Around 60 percent of the lift truck market is made up by electric forklift units. These units are powered by huge, heavy lead-acid batteries which that prevents the machine from tipping over since it gives it the counterweight.
Based on ITA, electric counterbalanced forklifts are considered Class 1 forklifts. Class 1 is the category which includes all stand-up counterbalanced trucks and other electric forklifts. Although the initial investment when you buy an electric lift truck is more compared to an IC or internal combustion forklift, electric trucks are a lot less expensive to operate and run in the long-run. This is due to lesser fuel and maintenance costs, than the IC models.
The majority of the electric rider lift trucks shipped within North America is made for moving material indoors. They are usually utilized in retail spaces, and warehousing applications. The electric models are the right alternative for inside applications since they emit zero toxic emissions and make less noise.
The battery of an electric lift truck could run on average for 8 hours or for one shift. The recharging, reloading and removing batteries that weigh upwards of 3000 pounds could be hard and time consuming. This burdensome task often needs a dedicated area for handling the battery. Nonetheless, new fast charging technologies are now utilized to change the procedure and update this process to be able to accomplish it in a a lot quicker way.
This fast charging technology is considered to be better charging technology. It has changed electric unit forklifts and the charging time of their batteries. The material handling business experts, state that these new changes within the battery technology and battery charging systems could reduce charging time by as much as 50 percent!
IC Counterbalanced Lift Trucks
The IC powered forklifts would depend on kinds of fuels, such as LPG or liquid propane gas, diesel, compressed natural gas or CNG and gasoline. The bigger lift trucks are normally utilized outside. Usually, these models operate on diesel or gas and utilizes air-filled or pneumatic tires so as to make them suitable for rough environment and steep slopes, compared to cushion tires. Cushion tires are more suitable for smooth services and indoor applications since they are made from solid rubber.
The LPG model is the most popular fuel choice for indoor trucks. These days, there are more than 600,000 propane-filled lift trucks working all over the globe. These models provide various benefits. Like for example, forklifts which run on propane fuel maintain 100% consistent power during operation. Moreover, these units offer faster ground speeds than other power sources.