Usually, electric lift trucks are the best option for indoor use within warehouses and manufacturing operations for 2 major reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is an extremely essential factor to take into account for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled models can be utilized inside and these units still need really good ventilation. Models that work on diesel and gas can not be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other main benefit of electric lift trucks. These models have less cost per hour as opposed to any of the other internal combustion or IC units. One of the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric forklifts can range from 20% to 40% more than internal combustion units which are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks on the other hand, provide many advantages such as quiet operations, that could be a huge plus for indoor settings. Additionally, no fuel storage needs mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. Because electric forklifts have less moving components than IC units, and they are typically used indoors and within cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The battery downtime is the biggest disadvantage of an electric lift truck. These models function with heavy, large, lead-acid batteries, similar to those found inside your automobile. These batteries are extremely strong and really large. Normally, batteries offer a sufficient amount of power for one regular 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Initially, charging a forklift battery takes about 8 hours. After the charging process is done, an extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it can be utilized. Because of this long process of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you require forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must buy extra batteries so you can be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries will add about $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market today, there are some new fast charge electric lift trucks. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the industry of electric forklifts. Their charging can be done during the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work a lot faster.