Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the many models and makes of lift truck would have a different design and layout. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque rather than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also needed to lower and lift the forks via a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane since they will be utilized indoors, where diesel and gasoline engines would be unsuitable due to the exhaust they create.
A four-cylinder engine-block is normally found in a forklift. A lot like the engine in small automobiles, the engines of the forklift have cylinders containing pistons connecting to a camshaft. Every cylinder head consists of a spark plug, an intake hatch and an exhaust hatch, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
Once the operator starts up the forklift engine, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes with air coming from the mass air intake before moving into the cylinder head intake hatches. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, that compresses the propane and air mixture as each piston rises to the top of the head. With very precise timing, the engine's alternator and battery create 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. In the cylinder, an air pressure imbalance causes the exhaust to be drawn out through the exhaust hatch when more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns a lot cleaner compared to diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.