Usually, electric forklifts are the best alternative for indoor use in warehouses and manufacturing operations for 2 key reasons: First off they produce zero emissions. This is a very important factor to take into consideration for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC units, just the propane-fueled units could be utilized indoors and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Gas and diesel powered models are not able to be used inside under any circumstances.
The main benefit of electric lift trucks is fuel costs. Compared to internal combustion or IC units, these have lower costs per hour. Amongst the main disadvantages to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric forklifts can range from 20 percent to 40% more compared to internal combustion units which are similarly rated.
However, electric lift trucks offer numerous advantages like quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor applications. In addition, no requirement for fuel storage mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. Because electric forklifts have less moving components than internal combustion models, and they are usually utilized in cleaner environments and indoors, 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, similar to those found in your car. These batteries are very large and really powerful. Normally, batteries provide a sufficient amount of power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of nonstop use.
Initially, charging a lift truck battery takes roughly 8 hours. After the charging process is completed, an additional 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it could be used. Due to 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 around $1000 to $2000 to the acquisition price.
There are a few new fast charge electric lift trucks on the market. These specialized batteries have revolutionized the electric forklift industry. Their charging could be done during the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to return to work a lot sooner.