Normally, electric forklifts are the best option for indoor use in warehouses and manufacturing operations for 2 main reasons: First off they produce zero emissions. This is a very essential factor to consider for indoor work places. Amongst the Internal Combustion or IC units, only the propane-fueled models can be utilized inside and these models still need extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered models can not be utilized inside under any circumstances.
The primary benefit of electric lift trucks is fuel costs. As opposed to IC or internal combustion models, these have lower costs per hour. Among the main disadvantages to the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. Brand new electric forklifts could vary from 20% to 40 percent more than IC units that are rated the same.
Electric forklifts however, offer numerous advantages such as quiet operations, which could be a huge plus for indoor settings. In addition, no need for fuel storage mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of flammable and dangerous fuels. As electric lift trucks have less components that move as opposed to internal combustion units, and they are normally used in cleaner settings and indoors, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The battery downtime is the biggest disadvantage of an electric lift truck. These units function with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, like the ones found inside your car. These batteries are very strong and extremely big. Typically, batteries offer sufficient power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous utilization.
Charging a lift truck battery would take about 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it can be used after the charging process is done. Because of this long method of slow charging speed and extra cooling time, if you require lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must buy additional batteries so you could always be charging the next battery. These additional batteries will add about $1000 to $2000 to the purchase price.
On the market today, there are some new fast charge electric lift trucks. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the industry of electric lift trucks. Their charging can be completed in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, allowing them to return to work much faster.