Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles. The engines of the forklift all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the many makes and models of forklift would have a different layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque than for speed. They usually are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also required to raise and lower the forks via a series of chain pulleys. Most modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane because they will be used indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines would be inappropriate due to the exhaust they produce.
Typically, the lift truck is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are like car engines since they 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 one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
Propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray, once the operator starts up the engine of the forklift. This fine spray mixes together with air that comes from the mass air intake before moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Each one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, which compresses the propane and air mixture as every piston rises to the top of the head. With timing that is really precise, the alternator and battery of the engine generate an electrical current that passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites leading to an explosion that drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, leading to 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.