Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the many makes and models of forklift will have a different layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque rather than for speed. They usually are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also needed to raise and lower the forks via a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern forklift engines are powered by propane since they will be used indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines would be inappropriate because of the exhaust they create.
A four-cylinder engine-block is usually found in a forklift. A lot like the engine in small cars, the engines of the forklift have cylinders which contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. Each and every cylinder head has an intake hatch, an exhaust hatch and a spark plug, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
When the operator starts up the forklift engine, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes with air which comes from the mass air intake prior to 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, compressing the air and propane mixture as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing that is very precise, the engine's battery and alternator produce an electrical current that passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites causing an explosion that 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 as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner than diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.