The electric forklift is usually the best choice 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 essential factor to consider for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC models, just the propane-fueled models can be used indoors and these models still require really good ventilation. Gas and diesel powered models could not be used indoors under any circumstances.
The main advantage of electric forklifts is fuel expenses. As opposed to IC or internal combustion models, these have lower expenses per hour. One of the main drawbacks to using the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. Brand new electric forklifts can range from 20% to 40 percent more than IC models that are similarly rated.
On the other hand, electric lift trucks offer numerous advantages including quiet operation. This is a huge plus for indoor operations. In addition, no fuel storage requirements mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are both flammable and dangerous. Since electric lift trucks have less moving parts than IC units, and they are normally used indoors and in cleaner settings, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The electric forklifts biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The large and very heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat similar to the ones now found in cars. These batteries are really powerful and extremely big. Usually, batteries offer sufficient power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Charging a lift truck battery would take approximately 8 hours. An additional 8 hours of cooling time is required before it can be utilized after the charging process is done. Because of this long method of additional cooling time and slow charging speed, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must buy additional batteries so you could always be charging the next battery. These additional batteries would add approximately $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
On the market nowadays, there are some new fast charge electric lift trucks. These fast charge batteries have changed the industry of electric lift trucks. Their charging can be completed in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work a lot sooner.