Usually, electric lift trucks are the most ideal choice for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing applications for 2 major reasons: First off they produce zero emissions. This is an extremely essential factor to consider for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled units could be used inside and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Units which run on gas and diesel are not able to be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
The primary advantage of electric forklifts is fuel costs. Compared to IC or internal combustion units, these have less expenses per hour. Among the main disadvantages to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts could vary from 20 percent to 40% more than internal combustion units which are similarly rated.
Electric forklifts on the other hand, provide numerous benefits like quiet operations, which could be a huge plus for indoor environments. Additionally, no requirement for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are dangerous and flammable. Because electric lift trucks have less components that move than internal combustion units, and they are typically utilized within cleaner environments and inside, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The battery downtime is the biggest disadvantage of an electric lift truck. These units run with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, like the ones found in your automobile. These batteries are really big and very powerful. Usually, batteries provide enough power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Charging a forklift battery will take around 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it can be used after the charging process is completed. Due to this long method of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you require lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you will have to buy extra batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These extra batteries will add about $1000 to $2000 to buy.
There are several new fast charge electric lift trucks on the market. These specialized batteries have revolutionized the electric lift truck industry. Their charging can be completed during the course of lunch and coffee breaks, allowing them to get back to work much faster.