Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines. The engines of the forklift all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the many models and makes of lift truck will have a different layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque than for speed. They normally 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 forklift engines that are modern are fueled by propane since they will be utilized for indoor applications, where gasoline and diesel engines would be unsuitable due to the exhaust they produce.
A four-cylinder engine-block is usually found in a forklift. Much similar to the engine in small automobiles, forklift engines have cylinders containing 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
Once the operator 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 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, that compresses the propane and air mixture as every piston rises to the top of the head. With very precise timing, 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, 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 than diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.