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 design and layout. Forklifts are made more toward producing high torque than for speed. They usually are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also required to lift and lower the forks via a series of chain pulleys. Nearly all modern lift truck engines are powered by propane since they will be utilized indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines would be unsuitable because of the exhaust they create.
A four-cylinder engine-block is normally found in a lift truck. Much similar to the engine in small automobiles, the engines of the forklift have cylinders containing pistons connecting to a camshaft. Each and every cylinder head consists of an exhaust hatch, a spark plug and an exhaust hatch, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
When the driver 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 before moving into the cylinder head intake hatches. Each one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, which compresses the propane and air mixture as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing that is very precise, the battery and alternator of the engine create an electrical current which passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites resulting in an explosion which 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.