Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines, the same category wherein lawnmowers are classed. The engines of the forklifts all follow the principles of internal combustion. Various lift truck models and brand names would have varying engine design and layout. Forklifts are made more toward generating high torque rather than for speed. They usually are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also needed to lower and lift the forks via a series of chain pulleys. Most modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane since they would be used for indoor applications, where gasoline and diesel engines would be inappropriate because of the exhaust they generate.
Typically, the lift truck is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are like automobile engines as 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
When the operator 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 prior to moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, compressing the propane and air mixture as each piston rises to the top of the head. With extremely exact timing, the battery and alternator of the engine create an electrical current which passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites causing an explosion which 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 the exhaust hatch to draw out exhaust as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns a lot cleaner compared to diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.