Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines, the same category in which lawnmowers are classed. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion. Various lift truck models and brand names will have varying engine layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque rather than for speed. They generally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also required to lower and raise the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Nearly all forklift engines that are modern are powered by propane since they would be utilized indoors, where diesel and gasoline engines would be unsuitable due to the exhaust they generate.
Typically, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. The engines of the forklift are like car engines because they contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of every cylinder consists of an exhaust hatch, a spark plug and an exhaust hatch, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
Propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray, when the operator starts up the engine of the forklift. This fine spray mixes with air which comes from the mass air intake prior to moving into the cylinder's head intake hatches. Each and every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, which compresses 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 produce an electrical current that passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites causing an explosion that 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 exhaust to be drawn out through the exhaust hatch as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns a lot cleaner compared to gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.