Preventative maintenance for dock equipment is highly recommended. The more you maintain your dock equipment, the better and longer your equipment will last. Regular maintenance increases employee safety, helps to control repair costs and assists in avoiding company down times. When unexpected maintenance occurs, it can have a long chain of unexpected delays by stopping goods from entering or leaving a facility. Maintaining your equipment on a regular basis can minimize these delays and improve ... Read More
Choosing between a hydraulic dock leveler and mechanical dock leveler depends on what is most important to the user. Mechanical dock levelers cost less than hydraulic dock levelers, but mechanical dock levelers do require periodic (2 times a year) adjustable maintenance throughout use of the equipment. Hydraulic levelers can handle higher load capacities and also operate more easily than mechanical dock levelers, due to a manual push button that operates the power unit. While hydraulic dock leve... Read More
All manufacturers have a standard paint colour that is for brand identity or for economy of scale in any high volume manufacturing facility. Pretty much any colour other than the manufacturer’s standard is available, but at an upcharge. The reason for this upcharge is due to the purchasing process, receiving process and manufacturing process. Depending on the colour of the paint, primer may need to be added to the lift table before the paint is applied. When painting a lift table a custom colo... Read More
If you have both a hydraulic dock leveler and an overhead door in the closed position and try to operate the dock leveler, the power of the dock leveler will damage the locked overhead door. If you have a vertical storing dock leveler in the rest (vertical) position and try and operate (lower) it when an overhead door is in the closed position, the dock will cause severe damage by impacting with the overhead door. In order to ensure that the dock leveler will not be able to operate when the over... Read More
Self-contained power units cost less and are the most common, however, there are alternatives. Remote power units are one of the alternatives and are best suited for wash down applications. When periodic maintenance is required, it is easier to access a remote power unit. At the time of installation, remote power units are typically installed 7’ – 8’above finished floor level on a wall mounting bracket. This moves the power unit up and away from potential impact. The hydraulic hoses are th... Read More
A three phase power unit and a single phase power unit are generally the same price at time of purchase. Three phase power is much more efficient than single phase power when operating loading dock equipment or lift tables. The greater the distance from the power supply to the motor will affect the voltage drop. A three phase power unit is much more efficient over the same run than a single phase power unit.
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There are pros and cons to low profile dock lifts and conventional pit model dock lifts. Low profile dock lifts do not have to be installed in a pit. They are equipped with an approach ramp and surface installed. This serves as an advantage because there is no pit construction required and if the dock lifts needs to move to a different location, it can be easily accomplished. This being said, a low profile dock lift cannot handle the same capacity as a conventional pit installed dock lift. Low p... Read More
Pentaflow lift cylinders are unique. In the base of the cylinder piston there is a port. This port is sealed by a ball to prevent oil from passing through. When oil is pumped into the cylinder, the cylinder extends. When the cylinder is at full extension, an actuator pushes the ball off the port which allows oil to return to the reservoir. This prevents the cylinder from dead ending. This also helps bleed any air inside of the hydraulic system. When the cylinder retracts, it siphons hydraulic oi... Read More
Not all applications are the same. In some cases, vehicle restraints are a part of the initial construction design process. It is also quite common to add vehicle restraints to an existing loading dock to improve the safety at this busy area of the facility. The positioning of the trailer’s rear impact guard can vary from trailer manufacturers. This has created the requirements for low profile vehicle restraints. Some facilities are able to cost justify mechanical vehicle restraints as an impr... Read More
The purpose of a velocity fuse is to ensure safety to any operator using a hydraulic lift table, hydraulic dock lift, or a hydraulic dock leveler. The way it works is by regulating flow leaving the cylinder. If the velocity fuse senses any sort of flow that is too fast then the velocity fuse will close locking the oil in the cylinders stopping the lift from lowering. This ensures safety to the operator to minimize any risk of injury.
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