The electric lift truck is normally the best alternative for indoor applications within warehouses and manufacturing settings. This is mostly due to 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is an extremely important factor to take into consideration for indoor work places. Out of the IC or internal combustion units, only the propane-fueled models are able to be utilized indoors and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Gas and diesel powered models are not able to be utilized inside under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary advantage of electric forklifts. These models have lower cost per hour as opposed to any of the other internal combustion or IC models. Among the main disadvantages to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. Brand new electric forklifts 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 advantages including quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor applications. Additionally, no fuel storage requirements mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. As electric forklifts have less moving components as opposed to internal combustion models, and they are normally utilized indoors and within cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The electric lift trucks biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The big and very heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat like the ones now found in automobiles. These batteries are really strong and extremely large. Typically, batteries provide sufficient power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of nonstop use.
Originally, charging a lift truck 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 process of additional cooling time and slow charging speed, if you require forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should buy additional batteries so you could be charging the nest battery always. These extra batteries will add about $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market today, there are a few new fast charge electric lift trucks. These fast charge batteries have changed the industry of electric forklifts. Their charging could be done during the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to get back to work much faster.