indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines would be unsuitable because of the exhaust they create.
A four-cylinder engine-block is normally found in a forklift. A lot like the engine in small automobiles, forklift engines have cylinders which contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. Each and every cylinder head has an exhaust hatch, a spark plug and an exhaust hatch, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
Propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray, when the driver starts up the engine of the forklift. This fine spray mixes together with air that comes from the mass air intake before moving into the cylinder's head intake hatches. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, compressing the mixture of air and propane as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing that is very precise, the engine's battery and alternator create an electrical current which passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites causing an explosion which drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, leading to a continuous turning of the camshaft. An air pressure imbalance in the cylinder causes the the exhaust hatch to draw out exhaust as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns a lot cleaner than diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.