Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the many models and makes of lift truck will have a different design and layout. Forklifts are designed more toward generating high torque than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also needed to lift and lower the forks via a series of chain pulleys. Nearly all forklift engines which are modern are fueled by propane because they will be used indoors, where diesel and gasoline engines will be unsuitable because of the exhaust they produce.
A four-cylinder engine-block is usually found in a forklift. Much similar to the engine in small cars, the engines of the forklift have cylinders which contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. Every cylinder head consists of an exhaust hatch, a spark plug 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, when 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 one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, compressing the mixture of air and propane as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is very precise, the alternator and battery of the engine produce an electrical current that 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 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.