Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the numerous makes and models of forklift would have a different design and layout. Forklifts are designed more toward generating high torque than for speed. They generally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also needed to lower and lift the forks via a series of chain pulleys. Nearly all modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane since they would be utilized for indoor applications, where gasoline and diesel engines will be unsuitable because of the exhaust they produce.
Normally, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are like car engines since they hold pistons connecting to a camshaft. Each and every cylinder head consists of an intake hatch, an exhaust hatch and a spark plug, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
Once the operator starts up the engine of the forklift, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes with air that comes from the mass air intake prior to moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, compressing the mixture of propane and air as every piston rises to the top of the head. With really precise timing, the engine's alternator and battery generate an electrical current which passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites resulting in an explosion which drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, leading to a continuous turning of the camshaft. An air pressure imbalance in the cylinder causes the exhaust to be drawn out through the exhaust hatch when more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner compared to diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.