The electric lift truck is usually the best alternative for indoor use in manufacturing and warehousing environments. This is mostly due to 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is an extremely essential factor to consider for indoor work places. Amongst the IC or internal combustion models, just the propane-fueled models are able to be used indoors and these units still require really good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered models are not able to be utilized indoors under any circumstances.
The main advantage of electric lift trucks is fuel expenses. As opposed to internal combustion or IC units, these have less costs per hour. One of the main disadvantages to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. Brand new electric lift trucks can vary from 20% to 40 percent more compared to internal combustion models which are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks however, provide many benefits such as quiet operations, that could be a big plus for indoor settings. Moreover, no requirement for fuel storage mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are both dangerous and flammable. As electric forklifts have less moving parts as opposed to IC units, and they are usually utilized within cleaner environments and inside, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The battery downtime is the biggest downside of an electric lift truck. These units run with heavy, big, lead-acid batteries, similar to the ones found inside your car. These batteries are really powerful and really large. Typically, batteries provide enough power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Charging a lift truck battery will take approximately 8 hours. An extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it can 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 buy additional batteries so you could always be charging the next battery. These extra batteries would add approximately $1000 to $2000 to purchase.
There are several new fast charge electric lift trucks available on the market. These specialized batteries have revolutionized the electric lift truck business. Their charging could be completed during the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to return to work much sooner.