Benefits of Leveling Casters

Certain tasks, especially those involving heavy equipment, require specialty casters to get the job done. Leveling casters carefully designed to provide stability when supporting a range of items. Common industrial and commercial applications for leveling casters include optical, clean room and medical equipment, computers, furniture, control panels, switch boards, woodworking and more.

Leveling casters offer the following advantages:

·         Flexibility: These wheels can be switched from mobile to stationary with the rubber foot pad. The footpad absorbs vibrations, which can be especially helpful on workstations that need to be firmly in place.

·         Quality materials: These are made with a combination of quality materials, including a plastic nylon wheel, steel inserted frame,  a chemically compounded rubber leveling pad and forged top plate.

·         Height adjustment: These can be kept low to the ground to provide more stability while transporting items. You can also change the height to level out areas where the floor is uneven.

·         Large load capacity: As many of these casters are used for heavy duty equipment, the casters are engineered to hold a great deal of weight. The 3P80F leveling casters sold by Access Casters Inc can hold up to 2,200 pounds.

·         Options with rotation handles

Start browsing the leveling casters sold by Access Casters.com today, including the 80 series adjustable leveling casters that come in multiple sizes with square top and hexagon plates.

The Benefits of Quality Hotel Caster Wheels

Running a hotel involves managing the upkeep of a large quantity of equipment. Many of these items utilize caster wheels, such as the bellman luggage carts, cleaning carts, storage racks, beverage service carts and more. 

Ordering high-performance caster wheels will provide the following benefits:

Improved Mobility – With caster wheels that are the right size and material, you will be able to smoothly transport items from place to place. For example, choose swivel casters for luggage carts that can move across hard floors and carpets. You don’t want guests to feel like the unlucky person on the grocery store who fights against their shopping cart caster to steer the cart. You want your guests to be able to easily maneuver items and not strain to turn the cart once it’s filled with luggage.

Move Without Disturbing Guests – Old or damaged wheels not only make steering difficult, but they can create loud noises that can be disruptive to the relaxing atmosphere of a hotel. New, properly assembled low profile caster wheels, designed to hold weight and handle multiple surfaces, should roll across the floor without causing a major disturbance.

No More Flats— With solid tread tires rather than pneumatic tires, which are full of air, you won’t have to worry about replacing a wheel after hitting a nail or snagging the tire. You should also choose a solid material that doesn’t mark up the floors.

When it comes time to replace damaged or broken swivel casters and wheels, make sure you invest in hotel-ready wheels that are made for each item and the task it will be used with.

Paying Attention to Caster Wheel Diameter

Did you know that wheel diameter impacts how well you can move items with caster wheels? Without putting thought into what size of wheels are used on your equipment, you can end up relying on caster wheels that can cause problems rather than making tasks easier. Low profile casters are one type of wheel with a smaller diameter and many industrial uses.

Choose a diameter based on factors such as the equipment weight, task needs and type of flooring. Each of these factors can disrupt how well your wheels work and cause problems. For example, using a wheel in the wrong size can cause your wheels to brake, get stuck on small ground obstacles or allows items to roll away when stability is necessary or demand extreme exertion to get moving.

Small Caster Wheels

Wheels with a shorter diameter are important for items meant to be kept in place. These smaller wheels may be appropriate in cases where you do not need to move items often. Certain items require stability, like laboratory equipment and fragile medical equipment.

Small wheels perform well when used with heavy, cumbersome or delicate items. These have a lower center of gravity, which helps anchor items. Low profile casters can also hold extreme weight and prevent items from rolling away too easily. You may encounter this kind of wheel in applications such as copiers, refrigerated displays, computer storage devices and vending machines.

Large Caster Wheels

When you choose a larger caster wheel, it’s a bit like having shocks. There is less of an impact when you encounter uneven surfaces, obstacles in your path or moving from one type of flooring to the next. The larger surface area allows you to smoothly maneuver through surface changes and use less force.

For soft surfaces, a larger wheel can work well, as it distributes weight around the entire wheel. For extremely heavy items, a larger wheel helps prevent employees from injuries because it demands less force. 

The Importance of Clean Floors with Caster Use

Caster wheels are often used in offices under chairs, desks, carts and file cabinets. Cleaning floors regularly is a discipline that can lengthen the life of your floors and caster wheels, as well as protect employees.

