Generally, electric forklifts are the best option for indoor use within manufacturing and warehousing applications for 2 key reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is an extremely vital factor to take into account for indoor work places. Amongst the IC or internal combustion units, only the propane-fueled units could be used inside and these models still need really good ventilation. Gas and diesel powered models are not able to be used indoors under any circumstances.
The main benefit of electric lift trucks is fuel costs. Compared to IC or internal combustion models, these have lower expenses per hour. One of the main disadvantages to using the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts can vary from 20 percent to 40% more compared to IC units that are rated the same.
However, electric forklifts provide many benefits like quiet operation. This is a huge plus for indoor operations. Furthermore, no fuel storage requirements mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are dangerous and flammable. Because electric forklifts have less moving components compared to IC models, and they are typically used within 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 models run with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, like the ones found inside your automobile. These batteries are very strong and very large. Usually, batteries offer a sufficient amount of power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Originally, charging a lift truck battery takes about 8 hours. After the charging process is done, an extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be used. Because of this long process of slow charging speed and extra cooling time, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must buy additional batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries would add about $1000 to $2000 to the acquisition price.
On the market today, there are several new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the industry of electric lift trucks. Their charging could be completed during the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to return to work much faster.