Usually, electric forklifts are the best option for indoor use in manufacturing and warehousing applications for 2 key reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is a really essential factor to consider for indoor work places. Out of the IC or internal combustion units, only the propane-fueled models can be used indoors and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered models are not able to be utilized inside under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other main advantage of electric forklifts. These units have less cost per hour compared to any of the other internal combustion or IC units. Amongst the main disadvantages to the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric lift trucks can vary from 20% to 40 percent more than IC models which are rated the same.
Electric forklifts however, provide many advantages like quiet operations, which could be a big plus for indoor environments. In addition, no fuel storage requirements mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. Since electric forklifts have less components that move than IC models, and they are normally utilized in cleaner settings and indoors, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The battery downtime is the biggest downside of an electric forklift. These models run with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, similar to those found inside your car. These batteries are really big and very powerful. Typically, batteries offer sufficient power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Charging a forklift battery will take about 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be utilized after the charging process is done. Due to this long method of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should buy extra batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These extra batteries would add around $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
On the market today, there are some new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the industry of electric lift trucks. Their charging can be completed in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to get back to work a lot sooner.