Usually, electric forklifts are the most ideal alternative for indoor use in warehouses and manufacturing applications for 2 major reasons: First off they create zero emissions. This is a really important factor to consider for indoor work places. Among the IC or internal combustion models, just the propane-fueled units can be used inside and these models still require extremely good ventilation. Diesel and gas powered models could not be used indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other main advantage of electric forklifts. These units have less cost per hour compared to any of the other internal combustion or IC units. One of the main disadvantages to utilizing the electric forklifts is their higher initial expense. New electric lift trucks could range from 20% to 40% more than IC models which are similarly rated.
However, electric lift trucks provide numerous benefits including quiet operation. This is a huge plus for indoor operations. Furthermore, no fuel storage needs mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of fuels that are flammable and dangerous. Since electric lift trucks have less components that move compared to IC units, and they are normally used indoors and in cleaner environments, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric lift trucks biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The large and very heavy, lead acid batteries are somewhat like those now found in cars. These batteries are very big and very strong. Usually, batteries offer a sufficient amount of power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of continuous utilization.
Charging a forklift 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 method of extra cooling time and slow charging speed, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should purchase additional batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These extra batteries would add approximately $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market today, there are a few new fast charge electric forklifts. These fast charge batteries have revolutionized the industry of electric forklifts. Their charging could be completed in the course of coffee and lunch breaks, enabling them to return to work a lot sooner.