Lift truck Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the many makes and models of forklift will have a different design and layout. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque rather than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine powers the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also needed to lift and lower the forks through a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane because they would be used for indoor applications, where diesel and gasoline engines will be inappropriate because of the exhaust they generate.
Normally, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. The engines of the forklift are like car engines since they contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of each and every cylinder consists of an intake hatch, an exhaust hatch and a spark plug, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
Propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray, when the driver starts up the forklift engine. This fine spray mixes together with air coming from the mass air intake before moving into the cylinder's head intake hatches. Each one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, compressing the air and propane mixture as each piston rises to the top of the head. With very exact timing, the engine's alternator and battery generate an electrical current which 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. In the cylinder, an air pressure imbalance causes the the exhaust hatch to draw out exhaust when more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner than gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.