EP Equipment – Electric Pallet Truck

What Is an Electric Pallet Truck and What Is It For?

An electric pallet truck is a material handling tool utilized for lifting and moving pallets. These trucks are powered by electric motors, making them more efficient, quieter, and environmentally friendly. They are essential in logistics and supply chain operations, enabling workers to transport heavy and bulky loads over short distances with minimal effort.

EP Equipment is a pioneering manufacturer of electric pallet trucks, specializing in lithium battery technology. Learn more about the capabilities of EP’s Flagship Li-Ion Pallet Truck, models EPL154/185, in our featured video.

Electric Pallet Truck Types

Pedestrian Pallet Trucks

Pedestrian pallet trucks, also known as walkie pallet trucks, are operated while the operator walks alongside the truck. These trucks are ideal for short-distance transport tasks within warehouses, retail stores, and manufacturing facilities. Their compact design allows for easy navigation in tight spaces, making them perfect for environments where space is limited.

Advantages:

• Maneuverability: Their compact size allows for precise control in narrow aisles and tight spaces.
• Ease of Use: Simple controls, easy application.
• Versatility: Suitable for a wide range of applications, from loading and unloading delivery trucks to moving pallets within storage areas.

Ride-On Pallet Trucks

Ride-on pallet trucks are designed for longer distances and heavier loads. Operators stand on a platform attached to the truck, allowing them to cover greater distances quickly and comfortably. These trucks are ideal for large warehouses, distribution centers, and industrial environments where long distance or frequent transports are required.

Advantages:

• High-Capacity Batteries: Equipped with powerful batteries that offer extended operational hours and quick recharging capabilities.
• Ergonomic Design: The standing platform reduces physical strain and fatigue, increasing operator comfort and productivity.
• Increased Load Capacity: Capable of handling heavier loads, making them suitable for transporting bulky items or multiple pallets at once.
• Enhanced Efficiency: Ideal for extensive warehouse operations, enabling quick and efficient movement of goods over long distances.

Choose the Right Electric Pallet Truck for Your Business

The electric pallet truck is one of the most versatile material handling tools. With a variety of models and specifications available, the electric pallet truck has uses in almost every industry. From loading and unloading goods in the transport industry to moving crates and materials in warehouses, supermarkets, and stock rooms, electric pallet trucks are helpful tools to improve efficiency in any business. To find the right electric pallet truck for your business, it is important to first determine what requirements you will have for the truck:

• What industry are you operating in?
• What lift capacity do you require?
• Where will the electric pallet truck be used?
• How heavy-duty are the operation requirements?
• What distance will the electric pallet truck be covering, would a ride-on option be something to consider?
• Would any additional special function further improve efficiency and satisfaction?

1. Place of Use – Industry Breakdown

At EP Equipment, we provide the right truck for every application. It is important to consider the intended place of use and the required features of a truck in the industry you want to use the truck in. We’ve compiled a selection guide to assist you in choosing the right electric pallet.

Supermarket and Retail: EPL154

In a retail environment you need to choose a pallet truck that is compact and light with easy operation but also stable and safe. The EPL154 is designed with stability and safety in mind whilst still having a compact and light chassis. This truck is flexible and versatile to tackle a variety of handling tasks such as the range of the retail industry

Warehouse: WPL202

The WPL 202 is a high-performance truck, designed specifically around the needs of warehouses globally. The WPL202 excels with its short chassis length 470mm, which makes it a perfect truck-mounted tool for loading and unloading lorries for retail, beverage, food and logistics industries. Besides, the WPL202 is available for horizontal transportation in refrigerated warehouses as an option.

Transport: EPL153(1)

Some of our electric pallet trucks such as the EPL1531 is very well equipped for the transport industry. These models are designed with lightweight components and without support wheels, ensuring safe and easy maneuvering over pavements, curbs, and tail lifts.

Logistics: KPL201, EPT WA Series, RPL201H

The 20W and KPL from EP are recommended for high frequency transport operations and industrial use. 

Last Mile Delivery: EPL153(1)

Similar to retail application use and transport, last mile delivery requires adaptable and light weight trucks to take goods from lorry to shop floor with ease.

Loading Docks: RPL

The RPL series are great for medium to long-distance transportation tasks within warehouse environments. It also performs very well in loading and unloading activities at docks and loading bays. A standout feature of this series is its standard electric power steering, which significantly enhances productivity and ergonomic comfort for operators.

2. Load Capacity

When purchasing a powered pallet truck, the capacity that the truck can transport is a main factor to consider. By identifying the average load weights as well as the maximum capacity requirements, you can focus your pallet truck search on machines that are suitable for your business.

EP offers a range of electric pallet trucks with load capacities of up to 3000kg. To find the load capacity or rated capacity of any model, you can check the data sheets available in our resource hub.

3. Fork Lengths and Fork Widths

Powered pallet trucks are used to move and transport a range of palletised goods. In warehouses these goods can vary from rack to rack. When choosing a truck, you should use your knowledge of load dimension requirements to select truck with the appropriate fork lengths and widths.

Standard Forks

The standard length of pallet truck forks is 1150mm. This length is appropriate for most use cases – when moving palletised goods on a standard euro pallet of 1200mm. In most handling environments, this fork type is suitable and is offered as standard in EP’s models.

