Usually, electric lift trucks are the most ideal alternative for indoor use within manufacturing and warehousing applications for 2 key reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is a really vital factor to consider for indoor work places. Amongst the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled models could be utilized indoors and these models still need really good ventilation. Models which work on diesel and gas are not able to be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary advantage of electric lift trucks. These models have less cost per hour as opposed to any of the other internal combustion or IC units. One of the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric forklifts can vary from 20 percent to 40 percent more compared to internal combustion models that are rated the same.
However, electric lift trucks provide many advantages like quiet operation. This is a huge plus for indoor applications. Furthermore, no requirement for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. As electric lift trucks have less moving parts as opposed to internal combustion models, and they are usually utilized indoors and within cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The battery downtime is the biggest disadvantage of an electric forklift. These models run with heavy, big, lead-acid batteries, like those found inside your car. These batteries are extremely powerful and very big. Normally, batteries offer enough power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Charging a forklift battery would take approximately 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it could be utilized after the charging process is completed. Because of this long method of slow charging speed and extra cooling time, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should buy extra batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These extra batteries will add approximately $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
There are a few new fast charge electric lift trucks available on the market. These specialized batteries have revolutionized the electric lift truck industry. Their charging could be done in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to get back to work much sooner.