Lift truck 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. Different lift truck models and brand names would have varying engine design and layout. Forklifts are made more toward generating high torque than for speed. They normally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the drive wheels of the forklift. The engine is also required to lift and lower the forks through a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern forklift engines are fueled by propane because they will be used indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines would be inappropriate because of the exhaust they make.
Typically, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are like automobile engines because they contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of each cylinder has a spark plug, an intake hatch and an exhaust hatch, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
Once the operator starts up the engine of the forklift, propane passes through the opened throttle-plate in a fine spray and mixes with air that comes from the mass air intake before moving into the cylinder head intake hatches. Every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, compressing the mixture of propane and air as every piston rises to the top of the head. With really exact timing, the engine's alternator and battery generate an electrical current which passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites resulting in 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 as more fuel passes into the cylinder. Propane burns cleaner than gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.