The electric forklift is usually the best alternative for indoor operations within warehouses and manufacturing environments. This is mainly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they create zero emissions. This is an extremely vital factor to consider for indoor work places. Amongst the Internal Combustion or IC models, just the propane-fueled models could be used indoors and these units still require really good ventilation. Models which run on gas and diesel can not be used indoors under any circumstances.
The primary advantage of electric lift trucks is fuel expenses. As opposed to IC or internal combustion models, these have less costs per hour. One of the main drawbacks to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. Brand new electric forklifts can range from 20 percent to 40% more compared to IC units which are similarly rated.
However, electric lift trucks offer many advantages like quiet operation. This is a huge plus for indoor applications. In addition, no fuel storage needs mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. As electric forklifts have less parts that move as opposed to IC units, and they are usually used in cleaner settings and indoors, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric forklifts biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The large and very heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat like the ones now found in cars. These batteries are extremely powerful and really large. Normally, batteries offer an adequate amount of power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous utilization.
Charging a lift truck battery will take about 8 hours. An additional 8 hours of cooling time is required before it can be used after the charging process is done. Due to this long process of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you require forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should purchase additional batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries would add approximately $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market these days, there are a few new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the business of electric lift trucks. Their charging can be completed during the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work much sooner.