Forklift Engines
Forklifts are classed as vehicles with small engines. Forklift engines all follow the principles of internal combustion, while the many models and makes of lift truck would have a different layout and design. Forklifts are designed more toward generating high torque than for speed. They generally are geared to low speeds. The engine runs the forklift's drive wheels. The engine is also needed to lower and raise the forks through a series of chain pulleys. Most forklift engines that are modern are fueled by propane because they would be utilized indoors, where gasoline and diesel engines will be inappropriate due to the exhaust they generate.
A four-cylinder engine-block is typically found in a forklift. Much similar to the engine in small automobiles, the engines of the forklift have cylinders which contain pistons connecting to a camshaft. Every cylinder head has an exhaust hatch, a spark plug and an exhaust hatch, each of them one-way and spring-loaded.
Engine Function
When the driver 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 prior to moving into the head intake hatches of the cylinder. Each and every one of the four pistons is staggered to rise in an exact sequence, compressing the mixture of propane and air as each piston rises to the top of the head. With timing that is very precise, the alternator and battery of the engine generate an electrical current that passes through the spark plug. The fuel ignites causing an explosion which drives the piston back down to the bottom of the cylinder, causing 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 much cleaner compared to diesel and gasoline and the exhaust is not as harmful.