About 60 percent of the lift truck market is made up by electric forklift units. These units derive their power from heavy, big lead-acid batteries that give the machinery it's counterweight in order to prevent it from tipping over.
According to the ITA, electric counterbalanced lift trucks are considered Class 1 forklifts. Class 1 is the category which covers all stand-up counterbalanced trucks and other electric forklifts. Even if the initial investment when purchasing an electric forklift is more than an internal combustion or IC truck, electric lift trucks are much less expensive to operate and run in the long-run. This is due to lower maintenance and fuel expenses, in comparison to the internal combustion units.
The majority of the electric rider forklift trucks shipped within North America is made for transporting material indoors. They are normally used in retail spaces, and warehousing applications. The electric units are the best alternative for inside use because of their ability to make less noise and emit zero toxic emissions.
Furthermore, electric lift truck could usually work a complete 8 hour shift on one battery charge. Reloading, recharging and removing batteries, which generally weigh about 3000 lbs. can be time consuming and hard. This burdensome task often requires a dedicated space for handling the battery. Nonetheless, new fast charging technologies are being utilized to update this method and change the procedure to be able to complete it in a much quicker way.
Fast charging technologies are considered the best charging technologies. It has revolutionized electric model forklifts and the charging time of their batteries. The experts of the material handling business, state that these new developments in the battery technology and battery charging systems could reduce charging time by as much as 50 percent!
IC or Internal Combustion Counterbalanced Forklifts
The IC powered forklifts will rely on kinds of fuels, like LPG or liquid propane gas, diesel, compressed natural gas or CNG and gasoline. The larger forklifts are commonly used outdoors. Normally, these units are diesel or gas powered and utilizes air-filled or pneumatic tires so as to make them appropriate for steep slopes and rough environment, compared to cushion tires. Cushion tires are more suitable for smooth services and indoor applications since they are made from solid rubber.
The LPG unit is the most common fuel option for indoor trucks. Nowadays, there are more than 600,000 propane-filled forklifts working all around the world. These units provide a wide variety of advantages. Like for example, propane-fueled forklifts maintain 100 percent constant power during operation. In addition, these units offer faster ground speeds compared to other power sources.