Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classed as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the many models and makes of forklift will have a different design and layout. Forklifts are made more toward generating high torque than for speed. They generally are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also required to lower and raise the forks through a series of chain pulleys. The majority of forklift engines that are modern are powered by propane as they would be used for indoor applications, where diesel and gasoline engines would be unsuitable because of the exhaust they produce.
A four-cylinder engine-block is normally found in a lift truck. Much similar to the engine in small automobiles, forklift engines have cylinders that contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. Every cylinder head consists of an exhaust hatch, a spark plug and an exhaust hatch, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
Once the driver starts up the engine of the forklift, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes together with air coming from the mass air intake before moving into the cylinder head intake hatches. Each and every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, which compresses the mixture of propane and air as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing that is really precise, the alternator and battery of the engine generate an electrical current that passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites causing 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 when more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner compared to gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.