Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classified as small-engine vehicles, the same class wherein lawnmowers are classed. The engines of the forklifts all follow the principles of internal combustion. Various lift truck brand names and models will 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 powers the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also required to raise and lower the forks via a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern lift truck engines are fueled by propane as they would be used indoors, where diesel and gasoline engines will be unsuitable because of the exhaust they produce.
Typically, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. The engines of the forklift are like car engines since they hold pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of each and every cylinder consists of an exhaust hatch, a spark plug and an exhaust hatch, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
When the operator starts up the forklift engine, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes with air that comes from the mass air intake prior to moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Each one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, compressing the mixture of air and propane as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is really precise, 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, resulting in 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.