Generally, electric forklifts are the best alternative for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing operations for 2 major reasons: First off they produce zero emissions. This is an extremely important factor to take into consideration for indoor work places. Out of the IC or internal combustion units, just the propane-fueled models could be utilized indoors and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Units which run on diesel and gas are not able to be used inside under any circumstances.
The primary benefit of electric lift trucks is fuel costs. Compared to internal combustion or IC models, these have less expenses per hour. One of the main disadvantages to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. Brand new electric forklifts could vary from 20% to 40 percent more compared to IC models that are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks on the other hand, offer many benefits like quiet operations, which could be a big plus for indoor environments. Additionally, no need for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. Since electric forklifts have less parts that move compared to internal combustion units, and they are typically utilized indoors and in cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric lift trucks biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The large and very heavy, lead acid batteries are quite like those now found in automobiles. These batteries are really strong and very large. Typically, batteries provide an adequate amount of power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Charging a forklift battery would take about 8 hours. An additional 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be utilized after the charging process is completed. Because of this long process of additional cooling time and slow charging speed, if you require lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you will need to buy extra batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries would add roughly $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
On the market nowadays, there are several new fast charge electric lift trucks. These fast charge batteries have changed the industry of electric forklifts. Their charging can be completed during the course of coffee and lunch breaks, allowing them to return to work a lot sooner.