The electric lift truck is generally the most ideal alternative for indoor applications in warehouses and manufacturing settings. This is mainly due to 2 reasons with the first being that they produce zero emissions. This is an extremely important factor to consider for indoor work places. Among the IC or internal combustion units, just the propane-fueled units could be used indoors and these units still require extremely good ventilation. Units that run on diesel and gas could not be used inside under any circumstances.
The primary benefit of electric lift trucks is fuel costs. Compared to internal combustion or IC units, these have less costs per hour. Amongst the main drawbacks to the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. Brand new electric forklifts can vary from 20% to 40% more than internal combustion models that are rated the same.
Electric lift trucks on the other hand, provide many advantages like quiet operations, that can be a big plus for indoor environments. Furthermore, no requirement for fuel storage mean no room needs to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. Since electric lift trucks have less moving components compared to internal combustion units, and they are typically used in cleaner settings and inside, they tend to have a longer overall lifespan.
The electric forklifts biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The large and very heavy, lead acid batteries are quite similar to those now found inside automobiles. These batteries are extremely large and very strong. Typically, batteries provide enough power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this translates into 5 or 6 hours of nonstop utilization.
Initially, charging a lift truck battery takes about 8 hours. After the charging process is done, an additional 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be used. Due to this long process of additional cooling time and slow charging speed, if you need forklifts for 2 or 3 shift operations, you should buy additional batteries so you could always be charging the next battery. These extra 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 changed the business of electric lift trucks. Their charging could be done during the course of lunch and coffee breaks, enabling them to get back to work much sooner.