If you manage a warehouse, construction site, manufacturing facility or another business with forklifts, you know that keeping these vehicles moving is essential to your productivity — and profitability.
But what is the best power source for your forklifts? Today you can choose an electric model or something with a combustion engine running on gasoline, diesel or propane. Propane has powered forklifts since the 1950s, and there are many good reasons businesses return to this fuel again and again.
Here are six significant advantages that propane forklifts have over other options.
Propane typically provides better fuel efficiency than other energy sources. A 33-pound cylinder of forklift propane can generally offer eight hours of uninterrupted power. That’s enough for an entire shift!
If your forklifts are powered by diesel or gasoline, you can’t run them indoors because of air quality issues. Propane forklifts don’t have that problem. Propane produces very few nitrogen or sulfur oxides, and its carbon monoxide generation is far below that of diesel or gas. These forklifts also generate virtually no particulate matter.
Most electric forklifts become essentially useless for outside work when it’s raining. But propane-powered forklifts can handle rainfall without damaging their equipment.
Electric forklifts slow down as their batteries run low on power. They also struggle to go up inclines carrying large loads as their power gets low. Not so with propane forklifts. They run at optimal power and speed, regardless of how much fuel is left in the cylinder.
When a propane forklift runs out of fuel, getting it refueled is as simple as detaching the spent cylinder and attaching a full one. Electric forklifts need to be recharged, which can lead to hours of downtime and lost work.
With prices on so many energy sources rising — including grid electricity — we know that our commercial customers are always looking for some stability. Propane provides that. Pretty much all the propane that Americans use is produced domestically. So, while it isn’t completely insulated from global energy markets, propane’s price is typically more stable than gasoline, diesel and electricity.
From Snowflake, AZ, to Magdalena, NM — and plenty of other communities in between — Sierra Propane is the most trusted provider of forklift propane. We have two convenient programs to get you the fuel your forklift fleet needs:
With Sierra Propane, your forklifts don’t need to stop for a second. Get in touch with us to arrange forklift propane service.