Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, though the many models and makes of lift truck would have a different layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward producing 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 needed to lower and lift the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Nearly all modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane since they would be utilized for indoor applications, where diesel and gasoline engines will be inappropriate due to the exhaust they make.
A four-cylinder engine-block is normally found in a lift truck. A lot like the engine in small cars, the engines of the forklift have cylinders which contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. Each and every cylinder head has an exhaust hatch, a spark plug and an exhaust hatch, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
Once the driver starts up the engine of the forklift, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes together with air which comes from the mass air intake before moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, compressing the air and propane mixture as every piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is really precise, the engine's alternator and battery create 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 as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns a lot cleaner compared to diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.