Usually, electric lift trucks are the most ideal alternative for indoor use in warehouses and manufacturing operations for 2 key reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is an extremely vital factor to take into consideration for indoor work places. Amongst the Internal Combustion or IC models, only the propane-fueled units are able to be used inside and these units still require really good ventilation. Units which run on gas and diesel are not able to be used inside under any circumstances.
The main benefit of electric lift trucks is fuel costs. Compared to internal combustion or IC models, these have lower expenses per hour. Among the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric lift trucks could range from 20% to 40% more compared to internal combustion units which are similarly rated.
Electric lift trucks however, provide many benefits like quiet operations, that can be a big plus for indoor environments. Moreover, no fuel storage needs mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. Since electric lift trucks have less components that move than internal combustion units, and they are typically used in cleaner environments and indoors, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The electric forklifts biggest downside is the batteries downtime. The large and very heavy, lead acid batteries are quite like the ones now found in cars. These batteries are very powerful and very big. Normally, batteries offer enough power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous use.
Initially, charging a forklift battery takes around 8 hours. After the charging process is completed, an extra 8 hours of cooling time is needed before it can be used. Due to this long method of slow charging speed and additional cooling time, if you require lift trucks for 2 or 3 shift operations, you must buy extra batteries so you could be charging the nest battery always. These additional batteries will add approximately $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market these days, there are several new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the business of electric forklifts. Their charging could be done in the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work much sooner.