Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines. The engines of the forklift all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the numerous models and makes of forklift would have a different design and layout. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque rather than for speed. They usually are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also needed to lift and lower the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Most modern lift truck engines are powered by propane because they would be used indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines will be inappropriate due to the exhaust they generate.
A four-cylinder engine-block is normally found in a forklift. A lot similar to the engine in small automobiles, forklift engines have cylinders containing pistons connecting to a camshaft. Every cylinder head has a spark plug, an intake hatch and an exhaust hatch, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
Propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray, once the operator starts up the engine of the forklift. This fine spray mixes with air that comes from the mass air intake prior to moving into the cylinder's head intake hatches. Each and every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, which compresses the mixture of air and propane as every piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is really precise, the battery and alternator of the engine generate an electrical current that passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites leading to an explosion which drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, leading to a continuous turning of the camshaft. In the cylinder, an air pressure imbalance causes the exhaust to be drawn out through the exhaust hatch as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns much cleaner than gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.