The electric lift truck is normally the most ideal choice for indoor operations within warehouses and manufacturing environments. This is mostly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they create zero emissions. This is a very vital factor to take into account for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC units, just the propane-fueled models could be utilized indoors and these models still need really good ventilation. Units that work on diesel and gas are not able to be used inside under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary benefit of electric forklifts. These units have less cost per hour as opposed to any of the other IC or internal combustion models. Among the main disadvantages to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. New electric forklifts could vary from 20% to 40% more compared to internal combustion models that are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks on the other hand, provide numerous benefits like quiet operations, which can be a big plus for indoor settings. Furthermore, no fuel storage requirements mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. Since electric lift trucks have less components that move than IC units, and they are usually used within cleaner environments and indoors, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric lift trucks biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The big and very heavy, lead acid batteries are quite similar to those now found inside cars. These batteries are very strong and extremely big. Typically, batteries provide enough power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of nonstop use.
Charging a forklift battery would take approximately 8 hours. An additional 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be utilized after the charging process is completed. Due to this long method of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you will need to buy additional batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries would add about $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market today, there are some new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have changed the business of electric lift trucks. Their charging can be completed during the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to get back to work a lot sooner.