Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classed as small-engine vehicles. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the many models and makes of forklift would have a different layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward producing high torque rather than for speed. They usually are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also required to lift and lower the forks via a series of chain pulleys. The majority of modern forklift engines are powered by propane because they would be utilized indoors, where diesel and gasoline engines will be unsuitable because of the exhaust they produce.
Typically, the forklift is a four-cylinder engine-block. Forklift engines are like automobile engines as they hold pistons connecting to a camshaft. The head of every cylinder has an intake hatch, an exhaust hatch and a spark plug, each of them spring-loaded and one-way.
Engine Function
When the operator 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 prior to moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Each one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in a precise sequence, compressing the mixture of air and propane as each piston rises to the top of the head. With extremely precise timing, the battery and alternator of the engine produce 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, causing 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 compared to gasoline and diesel and the exhaust is not as harmful.