The electric lift truck is usually the most ideal choice for indoor operations within warehouses and manufacturing environments. This is mostly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is a really important factor to take into account for indoor work places. Among the Internal Combustion or IC models, just the propane-fueled models are able to be used inside and these units still need really good ventilation. Units which work on diesel and gas are not able to be utilized inside 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 models. One of the main drawbacks to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric forklifts can vary from 20% to 40% more compared to IC models that are similarly rated.
However, electric forklifts offer numerous benefits including quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor applications. Furthermore, no fuel storage requirements mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are both dangerous and flammable. As electric forklifts have less components that move than internal combustion models, and they are normally utilized in cleaner environments and inside, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric forklifts biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The big and very heavy, lead acid batteries are quite similar to those now found inside automobiles. These batteries are really strong and extremely big. Usually, batteries provide enough power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Charging a forklift battery would take approximately 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it could be used after the charging process is done. Due to this long method of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must purchase additional batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These extra batteries will add approximately $1000 to $2000 to the purchase price.
There are several new fast charge electric forklifts available on the market. These specialized batteries have revolutionized the electric lift truck business. Their charging can be done in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to return to work a lot sooner.