The electric forklift is generally the best alternative for indoor use in manufacturing and warehousing settings. This is mainly because of 2 reasons with the first being that they create zero emissions. This is a really vital factor to take into account for indoor work places. Among the IC or internal combustion units, only the propane-fueled units can be utilized indoors and these units still need really good ventilation. Units which run on diesel and gas are not able to be used indoors under any circumstances.
Fuel cost is the other main advantage of electric forklifts. These models have less cost per hour compared to any of the other IC or internal combustion models. One of the main disadvantages to the electric forklifts is their higher initial cost. Brand new electric lift trucks can range from 20% to 40% more than IC units which are rated the same.
Electric lift trucks however, provide many advantages like quiet operations, that can be a huge plus for indoor environments. In addition, no need for fuel storage mean no room has to be allotted for tanks of dangerous and flammable fuels. Since electric lift trucks have less parts that move than internal combustion units, and they are normally utilized in cleaner environments and indoors, they tend to have a longer lifespan overall.
The electric forklifts biggest disadvantage is the batteries downtime. The large and very heavy, lead acid batteries are quite similar to those now found in automobiles. These batteries are really big and very powerful. Usually, batteries provide enough power for one standard 8-hour shift, and this means 5 or 6 hours of continuous utilization.
Initially, charging a lift truck battery takes around 8 hours. After the charging process is done, an extra 8 hours of cooling time is required before it could be utilized. 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 extra batteries so you can always be charging the next battery. These extra batteries would add around $1000 to $2000 to buy.
On the market nowadays, there are some new fast charge electric lift trucks. These fast charge batteries have changed the industry of electric forklifts. Their charging could be completed during the course of lunch and coffee breaks, allowing them to get back to work a lot sooner.