Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines, the same class wherein lawnmowers are classed. The engines of the forklifts all follow the principles of internal combustion. Various forklift brand names and models will have varying engine design and layout. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also required to raise and lower the forks via a series of chain pulleys. Most forklift engines that are modern are powered by propane since they would be utilized for indoor applications, where diesel and gasoline engines will be unsuitable due to the exhaust they produce.
A four-cylinder engine-block is usually found in a forklift. Much like the engine in small automobiles, the engines of the forklift have cylinders that contain 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 driver starts up the forklift engine, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes together with air that comes from the mass air intake before moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, compressing the mixture of air and propane as each piston rises to the top of the head. With very exact timing, the battery and alternator of the engine produce an electrical current which 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 when more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner compared to diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.