Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines, the same category wherein lawnmowers are classed. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion. Different lift truck brand names and models will have varying engine layout and design. Forklifts are made 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 required to lower and raise the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Most modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane because they will be utilized for indoor applications, where diesel and gasoline engines would be inappropriate because of the exhaust they make.
Typically, the lift truck is a four-cylinder engine-block. The engines of the forklift are like car engines since they contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of each cylinder consists of a spark plug, an intake hatch and an exhaust hatch, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
Propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray, once the driver starts up the forklift engine. This fine spray mixes together with air that comes from the mass air intake before moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Each and every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, which compresses the mixture of propane and air as every piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is very precise, the battery and alternator of the engine create an electrical current which passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites leading to an explosion which drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, resulting in a continuous turning of the camshaft. An air pressure imbalance in the cylinder causes the exhaust to be drawn out through the exhaust hatch as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns much cleaner compared to gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.