Roughly 60 percent of the forklift market is made up by electric lift truck models. These models derive their power from heavy, huge lead-acid batteries which give the machinery it's counterweight in order to avoid it from tipping over.
Based on ITA, electric counterbalanced forklifts are considered Class 1 forklifts. Class 1 is the category that covers all stand-up counterbalanced trucks and other electric forklifts. Even if the first investment when buying an electric forklift is more as opposed to an internal combustion or IC forklift, electric forklifts are less costly to run and operate in the long-run. This is due to lower fuel and maintenance expenses, than the IC or internal combustion units.
The majority of the electric rider forklift trucks shipped within North America is designed for transporting material inside. They are commonly used in warehousing applications, and retail spaces. The electric units are the best option for inside use because of their ability to emit zero toxic emissions and make less noise.
Also, electric lift truck can generally run a complete 8 hour shift on a single battery charge. Reloading, recharging and removing batteries, that generally weigh approximately 3000 pounds can be time consuming and difficult. This cumbersome task normally needs a dedicated space for battery handling. Nevertheless, new fast charging technologies are being used to change the procedure and update this process to be able to accomplish it in a much faster way.
Fast charging technologies are considered the best charging technologies. It has changed electric unit forklifts and the charging time of their batteries. The experts of the material handling industry, state that these new developments within the battery charging systems and battery technology could reduce charging time by as much as 50 percent!
Internal Combustion Counterbalanced Forklifts
IC forklifts rely on a range of different kinds of fuels, like LPG or liquid propane gas, diesel, CNG or compressed natural gas and gasoline. The bigger forklifts are commonly used outside. Generally, these models operate on diesel or gas and uses air-filled or pneumatic tires so as to make them appropriate for rough environment and steep slopes, compared to cushion tires. Cushion tires are better suited for smooth services and indoor applications as they are made from solid rubber.
The most common fuel option for indoor trucks is LPG. There are more than 600,000 propane-filled forklifts today which are operating in DCs and within warehouses. These models offer various advantages. Like for example, forklifts that run on propane fuel maintain 100% consistent power during operation. In addition, these units provide faster ground speeds than other power sources.