Usually, electric lift trucks are the best alternative for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing applications for 2 main reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is an extremely vital factor to consider for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC units, just the propane-fueled models could be used inside and these models still require really good ventilation. Units which run on diesel and gas can not be used indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary advantage of electric forklifts. These models have lower cost per hour as opposed to any of the other internal combustion or IC models. One of the main drawbacks to using the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts could range from 20% to 40% more than IC models which are rated the same.
Electric forklifts however, provide numerous advantages like quiet operations, which could be a huge plus for indoor environments. Moreover, no fuel storage requirements mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are both flammable and dangerous. Because electric lift trucks have less components that move than internal combustion models, and they are usually utilized within cleaner settings and inside, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The battery downtime is the biggest downside of an electric forklift. These units function with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, similar to the ones found inside your car. These batteries are very large and extremely strong. Typically, batteries provide sufficient power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Charging a forklift battery would take about 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it can be utilized after the charging process is completed. Because of this long process of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you would need to buy additional batteries so you could be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries would add about $1000 to $2000 to the acquisition price.
There are some new fast charge electric forklifts on the market. These specialized batteries have changed the electric forklift business. Their charging can be done in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, allowing them to get back to work a lot sooner.