The electric lift truck is usually the most ideal alternative for indoor use in warehouses and manufacturing environments. This is mostly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they create zero emissions. This is an extremely vital factor to consider for indoor work places. Out of the IC or internal combustion models, just the propane-fueled models are able to be utilized inside and these units still need extremely good ventilation. Models that work on gas and diesel are not able to be used inside under any circumstances.
The primary advantage of electric lift trucks is fuel expenses. Compared to internal combustion or IC units, these have less costs per hour. Amongst the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric lift trucks could vary from 20 percent to 40 percent more than internal combustion units that are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks on the other hand, provide many advantages such as quiet operations, that could be a big plus for indoor environments. Moreover, no requirement for fuel storage mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are both dangerous and flammable. Since electric forklifts have less components that move than internal combustion units, and they are normally 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 large and really heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat like the ones now found in automobiles. These batteries are extremely powerful and extremely large. Normally, batteries offer sufficient power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Originally, charging a forklift battery takes about 8 hours. After the charging process is done, an additional 8 hours of cooling time is required before it can be used. Because of this long process of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you need lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you will need to purchase additional batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These extra batteries would add around $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market today, there are several new fast charge electric lift trucks. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the business of electric lift trucks. Their charging could be done in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to get back to work much sooner.