We rarely use one of our forklifts - maybe a couple hours per week. It does have to be able to run outdoors.

We are deciding between buying a new propane one, or about a 5 year old electric Cat.

We use it to, mainly, pull 2500#/maybe 3000# pallets off a dock height truck.

One downside of propane. You just have to remember to shut off the fuel supply. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Must not be, I encounter far to many dead forklifts, always need a new tank.

quote:

Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
One downside of propane. You just have to remember to shut off the fuel supply. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Must not be, I encounter far to many dead forklifts, always need a new tank.

I suppose nobody ever neglects to plug in the rechargeable ones.

Propane. I've spent a lot of time on both.

5 years is pretty old for an electric forklift if it was being constantly used. I would find out how many hours are on it. If you use a 3rd party for maintenance, ask them how the model you’re looking at does as they age. Factor in the cost of a new battery, they can last a shockingly short amount of time depending on environmental and maintenance factors. Also factor in battery maintenance equipment. Does it have a quick connect water filler, or do you need a battery cart and fill nozzle/ppe?

I worked maintenance in a large food plant and we in house maintained our fleet of electric trucks. Due to the type of products we made propane trucks were not allowed due to fumes possibly causing off tastes in product. The electric trucks are generally pretty reliable but lord help you if it gets one of "those" problems that no one cane seem to pin down. I assume since you are only dealing with a single truck you use outside maintenance so that can be a +/- depending on the skills of your tech. Also be sure to figure in battery maintenance as that can be an issue if it goes untended for periods. If being used outside, I definitely recommend going with the gas truck. Our electrics sat lower than the gas trucks that contractors used in construction areas.

Agreed on how annoying it is to get people to turn the gas off to the forklift.

@Bettysnephew - we can't use propane indoors, either. This is just to pick stuff, and set inside, so we can grab it w. our electric.

We had to tear out the loading dock, for a remodel, years ago - and it was an odd, perilous design.

We're talking about putting in a loading dock, but that's quite a bit of room, for something we don't have much use for.

We had both electric and propane forklifts where I worked. I always preferred the propane forklifts. The electric forklifts I used seem to age faster and some were not as smooth lifting loads compared to propane forklifts. I suppose it is possible new electric forklifts are better than they used to be, battery powered tools have sure improved the last 5 years.

We have an 8 year old propane and a 3 year old standup electric. Both are Toyotas. Both have been 100% reliable. We are able to use both indoors, but mostly use the electric inside, and the propane for loading & unloading trailers.
If the electric is in good shape, well maintained, and has a new(er) battery that is compatible with your current charger, I wouldn't hesitate to go that route.
On the other hand, with propane, you just swap out tanks when it runs out. An electric lift will be out of commission for a while when it needs recharged.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
@Bettysnephew - we can't use propane indoors, either. This is just to pick stuff, and set inside, so we can grab it w. our electric.

We had to tear out the loading dock, for a remodel, years ago - and it was an odd, perilous design.

We're talking about putting in a loading dock, but that's quite a bit of room, for something we don't have much use for.

If you already have electric, I'm more inclined to say to get the electric lift.