Protecting Floors and Employees

Maintain floors and ensure surface areas are smooth by removing debris and repairing damaged areas. There should always be a clear path, which will allow chairs, cabinets and other furniture with wheels to be easily maneuvered. 

If you are in an office or warehouse where the floor is continually littered with debris, pneumatic caster wheels have shocks that make for easy maneuvering. Pneumatic caster wheels demand less exertion to move. As an added bonus, this type of wheel will roll well if you need to take any equipment outdoors and move over different types of terrain.

Problems Cause by Debris

Small items on the ground often act as brakes and require more physical exertion to roll over. The first instinct when running over small items may be to use more force to roll over the item. Depending on how heavy of a load one is pushing, this can result in adding serious strain. By making sure nothing is in the way, you protect employees.

Preventing Caster Wheel Scratches

Moving into an office with beautiful flooring is exciting.  You look with around the glossy surface and picture how the room will look with desks and chairs. You want the gorgeous sheen to last as long as possible. You may start to worry about whether chairs will damage the expanse of flooring in front of you. Here are some tips for avoiding caster wheel scratches.

Be Picky About Caster Wheels

When you have hard floors, choose office chairs with caster wheels that are soft. Some examples of soft wheels include rubber, neoprene and urethane. Avoid hard wheels, like those made from plastic or nylon. Soft wheels will help prevent scuffing on various kinds of hard flooring. Whether it’s a hardwood surface, tile or laminate floor, soft wheels work better.

Add Some Extra Protection

If you want to be extra careful and preserve your floors as long as possible, considering putting something between caster wheels and the floor. Chair mats are designed to prevent scuffs and cover just the area by your desk, so you can still see the rest of your room.  Another option is putting a small rug under the chair. With the protection of a thick rug, you won’t have to get soft wheels. Hard wheels can roll on thick rugs without harming the floor underneath.

A final pro tip for preserving floors is to add a layer of duct tape to the edge of your wheel. If you can’t replace soft wheels with hard wheels this trick can help save your floors.

Using Caster Wheels For Outdoor Tasks

Manufacturing, construction and other industries use caster wheels on equipment made for completing everyday tasks. Completing tasks outside comes with different demands than indoor activities. Whether you’re using rolling carts, dollies or other vehicles that have caster wheels, the type of wheel and caster will influence the smoothness of moving items.

Pneumatic casters work well for maneuvering through grass, pebbles, sand, gravel and other soft surfaces. These wheels are filled with pressurized air and are able to move quietly and transport fragile cargo safely. As you move from pavement to gravel, these wheels absorb shocks, protecting cargo. If these tires do get heavy use, make sure you maintain them by monitoring air pressure and checking for flats.

Another option, especially useful for heavier loads, is polyurethane wheels, which are made with a hard surface. These wheels work well on smooth surfaces and do not have tread that wears over time the way pneumatic caster do.  If you’re on a smooth surface outdoors, polyurethane wheels may be appropriate. But it you are looking for a versatile wheel that can handle multiple types of services, a pneumatic wheel may be a better option.

When you are indoors, the terrain is often predictable. For a smooth or soft surface, like carpet, hard tread wheels, like polyurethane wheels, can work well. For rough and uneven surfaces, like you typically encounter outdoors, soft tread wheels work best. Make the ride even smoother by choosing a wheel with a larger diameter to provide stability on those uneven surfaces.

Evaluating Swivel and Rigid Pneumatic Casters

Swivel

Choosing the correct type of casters for carts in your office or warehouse can help protect your cargo and make the physical task of moving items easier. Factors such as the floors you are pushing items across, the weight of the item, the space you are maneuvering through and how fragile items are will help you determine if swivel or rigid pneumatic casters are the best options for you.

All Swivel Casters

Using swivel casters for all four wheels will allow you to move around and make sharp turns. When space is tight and your path demands maneuvering, this is appropriate. However, the flexibility can make routes that are straight for long-distances difficult.

All Rigid Casters

An alternative, using all rigid casters, will prevent you from being able to turn a cart but allow you to drive straight. Depending on the purpose of a cart, this may be appropriate. When cargo is lighter, this basic structure for single facing wheels can work well.

A Mixure of Caster Types

Having a mixture of swivel and rigid pneumatic casters, two and two, provides more control and some flexibility. When you have a far distance to travel with a few turns and mostly straight paths, these casters will work best. Because you have more control with this combination, you can handle more weight without having to strain to compensate for turning too sharply or other problems you would encounter with all swivel casters.