Forklifts are often used for transporting large objects in storage, usually using fuel engines or batteries. Here are tips for buying forklifts, let's take a look.
1. Selection of forklift types
For indoor operations (including warehouses, workshops, etc.), in order to reduce air pollution and noise, it is generally advisable to use battery forklifts; for outdoor operations, especially when the site roads are not very flat, it is better to use internal combustion forklifts. Among the three types of internal combustion forklifts, diesel forklifts are more commonly used. If there are no special requirements, diesel forklifts are generally used. A small number of northern users consider the low temperature in winter and the difficulty of starting the engine. In order to facilitate the engine starting, they choose gasoline forklifts. However, with the use of direct injection diesel engines on forklifts, the problem of difficulty in starting the engine in winter has been solved. Therefore, the sales volume of gasoline forklifts in the domestic forklift market will become less and less. In addition, with the country's restrictions on air pollution and increasingly higher environmental protection requirements, the number of users who choose liquefied petroleum gas forklifts for outdoor operations is also increasing, and it will become a development trend.
2. Selection of transmission mode
Among the three transmission modes of internal combustion forklifts, the most popular ones used by domestic users are mechanical transmission forklifts and hydraulic transmission forklifts. Generally, users do not use hydrostatic transmission forklifts due to their high price, high maintenance requirements, difficulty in troubleshooting, and high maintenance costs. Usually, mechanical transmission forklifts can meet the use requirements when the work is discontinuous and the daily working hours are not long (within 5 hours). For continuous work, frequent work, heavy loads, and 2-shift and 3-shift operations, in order to improve work efficiency and reduce the labor intensity of forklift drivers, hydraulic transmission forklifts are generally used. With the improvement of the reliability of hydraulic transmission forklifts, due to its advantages of stepless speed change, labor-saving and convenient operation, and high work efficiency, the number of users who choose hydraulic forklifts will increase.
3. Selection of forklift power
Currently, some major domestic forklift companies, such as Xiamen Interquip Machinery Co., Ltd., in order to meet the different needs of the majority of users, are equipped with a variety of domestic and imported engines for users to choose on each internal combustion forklift. These engines are not only domestic and imported, but also have different engine power. For general users, forklifts equipped with domestic engines can be selected, which are relatively cheap and convenient for maintenance and service. For users who have heavy work and long working hours, imported engines can be selected to reduce the failure rate and improve its reliability. For users with particularly heavy working conditions and particularly harsh working environments, it is recommended to use high-power imported engines.
4. Selection of battery forklifts
Battery forklifts are mainly used for indoor operations, and generally use counterbalanced battery forklifts, including three-point and four-point fulcrums. For users with narrow passages, who stack and fork goods above the shelves or need to enter the elevator to work on the upper floors, forward-moving battery forklifts or battery pallet stackers can be selected.
5. Selection of forklift lifting mass and lifting height
The rated lifting mass of each forklift refers to the mass of the goods that can be lifted when the center of gravity of the goods is within the standard load center distance of the forklift, the forklift mast is vertical, and the forklift is lifted to the standard lifting height of the forklift (the standard lifting height in my country is stipulated as 3000mm). Therefore, when choosing the tonnage of a forklift, the user should compare the center of gravity of the goods to be loaded and unloaded with the size of the standard load center of the forklift. If the center of gravity of the goods is equal to or less than the standard load center distance of the forklift, the rated lifting mass of the selected forklift is equal to or approximately greater than the mass of the goods. If the center of gravity of the goods is greater than the standard load center distance of the forklift, the tonnage of the forklift to be purchased should be determined according to the forklift load curve provided by the forklift sample.
The standard lifting height of the forklift is 3m. In order to meet the needs of users with different lifting heights, major manufacturers design a series of masts with a lifting height of 3~6m for users. In order to ensure the stability of the forklift, when the lifting height exceeds 3m, the lifting mass is correspondingly reduced. Users can select according to the forklift lifting height load curve or the lifting mass indicated on the forklift sample for different lifting heights.
6. Selection of forklift accessories
Due to the diversity of loading and unloading goods, in addition to forking and picking up goods, forklifts are also equipped with various forklift accessories (such as hoppers, hooks, forward forks, oil drum clamps and paper roll clamps, etc.) for users to choose. At present, there are hundreds of forklift attachments, both domestically produced and imported from the United States, Germany and Italy. All of them can be installed on domestic forklifts. Users can choose according to the forklift attachment manual and samples.
7. Selection of special forklifts
In addition to standard forklifts, there are also container-specific forklifts for container operations, container forklifts forklifts for divided container operations (2~5t), empty container stacking forklifts (7~10t) and full container loading and unloading container forklifts (20~42t). Users can choose according to the working conditions of container operations. For loading and unloading flammable and explosive items or working in an environment containing explosive gases, special explosion-proof forklifts can be selected. Explosion-proof forklifts are divided into internal combustion explosion-proof forklifts and battery explosion-proof forklifts. Battery explosion-proof forklifts are generally used for indoor operations, while internal combustion explosion-proof forklifts can be used for outdoor operations. In addition, off-road forklifts can be used for operations on uneven roads or soft roads in the wild.