The electric lift truck is normally the most ideal choice for indoor operations in manufacturing and warehousing environments. This is mostly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is a really essential factor to consider for indoor work places. Amongst the IC or internal combustion models, just the propane-fueled models could be utilized indoors and these models still need extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered units could not be used inside under any circumstances.
The primary benefit of electric forklifts is fuel expenses. Compared to internal combustion or IC models, these have lower expenses per hour. Among the main disadvantages to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts can range from 20% to 40% more than IC models that are rated the same.
On the other hand, electric lift trucks provide many benefits including quiet operation. This is a big plus for indoor applications. In addition, no need for fuel storage mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. Since electric lift trucks have less moving parts than internal combustion models, and they are typically utilized in cleaner settings and indoors, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The battery downtime is the biggest disadvantage of an electric lift truck. These models run with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, similar to the ones found inside your car. These batteries are really powerful and really large. Normally, batteries offer sufficient power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of nonstop use.
Originally, charging a lift truck battery takes roughly 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 additional cooling time, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you will need to buy additional batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These extra batteries would add approximately $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
There are some new fast charge electric lift trucks on the market. These specialized batteries have revolutionized the electric forklift business. Their charging can be completed in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to get back to work much sooner.