Usually, electric forklifts are the most ideal choice for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing operations for 2 key reasons: First off they produce zero emissions. This is a really vital factor to consider for indoor work places. Among the Internal Combustion or IC units, just the propane-fueled units are able to be utilized indoors and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered models are not able to be used inside under any circumstances.
The primary advantage of electric lift trucks is fuel expenses. Compared to IC or internal combustion models, these have lower costs per hour. Amongst the main drawbacks to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. Brand new electric lift trucks can range from 20 percent to 40% more compared to internal combustion units which are similarly rated.
On the other hand, electric forklifts offer numerous benefits including quiet operation. This is a huge plus for indoor operations. Furthermore, no need for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. Because electric lift trucks have less components that move as opposed to IC units, and they are normally used inside and within cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The battery downtime is the biggest disadvantage of an electric lift truck. These units run with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, like those found in your automobile. These batteries are very strong and extremely big. Normally, batteries provide enough power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Originally, charging a forklift battery takes approximately 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 slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you will need to purchase extra batteries so you could always be charging the next battery. These additional batteries would add around $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market today, 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 done in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work a lot faster.