Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles, the same category in which lawnmowers are classed. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion. Various lift truck models and brand names would have varying engine layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward generating high torque rather than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also required to lower and lift the forks via a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern lift truck engines are powered by propane as they will be used for indoor applications, where diesel and gasoline engines would be unsuitable due to the exhaust they produce.
Usually, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. The engines of the forklift are similar to car engines because they contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of each and every cylinder has an exhaust hatch, a spark plug 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 with air that comes 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, compressing the air and propane mixture as every piston rises to the top of the head. With really exact timing, the alternator and battery of the engine generate an electrical current that 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 compared to diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.