Normally, electric lift trucks are the best choice for indoor use in warehouses and manufacturing operations for 2 key reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is a very essential factor to take into consideration for indoor work places. Amongst the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled models are able to be used indoors and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered models can not be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
The primary benefit of electric lift trucks is fuel costs. Compared to IC or internal combustion models, these have lower expenses per hour. Among the main disadvantages to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. Brand new electric lift trucks could vary from 20 percent to 40% more compared to internal combustion units which are similarly rated.
On the other hand, electric lift trucks offer numerous benefits like quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor operations. Moreover, no need for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of flammable and dangerous fuels. Because electric lift trucks have less moving components than IC units, and they are typically utilized within cleaner settings and inside, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The battery downtime is the biggest disadvantage of an electric forklift. These models function with heavy, big, lead-acid batteries, like the ones found in your car. These batteries are extremely large and really powerful. Normally, batteries offer sufficient power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Initially, charging a forklift battery takes about 8 hours. After the charging process is completed, an additional 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it could be utilized. Due to this long method of slow charging speed and extra cooling time, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must buy extra batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries would add about $1000 to $2000 to the purchase price.
There are some new fast charge electric lift trucks on the market. These specialized batteries have changed the electric forklift industry. Their charging could be done in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, allowing them to get back to work a lot faster.