Eureka Forklifts

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3 Major Considerations When Choosing Your Forklift

If an ordinary person looks inside the forklift industry, it’s a common mistake for somebody inexperienced in the trade to say that you can just use any type of forklift to do the job. This is wrong. As a matter of fact, there are different types of lift machines that should be utilized depending on many factors. You just can’t look at your mate’s equipment, tell yourself that it works fine for him and then just scuttle about and get yourself something similar, only to be disappointed in the end. There’s a number of things to remember if you want the right truck for the Application.

Consider What Job You Will Use It For

Depending on what type of business that you have, you need to tailor fit the specifications of the lift truck according to the job you intend it to do. At the most basic application, a forklift is a machine used to carry heavy material such as pallets, crates and boxes. So you would need a machine that can carry the required amount of weight safely at all heights required, with no issues and a safety margin allowed for also . You need to consider, however, more than how much it can carry.

Among the things that you would need to look at is the type of material that will move around? See how the machine helps with your productivity ? How much it is able to move at a time,? How long does it need to shift a load ? And how easy it is to operate? A smart buyer will check on productivity and load capacity. If you are in experienced in your requirements ask for someone to come and have a look at your site. They have more experience and may think of something you may not have, a different type of machine to you had in mind, or a different way of racking?

Another option is rent a machine for a trial period to see how it operates in real time in the real work environment, before you commit to a purchase.

Check the Work Environment

If you plan on using a forklift outdoors, you need to consider the right tyre type to make sure that traction is not an issue. If you plan on using it indoors, you need to consider the entrance height, entrance width, maximum lift height, gross load capacity, if there are any obstructions and if you prefer non-marking tires or not, considering that some industries require this for hygiene purposes, or if you don’t want you forklift marked by the standard conventional rubber tyres. If you overlook any of these, you create a limit to what you can do with the forklift, essentially putting a stopper to what’s supposed to be multi-use vehicle.

You need to analyse the layout of the work environment you plan on using it and if there are things that are hindering the forklift machine’s mobility. The layout of the pallet racking, allowing for pedestrian access in a shared environment. You need to decide consider mobility against load capacity if you have a location that does not have a wide enough movement area for bigger lifts.

Look Which Fuel Type Saves You Money

You may think that an electric forklift will outright save you money since it’s, well, electric. You may be surprised that this is not always the case. Each forklift type has its strengths and weaknesses while the electric is the king of fuel economy, value still depends on the job you plan on doing.

Electric forklifts are fuel efficient, green and pollution free to use and should be utilized in small scale lifting jobs because of their compact size or in situations where hygiene and cleanliness is important, like food factories and refrigerated warehouses. They, however, require a lot of charging and will not be available when plugged in, unless you have a fleet of these forklifts with you. Battery cost and maintenance are a big factor also.

Diesel forklifts have always been the work horse of the bunch. They are ideal for outside applications, harsh environments and are very reliable. The problem with them will be the fumes. They are not suitable for inside warehouse use. The fumes are extremely hazardous and need to be vented as soon as possible due to health concerns.

Gas forklifts are a good cross between the electric and diesel. They have the minimal pollution similar to the electric forklift and the loading capacity and hardiness similar to the diesel forklifts, being good for indoor and general use. They have the highest maintenance and fuel costs among all options. And the changing of LPG cylinders can be of concern in some WPHS environments. An LPG machine is the middle ground between electric and diesels.

All workplaces are different. So make sure you get the right machine for the job.

Call the friendly staff at Eureka Forklifts on 07 3865 1205 to find out more about the best solution for your situation.

CONTACT US

86 Delta St, Geebung QLD 4034
PO Box 90 Geebung, Queensland, 4034

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Eureka Forklifts has almost 30 years experience dealing with forklifts in the SE Qld region.

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