The electric lift truck is generally the most ideal choice for indoor applications within warehouses and manufacturing settings. This is mainly due to 2 reasons with the first being that they create zero emissions. This is an extremely vital factor to take into account for indoor work places. Out of the Internal Combustion or IC models, just the propane-fueled models could be used indoors and these units still require extremely good ventilation. Gas and diesel powered models could not be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other primary advantage of electric lift trucks. These models have less cost per hour compared to any of the other IC or internal combustion models. Among the main disadvantages to using the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. Brand new electric lift trucks can range from 20% to 40 percent more compared to internal combustion models which are rated the same.
Electric forklifts however, provide numerous benefits such as quiet operations, which can be a huge plus for indoor environments. In addition, no fuel storage requirements mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. As electric forklifts have less parts that move as opposed to IC models, and they are usually utilized inside and in cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The electric forklifts biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The big and really heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat like the ones now found in automobiles. These batteries are very strong and extremely big. Normally, batteries offer a sufficient amount of power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Charging a lift truck battery would take around 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be used after the charging process is done. Because of this long process of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you require lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should purchase additional batteries so you could be charging the nest battery always. These extra batteries would add approximately $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market these days, there are some new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the business of electric forklifts. Their charging can be completed during the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work a lot faster.