Electric or diesel lift? The differences

Most categories of lifts in our fleet come in two drive variants: electric and diesel. This is not a choice of “better or worse”; it is a choice matched to the place and conditions of the work, and a wrong decision can mean a machine that cannot cope with the terrain, or one that cannot be used in a given building for safety reasons.

Electric lift: for interiors and hard-surfaced ground

Electric drive works best where quiet and the absence of exhaust fumes count, that is inside buildings, production halls, warehouses and office blocks in use, but also outdoors on hard-surfaced ground, close to residential or office buildings, where the noise of a combustion engine would be a nuisance. The wheels do not dirty or scratch the floor, the machine runs quietly, and the absence of fuel combustion means no exhaust emissions, which matters in enclosed, poorly ventilated rooms, where running a combustion engine could endanger the health of people nearby.

The drawback is dependence on the state of charge of the batteries and, usually, lower power and a poorer ability to cope with uneven ground compared with the diesel version. For work lasting several days it is worth planning in advance where and when the machine will be charged, so as to avoid downtime in the middle of the working day.

Diesel lift: for difficult terrain

Diesel drive, most often combined with a 4×4 running gear, is the choice for work outdoors, on unsurfaced, uneven or sloping ground: building sites at the shell stage, green areas, gravel access roads, farmland or forest. A combustion engine gives more power and needs no breaks for charging, which matters for intensive, all-day work far from a power source, for example when building power lines, working on the façades of industrial buildings or in areas without mains power.

The cost is exhaust emissions and a higher noise level, so diesel machines are less often used inside enclosed rooms, and in some buildings (for example those with ventilation systems not designed for the operation of a combustion engine) their use may even be ruled out by the plant’s internal health and safety rules.

Running and maintenance costs

Beyond the place of work itself, it is worth thinking about the nature of the running costs. Electric machines usually have a simpler drive design (fewer parts subject to wear than with a combustion engine), which translates into lower day-to-day servicing costs. Diesel machines need regular changes of oil and filters and the standard servicing typical of a combustion engine, but they make up for it with greater independence from infrastructure: you do not have to arrange access to a socket or a generator.

Internal rules of buildings and building sites

More and more buildings (shopping centres, production plants, warehouses in use) have their own internal health and safety rules that expressly prohibit diesel machines from entering certain zones, regardless of whether the general regulations would allow it. The same is sometimes true on sites in dense urban development, where the client or the land manager may impose noise limits at certain hours. It is worth checking such rules before placing the order, to avoid a situation in which the rented machine cannot be used as planned.

How to decide

In practice the decision is easiest to make by answering one question: is the work done outdoors on unsurfaced ground, or indoors or on a hard surface? The first situation points to the diesel variant with 4×4 drive, the second to the electric variant. It is also worth checking the availability of power on site (if the machine is to work for many days and there is nowhere on the site to charge the batteries, a diesel machine may be the more practical choice even on hard-surfaced ground) and any health and safety requirements for work in enclosed rooms, which may rule out diesel machines.

Summary

Electric: quiet, clean, for interiors and hard-surfaced ground. Diesel: more power, 4×4 drive, for difficult terrain outdoors and work far from a power source. If you are not sure which variant will work in your case, describe the place and the nature of the work, and we will suggest which model from our fleet will be the best match.