Generally, electric lift trucks are the best choice for indoor use in manufacturing and warehousing applications for 2 key reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is a really important factor to take into account for indoor work places. Among the IC or internal combustion units, just the propane-fueled models are able to be used inside and these units still need extremely good ventilation. Models that work on gas and diesel are not able to be used indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other main benefit of electric forklifts. These models have lower cost per hour compared to any of the other internal combustion or IC models. One of the main disadvantages to the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts could vary from 20 percent to 40% more than IC units that are similarly rated.
However, electric forklifts provide numerous advantages like quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor applications. Additionally, no fuel storage requirements mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. As electric forklifts have less components that move than internal combustion units, and they are typically utilized in cleaner settings and inside, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The electric lift trucks biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The large and really heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat like those now found in automobiles. These batteries are extremely strong and very big. Usually, batteries provide an adequate amount of power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Initially, charging a forklift battery takes approximately 8 hours. After the charging process is completed, an extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be used. Because of this long method of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should purchase additional batteries so you could be charging the nest battery always. These extra batteries will add approximately $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
On the market nowadays, there are some new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the business of electric lift trucks. Their charging could be completed in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, allowing them to return to work a lot sooner.