The electric forklift is usually the most ideal choice for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing settings. This is mostly due to 2 reasons with the first being that they create zero emissions. This is an extremely vital factor to take into account for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled models could be used inside and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered units are not able to be utilized inside under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary benefit of electric forklifts. These models have less cost per hour as opposed to any of the other internal combustion or IC models. Amongst the main drawbacks to using the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric lift trucks can vary from 20 percent to 40 percent more than IC models that are rated the same.
On the other hand, electric forklifts provide many advantages including quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor applications. Additionally, no need for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are dangerous and flammable. Since electric forklifts have less parts that move than IC units, and they are typically utilized in cleaner environments and inside, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric lift trucks biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The big and really heavy, lead acid batteries are quite like the ones now found in automobiles. These batteries are really powerful and really big. Typically, batteries offer sufficient power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Charging a lift truck battery will take about 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it could be used after the charging process is completed. Because of this long method of additional cooling time and slow charging speed, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must purchase additional batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These additional batteries would add about $1000 to $2000 to buy.
There are some new fast charge electric lift trucks available on the market. These specialized batteries have revolutionized the electric lift truck business. Their charging could be completed in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, allowing them to return to work a lot sooner.