Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles. The engines of the forklift all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the many models and makes of forklift would have a different layout and design. 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 raise the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Most forklift engines which are modern are powered by propane since they will be used indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines will be unsuitable due to the exhaust they produce.
Typically, the lift truck is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are similar to automobile engines because 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
Once the driver starts up the engine of the forklift, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes together with air coming from the mass air intake prior to moving into the cylinder head intake hatches. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, compressing 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 alternator and battery produce 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, causing a continuous turning of the camshaft. In the cylinder, an air pressure imbalance causes the exhaust to be drawn out through the exhaust hatch as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner compared to gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.