Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classified as vehicles with small engines, the same class in which lawnmowers are categorized. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion. Various lift truck brand names and models would have varying engine design and layout. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also required to lift and lower the forks through a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern forklift engines are powered by propane because they would be utilized indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines would be unsuitable because of the exhaust they generate.
Normally, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. The engines of the forklift are like automobile engines as they contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of each cylinder consists of an intake hatch, an exhaust hatch and a spark plug, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
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 that comes from the mass air intake prior to moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Each and every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, which compresses the air and propane mixture as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing which is really precise, the engine's battery and alternator 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. An air pressure imbalance in the cylinder causes the exhaust to be drawn out through the exhaust hatch when more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner than gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.