Short Forks

Choosing shorter forks for your pallet truck is normally a very specific business decision. In cases where pallets are smaller than a standard euro pallet, you might not want the forks to exceed the pallet length. In these circumstances you may want to consider a smaller fork length.

Long Forks

Longer forks can also be added to pallet trucks when wanting to increase efficiency and allow a truck to transport 2 pallets at once. This is a common decision for businesses who are using ride on electric pallet trucks to cover long distances. By increasing fork length, efficiency can be doubled.

Every pallet truck from EP comes with multiple fork length options. Our full range of data sheets can be found in the resource hub.

4. Battery Life

At EP Equipment, we are the market leaders in Lithium-ion technology. We offer a large selection of electric pallet trucks with different battery options. When buying an electric pallet truck the battery type is an important thing to consider.

With EP’s lithium-ion technology, there is no need to consider other battery options. Although we can provide trucks with lead acid and gel batteries as cheaper short term options, the long-term benefits of lithium ion are far more cost effective and efficient.

Benefits of lithium-ion batteries

Long Duration

Lithium-ion batteries offer a flexible charging approach compared to lead-acid batteries. Unlike lead-acid batteries that require a full 8-12 hour charging cycle to maintain their chemical balance, lithium-ion batteries can be opportunistically charged. This means they can be quickly charged for short periods, such as a 10-minute charge during a lunch break, enhancing work shift efficiency and reducing the total ampere-hours (Ah) needed in the truck. Additionally, this allows for the possibility of swapping batteries, ensuring that trucks can remain operational without downtime.

For example, EP Equipment’s EPL153(1) model uses a 10A charger and 20Ah battery, achieving a full charge in just 1.5 hours.

Energy efficiency

Most lithium-ion batteries are 95% efficient or more, meaning that 95 percent or more of the energy stored in a lithium-ion battery can be used. Conversely, lead acid batteries has a efficiency of 80 to 85%.

Charge time

Higher efficiency batteries charge faster, so EP improved efficiency, thus achieving a higher effective battery capacity. Lithium batteries take 2-3 hours to charge while lead-acid needs 8 hours. Lithium batteries’ high effective capacity reduces downtime in warehouse duties.

Life Cycle

Lithium-ion batteries have a life cycle of 3000 or more compared to just 500-1000 cycles in lead acid.

Temperature sensitivity

Lithium-ion batteries can be used in most weather conditions, but issues arise if the temperature is too cold. In this case you will need to take additional measures to keep the battery warm. 

Compared to lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries generally perform better in a wider range of temperatures, but both types experience reduced efficiency in extreme cold, with lead-acid batteries being more prone to freezing and suffering from longer-term damage in such conditions.

Battery change possibility

Lithium-ion Batteries can be easily swapped and changed, individual cells in a lithium-ion battery can be easily repaired and replaced. While lead-acid batteries typically require complete unit replacement and more complex maintenance procedures.

Find out more about our Lithium-Ion technology 

5. Intensity of Usage

When selecting a pallet truck for your business, it’s essential to consider the operational intensity it will endure.

Unlike traditional categorizations of ‘low, medium, or high’ usage intensity, at EP Equipment, we understand that each industry and business has unique requirements. Our approach involves tailoring truck design to suit various industry-specific demands, ensuring a more precise fit for your needs. Key considerations in this decision-making process include:

• average weight of pallets to be transported
• the type of terrain and floor conditions the truck will encounter
• the use of ramps
• the expected working speed

By evaluating these factors, you and your sales manager can make a well-informed choice, ensuring the truck you select meets the exact intensity demands of your operations.

7. Chargers

When choosing an electric pallet truck, it is important to understand that charging options can affect the success of the truck in your industry/environment.

There are 2 types of charging option to consider:

Low Frequency Chargers

Low frequency chargers are considered by today’s standard to be big, bulky, and heavy. As technology develops, this type of charger is becoming less and less popular as they generate a lot of heat. As a result of this heat production, a low frequency charger is often found to lose up to 30% of its capacity. With other issues including cost and efficiency, a low frequency charger is the less popular option. The only real benefit of low frequency charges is the lower cost in comparison to high frequency ones.

High Frequency Chargers

High frequency chargers are a compact, lighter option with increased efficiency that can achieve up to 17% more than low frequency chargers. By consuming less, these chargers result in reduced long-term costs. By working with lower and better tuned charge currents, high frequency chargers can have many benefits.

A special feature of high frequency chargers is that they can optimise and choose the correct setting for the battery at that specific moment.

Benefits of high frequency chargers include:

• maximum energy saving
• increased battery life
• heat generation reduction
• reduce water consumption
• smaller height and lower weight

In addition to choosing between high frequency and low frequency chargers, you also need to decide between internal and external chargers. EP Equipment provides both options, but you must determine which one suits your business best – in this case, it is often a choice between speed and convenience.

External Chargers

External chargers are often found in specific charging points in a facility, and are best used when machines can afford to have an increased level of down time or can stay close to a specific area. External charges often have a larger Ah, meaning the time taken to charge the truck fully is less.

Integrated Chargers

Integrated charges are the choice for convenient and more frequent charging. Integrated charges are what contribute to EP’s Plug&Play technology, using lithium-ion batteries. Trucks from EP with integrated charges can be plugged in to charge at any standard power outlet, and charged for small periods of time to decrease downtime and improve efficiency throughout the shift. 

Integrated charging works well in most industries, and is the most forward-thinking method of charging material handling equipment.

FAQs

Further Resources