The electric forklift is normally the most ideal option for indoor operations in warehouses and manufacturing settings. This is mostly due to 2 reasons with the first being that they create zero emissions. This is an extremely important factor to take into consideration for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled units can be used indoors and these units still need really good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered units could not be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
The main advantage of electric forklifts is fuel costs. Compared to internal combustion or IC units, these have less costs per hour. Amongst the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts could range from 20% to 40 percent more than IC units which are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks however, provide many advantages such as quiet operations, that could be a big plus for indoor environments. Moreover, no requirement for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of flammable and dangerous fuels. Since electric forklifts have less moving components compared to IC models, and they are usually utilized in cleaner settings and inside, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The electric forklifts biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The big and really heavy, lead acid batteries are quite like those now found inside cars. These batteries are extremely powerful and extremely large. Usually, batteries offer a sufficient amount of power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Originally, charging a lift truck battery takes around 8 hours. After the charging process is done, an additional 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be utilized. Due to this long method of additional cooling time and slow charging speed, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should buy additional batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries will add roughly $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
There are some new fast charge electric forklifts on the market. These specialized batteries have changed the electric forklift industry. Their charging could be done in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work much sooner.