Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classed as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the numerous makes and models of forklift would have a different design and layout. Forklifts are made more toward producing high torque rather than for speed. They generally are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also needed to lower and lift the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Most forklift engines that are modern are powered by propane as they would be utilized for indoor applications, where gasoline and diesel engines would be inappropriate because of the exhaust they make.
Typically, the lift truck is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are like automobile engines since they hold pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of every cylinder consists of an intake hatch, an exhaust hatch and a spark plug, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
Propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray, once the operator starts up the engine of the forklift. This fine spray mixes with air that comes from the mass air intake before moving into the cylinder's head intake hatches. Each and every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, that compresses the mixture of propane and air as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is very precise, the engine's battery and alternator generate an electrical current which passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites resulting in an explosion that drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, causing a continuous turning of the camshaft. An air pressure imbalance in the cylinder causes the the exhaust hatch to draw out exhaust when more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner than diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.